Iowa
Governor May Stop Video Lottery Expansion
As reported by the Des Moines
Register: "Gov. Tom Vilsack is considering
a halt to the Iowa Lottery's rapid expansion
of video gambling machines that closely resemble
casino slot machines, a governor's spokeswoman
said Friday.
"Iowa
lawmakers Friday also expressed concern that
the machines' proliferation is greater than
they envisioned.
"The
state-run lottery has authorized 4,600 TouchPlay
machines in Iowa taverns, restaurants, convenience
stores and other retail sites, and thousands
more could be delivered in the coming months.
The machines have been installed at a rate of
about 100 per week in recent months.
"…Vilsack
spokeswoman Jennifer Mullin said the governor
is exploring asking the Iowa Lottery to temporarily
stop allowing additional TouchPlay games, to
permit time for a task force to conduct a study
on the machines and the governor's authority
to control them.
"…The
TouchPlay machines look nearly identical to
a casino slot machine. One key difference is
that software inside the machine doesn't randomly
generate winners like a slot machine. Instead,
all winners are predetermined, just as with
paper pull-tabs or scratch-off tickets…"
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