The five-member board that oversees the Iowa Lottery has directed lottery staff to “explore…the feasibility” of having Iowa retailers use lottery terminals for sports betting.
Sports betting has been legal in the State of Nevada for decades, but a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in May overturned a federal law which had prohibited legalized sports betting in other states. Iowa Lottery vice president Mary Neubauer says on June 5th, Delaware began offering full-scale sports betting in casinos along with a more limited sports lottery in retail locations.
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Neubauer says Scientific Games, the company that helps run Delaware’s sports lottery, also has the service contract for Iowa Lottery terminals that handle play slips and print lottery tickets.
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Iowa Lottery officials will not lobby legislators to approve a sports lottery option, but have been directed to “research, monitor and prepare” for a state law that involve the lottery in sports betting. A sports lottery would not be a big revenue producer for the state. Lottery officials predict is would yield between a million and six million dollars annually. Last fiscal year, the Iowa Lottery generated nearly 81 million dollars in revenue for the state.