Wyoming lottery.

13LSO-0005.L3

FISCAL NOTE

The fiscal impact, in the form of increased revenues to local governments from lottery ticket sales, is indeterminable.

This bill creates the Wyoming Lottery Corporation (Corporation), a public corporation which shall be deemed an instrumentality of the state, and not a state agency. The Corporation is responsible for payment of operating expenses (all costs of doing business). The Corporation shall provide for compensation to lottery retailers in the form of commissions of not less than 6 percent of gross sales, and may provide for other forms of compensation for services rendered in the sale or cashing of lottery tickets or shares.

As nearly as practical, at least 45 percent of the net proceeds (all revenue derived from the sale of lottery tickets or shares less operating expenses) shall be made available as prize money.

On or before the 15^th day of each quarter, the Corporation shall transfer to the General Fund, for credit to the lottery account, the amount of all net proceeds minus prizes paid during the preceding quarter. Such monies shall be paid as they accrue to the treasurers of the counties, cities and towns for payment into their respective general funds. These funds will be distributed in a similar fashion to the distribution of sales taxes as provided in W.S. 39-15-111(b)(iii), to each county based on each county's percentage of net sales taxes collected, and within each county based on population.

According to the Pari-Mutuel Commission, this bill would likely result in a decrease in revenues to the Wyoming Breeders Award Fund and the Pari-Mutuel Commission, due to pari-mutuel bettors switching to the proposed lottery. The revenue decrease to the Breeders Award Fund is estimated at $10,000 to $15,000 per year.

The revenue increase to local governments is indeterminable, since the startup period of the proposed lottery is unknown. Based on information from the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), it is estimated that the proposed lottery could generate revenues available for distribution to local governments ranging between $5 million and $9 million per year, once the proposed lottery is fully operational. This estimate is based on NCSL's 2010 information on the North Dakota lottery, which is comparable to the lottery proposed in this bill.

NOTICE-AGENCY ESTIMATE OF ADMINISTRATIVE IMPACT REQUESTED

This bill has administrative impact that appears to increase (or decrease) duties or responsibilities of one or more state agencies and may impact agency spending or staffing requirements. As introduced, the bill does not modify any state agency budget or current personnel authorizations.

The following state agencies will be asked to provide their estimate of the administrative fiscal impact prior to the first committee meeting held to consider the bill:

Attorney General – Division of Criminal Investigation

Prepared by:   Dean Temte, LSO   Phone: 777-7881

(Information provided by Charles E. Moore, Pari-Mutuel Comm.; 307-265-4015)