A bill to launch a lottery in Alaska was introduced in the Legislature on Wednesday.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy requested the bill, House Bill 246 and Senate Bill 188, which would create a new state corporation to oversee the lottery.
The Alaska Lottery Corporation’s board of directors would have seven members, all appointed by the governor. There would be five public members, the state revenue commissioner and another commissioner.
The corporation’s board would ultimately decide what lottery games are offered in the state. But the lottery could include games like Powerball, instant scratch-off games and video lottery terminals.
Officials estimate the lottery would cost $3 million to launch next year. It would break even the following year, and it would start adding to state revenue in 2023.
Preliminary estimates for revenue generated by the lottery depend on which games are offered. The draw games — like Powerball — are estimated to raise roughly $5 million a year. The instant games — like scratch-offs — would add another $25 million to $35 million. And video lottery terminals could lead to total revenue of more than $100 million.
Andrew Kitchenman is the state government and politics reporter for Alaska Public Media and KTOO in Juneau. Reach him at akitchenman@alaskapublic.org.
