DES MOINES, Iowa -- Iowa House Speaker Christopher Rants (R) said that Iowa Lottery officials misled the state legislature about the controversial TouchPlay machines, and asked Governor Tom Vilsack to put the agency under the supervision of the Iowa Racing & Gaming Commission, reported the Des Moines Register.
Rants made the proposal after lottery President Ed Stanek told a legislative committee that lawmakers encouraged putting the devices, which closely resemble slot machines, into convenience stores. Critics see that move as a dramatic escalation [image-nocss] of gambling in Iowa, said the report. Putting the lottery under the gaming commission would allow greater public input into the lottery, which now is a largely autonomous state agency, legislative staffers told the newspaper.
More than 5,000 TouchPlay machines have been installed in 2,600 locations, including grocery and c-stores. Critics say they expose children to gambling when state law bans minors from casinos, and they say the machines introduce casino-like gambling in counties that have voted it down.
Many lawmakers complain that they were not kept in the loop as the lottery shifted from electronic ticket dispensers to the machines with video displays, which differ from slots only in how they determine winners.
"For the director to mislead the members of the Government Oversight Committee in this General Assembly is extremely troubling," Rants told reporters. "In my mindthe Iowa Lottery has lost its credibility."
Senate Democratic Leader Mike Gronstal said that Stanek had kept lawmakers in the loop and that calls for changes in the lottery were face-saving efforts in light of the public's mixed reaction to the machines.
Vilsack said it would be wrong to put the lottery under the supervision of the commission because it already regulates casinos, which oppose the TouchPlay machines as unfair competition. "The lottery currently competes with and would continue to compete with gaming interests that are currently regulated by racing and gaming," he said. "While there may not be a legal conflict of interest, it would certainly create the appearance of a conflict if racing and gaming were asked also to regulate the lottery."
Stanek said he believes the lottery should remain independent, the paper said, citing a statement.
Vilsack has imposed a moratorium on new orders for the machines, but 5,000 more remain to be delivered. As reported in CSP Daily News, a Vilsack-appointed task force will complete its study of the issue in March. By then, Iowa is expected to have 10,000 TouchPlay machines in place, the report said.
Stanek has said the machines are distinct from slots in that winning combinations are preprogrammed rather than random. He has also said that lawmakers have been kept apprised of all developments in the process, specifically in 2004, when the idea of electronic ticket-dispensing machines was replaced by the TouchPlay concept.
Paper costs associated with machines that produced tickets became an issue when Stanek began working with c-store owners. They opted for TouchPlay machines, which are cheaper to operate, he said. "We realized the cost of the machines was way too high and so we needed to modify them," Stanek said.
But a comment Stanek made during questioning by State Senator Mike Connolly (D) prompted Rants' call for revoking the Iowa Lottery's charter. Stanek said State Representative Scott Raecker (R) had asked him "to work with the convenience store" owners on resolving their concerns about restrictions on electronic amusement devices. Connolly portrayed the comments as Stanek implying he was given the green light to allow TouchPlay machines into convenience stores.
Stanek later said Raecker gave him no such go-ahead, but the implication prompted Rants' response.
Gronstal said he expects the legislature to enact some restrictions on the new machines. He added that Stanek showed him mock-ups of the machines, which Gronstal said he recognized as being much like slot machines. "I would say everyone, including Stanek, has been somewhat surprised in the machines and their explosive growth," Gronstal told the paper. "We will look at restricting, limiting and eliminating them. I think the legislature will look at all of those options."Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.