This week saw a significant amount of opposition to the Reid-Kyl federal online poker legalization proposal, and the latest one to join the disapproval drive was Massachusetts state treasurer Steve Grossman who expressed concern that the bans on other forms of online wagering included in the bill, could result with a severe impact on the state lottery.
The chair of the Massachusetts Lottery Commission sent a note to both Reid and Kyl in which he says that the bill “sharply limits states' abilities to regulate online gambling inside their borders, and could impact state lottery profits” that last year reached almost a billion dollars.
A part of the letter reads: "The proposed act would effectively limit participation in the online gaming marketplace to gaming operations with a presence in Nevada and sharply constrain the ability of state lotteries to offer online products."
And to offer online lottery is one of Massachusetts' plans for the future. Still, the state is still to make a decision for the lucrative state operation which brought $4.7 billion in revenue last year, and profit of $982 million that mostly went to state coffers.
According to Grossman, the Reid-Kyl bill would forbid online sales of instant scratch cards and Keno "that are responsible for more than 85 percent of the Lottery's sales," which implies that there is no business purpose to the proposed bill.
Therefore, he concluded: "Accordingly, we can only assume that the act is a blatant, unwarranted and inappropriate attempt to secure first-mover advantage in the online gaming space for Nevada."
The chair of the Massachusetts Lottery Commission sent a note to both Reid and Kyl in which he says that the bill “sharply limits states' abilities to regulate online gambling inside their borders, and could impact state lottery profits” that last year reached almost a billion dollars.
A part of the letter reads: "The proposed act would effectively limit participation in the online gaming marketplace to gaming operations with a presence in Nevada and sharply constrain the ability of state lotteries to offer online products."
And to offer online lottery is one of Massachusetts' plans for the future. Still, the state is still to make a decision for the lucrative state operation which brought $4.7 billion in revenue last year, and profit of $982 million that mostly went to state coffers.
According to Grossman, the Reid-Kyl bill would forbid online sales of instant scratch cards and Keno "that are responsible for more than 85 percent of the Lottery's sales," which implies that there is no business purpose to the proposed bill.
Therefore, he concluded: "Accordingly, we can only assume that the act is a blatant, unwarranted and inappropriate attempt to secure first-mover advantage in the online gaming space for Nevada."
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