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Proposal for second 'Montana Millionaire' summertime lottery draws opposition from state lottery director
Summary
Rep. Katie Zolnikov proposed an annual July 4 'Montana Millionaire' raffle with four $1 million prizes and 500,000 $20 tickets to fund property tax relief; the Montana Lottery opposed starting a second large raffle, citing startup costs and the risk of cannibalizing the existing Montana Millionaire game.
Representative Katie Zolnikov introduced a bill to create an annual summer lottery game that would sell 500,000 $20 tickets, award four $1,000,000 prizes and dedicate net revenue to property tax relief.
Zolnikov told the Appropriations Committee the game would raise gross ticket revenue of about $10 million, pay $4 million in major prizes, cover operating costs, and send remaining revenue toward property tax relief. She said the bill “doesn't spend any money” from the general fund because game costs would be paid from ticket proceeds.
Bob Brown, director of the Montana Lottery, testified in opposition. Brown told the committee a new large raffle would require design and marketing resources the Lottery does not have in its current budget, that startup advertising alone is substantial, and that history shows a second large raffle can fail and damage an existing successful game. He said the Montana Millionaire game has been developed over 18 years into a successful, unique product and cautioned that a July drawing historically performs poorly for some lottery products.
Representative Crow asked how long current Montana Millionaire tickets take to sell; Brown said full sellout varies by year and this year tickets sold out in about two hours and 47 minutes. Zolnikov closed by reiterating that the bill would not use general fund dollars and asked the committee for a “do pass.” The committee did not vote at the hearing.
No formal fiscal note was available to the sponsor at the hearing; she said she had not seen one online and the lottery director highlighted concerns about launch costs, prize obligations, and the potential for a new game to underperform.
