Nevada lottery bill ditched due to “economic uncertainty”
The initiative required a second approval to allow a referendum.
US.- A bill that would have allowed a lottery in Nevada has failed to advance. AJR5 was passed in both legislative chambers in 2023 but required a second approval to allow a public referendum in 2026.
Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager said the bill would not move forward due to “economic uncertainty and shocking federal funding cuts, this measure will not move forward”.
While lawmakers had considered allowing Nevada to participate in multistate lotteries, Yeager said it was decided that implementation costs were too high and that lottery products wouldn’t generate enough money for the state to be worth it.
The bill would have allowed a referendum on whether to remove a 159-year-old constitutional prohibition on Nevada operating a lottery. Nevada is one of five US states without a lottery, along with Alabama, Alaska, Utah, and Hawaii. The bill was backed by Culinary Workers Union Local 226 but opposed by the Nevada Resort Association.
