Texas Shoots Down Internet Lottery Bill

Published: Friday, May 06, 2005 Online-Casinos.com

TEXAS SHOOTS DOWN INTERNET LOTTERY BILL

Intense bi-partisan debate a feature

The Texas media reported this week that there was intense interest in the progress of an online gambling Bill (for a lottery concept) before the state legislature, with 9 million hits on the search criterion "online gambling" on one day alone. But it was bad news for searchers after all as House members shot down the idea of an online Texas Lottery.

Lawmakers, seeking ways to help fund the state budget, rejected the measure 89 to 52, abandoning an initiative that could have raised as much as $275 million more a year by allowing the lottery to debut on the Internet. The Texas proposal was one of three state attempts to bring in Internet-oriented gambling in the US.

Reports said that passions rose in an unpredictably bipartisan fashion as lawmakers debated the virtues and vices of expanding gambling to pay for better education, health care and other programs that aid the youngest and most needy.

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Jim Pitts said the budget plan that was eventually adopted 107 to 37 without the gambling proposal will add $1 billion more toward the budget.

The Texas Lottery proposal would have allowed online transactions using a debit card, an ATM card or through an account set up by the Texas Lottery Commission.