Utah Lawmaker Proposes a Constitutional Amendment Legalizing the Lottery
Utah is one of the most restrictive states when it comes to gambling. Residents don't have access to our best sports betting sites, and there isn't so much as a state lottery.
But earlier this week, Utah State Representative Kera Birkeland confirmed with FOX 13 News her plans to reintroduce a constitutional amendment to legalize the lottery in Utah. The proposal, to be introduced in 2025, aims to capture the millions of dollars Utahns spend annually on lottery tickets across state lines. If approved, the amendment would appear on the 2026 general election ballot.
"What I'm trying to do is just capture the existing behavior of people who will drive across the state line to buy those tickets," Birkeland told FOX 13 News.
Keeping the money in Utah
Rep. Birkeland highlights that Utahns spend at least $200 million each year buying lottery tickets in neighboring states. The Eagles Landing Travel Plaza in Littlefield, Ariz., is one of the closest destinations for southern Utah residents like Jeff and Debra Hartman from Cedar City. FOX 13 News interviewed the Hartmans, who often drive to Littlefield specifically to play the lottery.
"Might as well keep the revenue in Utah as opposed to us traveling here to Arizona to spend our lottery money," commented Debra Hartman.
“A lot of money involved, so maybe Utah ought to consider it,” added Jeff Hartman.
A compromise
Instead of legalizing the lottery statewide, Birkeland suggests a compromise, allowing only counties bordering states with lotteries to sell tickets.
"What I'm proposing this year is that any county that borders a state with the lottery can open up and have the lottery in that county," said Birkeland. "So that you don't have people in the heart of Salt Lake City or wherever else, just walking down the street to a convenience store, buying a lottery ticket. It still creates a little bit of a work to get there."
Utah’s only neighboring state that still prohibits lotteries is Nevada, despite allowing other forms of gambling. As a result, some of Utah’s most populous counties, like Salt Lake, Weber, and Davis, could not sell lottery tickets with the proposed changes. However, those bordering Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, and Idaho would.
"There's still those saying that this is, you know, really going to decay morally our state and to them I just hope that this compromise is showing we're not again, changing behaviors, we're just capturing those same behaviors within our state limits," she added.
Stiff opposition
Due to Utah’s constitutional prohibition on gaming, a constitutional amendment is required to legalize a state lottery. Birkeland introduced the amendment in December 2023, but it made no progress. She recently decided to reintroduce the amendment following supportive comments from her constituents and the public.
"It actually had a lot more public support than I was expecting," commented Birkeland.
When first proposed last year, the amendment went nowhere on Utah's Capitol Hill. While House leadership showed some support, Senate leaders were against it, and Governor Spencer Cox also voiced concerns. Additionally, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a significant influence on Capitol Hill, strongly opposes all forms of gambling.
