Kansas considers lottery vending machines

Lawmakers in Kansas held a voting regarding the bill that would allow the state to operate self-service electronic dispensers.

US.- As the Kansas Lottery voiced his intention to sponsor a bill that would allow self-service lottery dispensers earlier this year, the House voted 100-25 in support to the measure and is now laying in the Senate’s hands. The new measure would bring approximately US$30 million extra in lottery tickets sales.

Sally Lunsford, a Lottery spokeswoman, said that the bill is built to increase revenue and reduce labor costs for retailers and used other states that already implemented the measure as examples. According to Lunsford, other states such as Colorado and Missouri have experienced a 50 percent increase in their revenues since they legalised lottery vending machines. Communications manager of the Missouri Lottery, Susan Goedde, said that ever since the state installed 300 machines in 2015, they increased monthly sales almost 12 percent.

Rep. Stephanie Clayton, who voted in favor of the bill, said: “We desperately need. I’m vice chair of social services budget, and I can tell you first-hand how dire that situation is.” On the other hand, Rep. John Carmichael, D-Wichita, said that he’s not supportive of the bill since he believes that self-service electronic dispensers would likely make it easier for minors to gamble, and because he’s not in favor of state-sponsored gambling: “The state should not be involved in promoting gambling, especially when the state takes a higher percentage of the handle, the wagers, the bets, than even a bookmaker on the street.”

The bill will be now discussed in the Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee, where it will also meet some resistance but also further support from its sponsors who believe that the bill would help the state and its budget deficit.