Lottery In Utah

The state of Utah has no lottery of any kind, be that online or retail. The state has prohibited gambling since 1927 which is largely due to the heavily religious background of the state. Utah is surrounded by states that offer legal lottery games, so many residents make the border run to play their beloved games, but there is no bright outlook for these games being legalized any time soon within state lines.

Legal Lottery Options in Utah

Sadly right now it’s not legal to play the lottery in Utah, despite many people petitioning for its legalization to help the state with funding for education and other much-needed state causes. The fact is that the state has a deeply religious background, with Mormon Pioneers arriving in 1847 that would set up many churches within the early days of the state.

The Utah constitution states that: “The Legislature shall not authorize any game of chance, lottery or gift enterprise under any pretense or for any purpose.”

Therefore you cannot buy tickets in the state, but it’s not illegal to go out of states lines and purchase lottery tickets and that’s what many people are doing, especially if they live close to a neighboring state. Just in March 2021, a Utah woman claimed a $50,000 Powerball win from the Idaho Lottery, after she would make a four-hour drive to the state to place her ticket.

Utah State Lottery History

• July 1847 – Brigham Young a Mormon prophet and the Mormon Pioneers enter Salt Lake Vallet and establish a settlement. The Mormon attitudes on gambling were well established even back then, with Brigham stating: “We wish to suppress all grogshops, gambling houses, and all other disorderly houses or proceedings in our city, and to tolerate no intemperance or vice in our midst.”
• Early 1875 – Silver is discovered within the Utah Territories, the discovery brings with it large amounts of prospectors that bring typical mining town vices such as alcohol use, gambling, gunfights, and prostitution. During this time the mining towns that popped up were ripe with behavior that was condemned by the majority of Utah residents who were of the Mormon faith.
• May 1895 – All forms of gambling in Utah are declared illegal.
• November 1992 – A referendum is held, which allowed counties in Utah to vote to legalize pari-mutuel betting. It was defeated by a margin of 60/40.
• March 2012 – Utah Governor Gary Herbert signs House Bill 108 into law, with bans any form of online gambling within state lines.

What Could the Utah Lottery Revenue Fund?

Utah is currently the 31st most populous state in the US, with nearly 3,300,000 residents. Iowa which has a very similar population of around 3.2 million brings brought in $101.7 million in proceeds for the state in the previous year of allowing lottery sales. So Utah could defiantly bring in some serious revenue to help schools and other worthy causes with a legalized lottery.

The state’s population is made up of around 67.7% Mormons, which equates to around 2 million residents, but that still means there are around 1.3 million residents that would have no religious beliefs that would stop them from playing the lottery.

What Would the lottery Games Include?

There are plenty of lottery options that Utah could implement if they do ever decide to legalize a lottery in the state. There are multi-state games like Powerball and Mega Millions, scratch cards and instant win games, Keno draws and of course, in-state lotteries that could bring in extra revenue.

The state could also include the Lucky for Life game in its roster, which one lucky Utah resident has already won. Tracey Montgomery won $390,200 when she crossed the border to Idaho to place her ticket back in January 2016.

However, the outlook for a lottery legalized in what is still a very religious state doesn’t look good, so look to get driving and buy tickets in bulk if you want to be in with a chance of winning from Utah any time soon.

Alexander Stoeckl