Gradually decrease the amount of money allocated towards the Minnesota State Lottery.

 

This bill would gradually reduce the amount of money that is allocated towards the Minnesota State Lottery. It would

work to limit the Minnesota Lottery system from taking advantage of the lower financial classes.

 

Findings from the Minnesota Lottery show that those who have a lower annual income tend to spend more on lottery

tickets. This shows that the Minnesota Lottery system disproportionately affects, negatively, those who make lower

annual incomes. Considering the fact that a good portion of the revenue made from the Minnesota Lottery goes towards

public projects, the lottery essentially becomes a tax on lower income individuals. It targets them by using high, but

unlikely, incentives that promise financial relief, hooking them into the gamble. Limiting the amount of money that is

allocated towards the Minnesota State Lottery would help to lessen the incentive/resource to gamble, leading to less

manipulation of the lower financial classes.

 

Budget: the amount of money received from the revenue that is available for distribution towards different categories,

such as to lottery beneficiaries or prize money.

Fiscal year (FY): a twelve month period; in this case, starts at the beginning of a calendar year.

General Fund: the fund that covers most of Minnesota's general expenses, receiving money from different sources such as

taxes.

Minnesota Lottery: a lottery run by the Minnesota State Lottery; examples include Powerball and Scratch Games.

Minnesota State Lottery: the state agency that overlooks and organizes all things related to the state lottery.

Revenue: the amount of money received by the Minnesota State Lottery each FY.

 

Revenue from the Minnesota State Lottery are generally distributed into the following categories- prizes, lottery

beneficiaries, retailers, ticket expenses, and administrative expenses. A cut in revenue would lead to less being

allocated towards all these categories, which would primarily achieve the goal of lower resources/incentives of the

Minnesota State Lottery. However, for lottery beneficiaries that aren’t the General Fund, it may be difficult to adjust

finances according to the lower revenues. Thus, the General Fund can reimburse them, being each separate fund recipient,

50% of what they would’ve received from the original lottery revenue per year. This can go on for four years, giving the

users of the funds time to become accustomed to the new distribution of money. Similarly, the retailers can also receive

temporary reimbursements. The General Fund will also reimburse them 50% of what they would have received from the

original lottery revenue per year. This will also go on for four years, giving the retailers time to become accustomed

to the new distribution of finances.

 

The enforcement will be overseen by the Minnesota State Lottery itself, as it is a state agency. The Minnesota State

Lottery will run as normal until the fiscal year of 2028 ends. At the end of FY 2028, and each successive year

thereafter, they will cut 3% of their budget, dedicating that 3% towards the Minnesota General Fund. This means that

instead of including that 3% when distributing revenue from FY 2028, such as to the Natural Resources Fund or towards

ticket expenses, they will just have a lower budget, to begin with when deciding how to allocate it.

 

January 1, 2028