Minnesota lawmakers pass measure to “suspend” online lotto games

Director of the state lottery Ed Van Petten says the vote is a “setback” but the site will stay live for the time being

Lawmakers in Minnesota have voted 56-8 in favor of a measure that has the potential to force the state lottery to pull down some of the games it offers to players online. [private]

The measure, HF 51, states the director of the Minnesota State Lottery will “suspend” the sale of games over the internet including “all contracts” related to its online operation.

It would not stop the lottery from offering draw-based games online, but would block the popular instant win scratch cards it also currently offers.

Lawmakers want to block the state lottery from offering online games amid claims they were not consulted ahead of the games going live in February last year.

Director of the Minnesota Lottery Ed Van Petten said the vote was a “setback” for the lottery, but that he has no plans to pull the games off the site at this stage.

“At a time when all of modern business is moving toward more technology, the Minnesota Legislature is wanting the Lottery to stop moving forward,” he told eGR North America.

The bill still needs to pass through the House and be signed into law by state Governor Mark Dayton, who is supportive of the lotto’s move online and vetoed a similar effort by lawmakers last year.

Dayton said at the time that the lottery director was “operating within the scope” of his “legislatively established authority” and refused to sign the bill into law.

Van Petten said Dayton is “still very supportive” of the lottery’s actions, but must “weight up all of the state initiatives when determining what decisions to make.”

But if Dayton u-turns and the bill is signed into law Van Patten said the lottery would “convert to having some freeplay games” on the site instead.

The lottery launched its online instant win games back in February 2014, and sold more than 1,000 scratch cards within the first week.

In an exclusive interview with eGR NA Van Petten said the decision to move online was vital for the Lottery to “survive the future.”