It’s official. A bill one lawmaker is running to try to legalize the lottery in Utah has been filed.

Rep. Kera Birkeland’s HJR24 became public Friday. The resolution would put a question on the 2024 ballot for voters to decide whether to amend the Utah Constitution to allow lawmakers to authorize a state-operated lottery.

Birkeland, R-Morgan, foreshadowed the bill in an interview with Utah News Dispatch last month before the Utah Legislature’s 2024 general session began on Jan. 16.

Utah is one of only two states to completely outlaw gambling (along with Hawaii). Birkeland argues Utahns already spend an estimated $200 million a year on out-of-state lottery tickets, and the state is missing out on revenue it could use to help lower the state’s portion of property taxes.

HJR24 does not include any provisions related to property taxes. It would simply put the question on the ballot for Utah voters to decide. Only if the constitutional amendment is approved at the ballot box would lawmakers be “allowed” to authorize a state-operated lottery. It wouldn’t direct lawmakers to actually act — that would require an entirely different debate.

Birkeland’s proposed constitutional amendment faces big hurdles. It would need to win approval from a two-thirds majority in both the House and Senate to make it to the ballot.

Those aren’t good odds.

Especially considering Utah has not budged on its hardline ban on gambling since the state’s inception in 1896. Utah continues to be home to the highest concentration of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which opposes “any form of gambling” as “motivated by a desire” that is “spiritually destructive,” according to the official church position on the issue. A majority of Utah lawmakers are also members of the church.

However, Birkeland’s bill is expected to cause a stir. The two most powerful lawmakers at the helm of Utah’s Republican supermajority are split on the debate.

House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, has said he’s intrigued by the idea. Last month, he told Utah News Dispatch he wanted to give it a shot in the House, and that it may even have a chance of passing that body.

“I’m in favor of letting the citizens make that decision,” Schultz said at the time.

Asked again about Birkeland’s bill during a media availability Friday, Schultz quipped that perhaps it would mean he’d no longer need to drive to Wyoming to gamble.

“Well, it’ll save me some money going to Evanston to buy lottery tickets,” Schultz said, to laughs.

However, even if Birkeland’s proposed constitutional amendment survives the House, it’s likely to run into trouble in the Senate.

Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, said last month he’s not keen on the idea, calling lotteries “regressive” and predatory on low-income populations.

Friday, Adams told reporters its odds in the Senate are “not very high.”

“I would probably bet quite a bit of money in Vegas that it wouldn’t pass,” said Senate Majority Leader Evan Vickers, R-Cedar City.

Vickers indicated Utah’s senators are not interested in opening Utah up to gambling.

“Go to Vegas,” he said.

Utah News Dispatch is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news source covering government, policy and the issues most impacting the lives of Utahns.

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