SHERIDAN — A potential new WyoLotto game could create a new source of funding for outdoor recreation development in Wyoming, but detractors remain concerned about the new game’s impacts on local governments.
During its Oct. 25 meeting, the Wyoming Legislature’s Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources Committee voted 7-6 to continue discussion on a draft bill creating scratch tickets in Wyoming.
The Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources will expend proceeds from the scratch tickets “to promote, improve and administer access to Wyoming's outdoor recreation areas, resources and facilities and to further enhance outdoor recreation opportunities in the state,” according to the bill.
Currently, the revenue from WyoLotto’s games is allocated to local governments, according to WyoLotto CEO Jon Clontz. This amounted to a total of $2.98 million distributed across the state in fiscal years 2019 and 2020, with $140,670 going to Sheridan County and its associated county, city and town governments. It is projected Sheridan County will receive an additional $45,145 in WyoLotto revenue in the current fiscal year, Clontz said.
While scratch tickets could be a valuable source of funding for outdoor recreation projects throughout the state, Rep. Sandy Newsome, R-Cody, was concerned the addition of scratch tickets would “cannibalize” sales of traditional lottery tickets, which, in turn, could diminish the amount going to cities and counties through lottery sales.
Jerimiah Rieman, executive director of the Wyoming County Commissioners Association, said his association had not taken an official vote on the scratch ticket issue, but it would be “highly likely we would be opposed to it.”
Rieman said he was especially concerned about the “standup costs” of setting up the new game, which Clontz estimated at being between $600,000 and $700,000. Those dollars have to come from somewhere, Rieman said, and he was concerned it would come from revenue that would otherwise be directed to the counties.
“It costs something to produce these new games, and we need a mechanism to protect local governments if we’re going to direct the money elsewhere,” Rieman said.
Responding to a question from Rep. Pat Sweeney, R-Casper, Rieman said county commissioners would not be concerned about the bill if the dollars were allocated to local governments. As the bill is written, counties could potentially see a loss of valuable revenue, he said.
Sen. Bill Landen, R-Casper, argued that, although local governments wouldn’t see direct revenue from the scratch tickets, they would certainly be the beneficiaries of the projects funded through the tickets.
“Everything we talked about during this interim in terms of state parks and cultural resources and the potential development of trails, all of this is going to benefit our local governments,” Landen said. “I think sometimes that may get lost in the conversation, but if we’re investing in our outdoor recreation needs, the direct recipient is going to be our local governments. I just don’t want us to forget that.”
Local governments aren’t the only ones who could be negatively impacted by the addition of scratch tickets. Mark Larson, executive vice-president of the Wyoming Petroleum Marketers Association, raised his concerns with the proposal and argued it could harm small convenience stores.
“Scratch tickets take up valuable counter space, require substantial cashier time inventorying and tracking scratch tickets and are a magnet for employee theft,” Larson wrote in a letter to the committee. “The ‘buy, scratch, redeem, buy’ cycle plugs up cashier desks, is unhealthy in a COVID environment… and is a productivity drain.”
Clontz said any retailer can opt out of selling the tickets if they so choose. But he also said the addition of scratch tickets could be a welcome addition to the WyoLotto portfolio and would likely generate a lot of revenue for outdoor recreation projects. In a survey conducted by WyoLotto, 74% of Wyoming citizens said they would like scratch tickets to be added to the state’s gaming portfolio, Clontz said.
“Scratch games are tremendously popular and we get asked for them all the time,” Clontz said. “…The reason we love the idea of developing scratch is that, No. 1, we want to give people more entertainment value. That’s the No. 1 thing they ask us for and the thing they go to other states for. No. 2, we think it’s a good revenue producer to add to the lottery.”
Legislators on the committee were split on the proposal with some — like Rep. Mark Jennings, R-Sheridan — arguing the idea was promising but needed to be further developed.
“It just feels like this one is not fully vetted or fully ready to go,” Jennings said. “…Throwing something in at the last minute might do some harm we don’t intend.”
Others, like Landen, encouraged legislators to continue the discussion in the coming weeks.
“I’ve been compelled during this interim…to try to come forward with something that elevates the conversation about our outdoor activities,” Landen said. “Lacking this instrument, I’m not sure we’re taking anything forward. So I really commend the department for at least suggesting this.”
If the bill is passed by the Legislature this spring, scratch tickets would be offered beginning Jan. 1, 2023, according to the bill draft.
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