Lottery Reform
Issue Summary
In 2007, Think New Mexico's lottery reform legislation was passed by the legislature and signed into law by Governor Richardson.
The New Mexico Lottery was created to "provide the maximum amount of revenues" for full-tuition scholarships at public colleges and universities in New Mexico, according to state law. These "Lottery Success Scholarships" have sent over 38,000 of New Mexico's best students to college.
Unfortunately, in 2006 the Higher Education Department projected that the scholarship fund faced an $18 million deficit in 2011, when the cost of the scholarships would to exceed lottery revenues and current cash reserves would be depleted.
Under that scenario, the eligibility requirements for the scholarship would have to be raised so that many deserving students would no longer qualify for Success Scholarships, or the value of the scholarship would have to be cut for all students, increasing the financial burden on already stretched New Mexico families.
In September 2006, Think New Mexico proposed a different strategy for making Lottery Success Scholarships sustainable: cut the disproportionately high operating and administrative costs at the New Mexico Lottery and re-allocate those savings to scholarships. The New Mexico lottery's operating and administrative costs were the fifth highest in the nation in 2005, and are very high even when compared to other states that have relatively low populations, rural populations, and low ticket sales.
Think New Mexico released a policy report describing its "30% solution" for making the scholarships sustainable: require that the lottery return 30% of every dollar to the scholarship fund, just as state law already required 50% be returned to players as prizes. At the time, only 24 cents of every dollar bet on the lottery went to scholarships, while nearly 20 cents were used for operating and administrative costs.
The proportion of revenues going to scholarships could be increased by such strategies as re-negotiating the state's overly expensive, sole source online gaming contract with multinational corporation GTech.
Eleven other states have already successfully implemented this strategy, and several other small lotteries delivered over 30% to their beneficiaries in 2005, including North Dakota (33.5%), Washington D.C. (30.4%), New Hampshire (30.2%), and West Virginia (30%).
Think New Mexico continues working to monitor the implementation of its lottery reform legislation.
Get Involved
Thank Your Legislators
During the 2007 legislative session, Think New Mexico supporters sent more than 250 messages to their legislators urging them to support our legislation reforming the lottery to ensure that college scholarships continue to be accessible to all of New Mexico's deserving high school graduates. This grassroots support was a big reason why the bill passed with such wide bipartisan margins on both the House and Senate. Messages from constituents are the key to winning lasting policy reform. Click here to thank your legislators for enacting legislation to reduce the operating and administrative costs of the New Mexico lottery and dedicate 30% of the revenues to scholarships.
Vocal public support of proposals like making Lottery Success Scholarships sustainable played a big part in making it happen. Legislators were attentive and responsive to letters to the editors from their constituents on this issue. We encourage you to express your support for reforming New Mexico's lottery through the media, as well as directly to your state senators and representatives. The Media section of Think New Mexico's Action Center provides the names and contact information for your local media, including newspapers, radio stations, and television stations, and you can compose and send any of them an email or letter right from there.
Resources & Media
Read Think New Mexico's policy report on reforming the state lottery to send more dollars to college scholarships
Coalition in Support of Lottery Reform
Newspaper Articles & Editorials
Read Associated Press article on the initial results of the lottery reform Legislation
• June 13, 2008
Read Santa Fe New Mexican article on how the New Mexico Lottery saved $35 million by rebidding its sole-source contract with Gtech
• July 27, 2007
Read front page Albuquerque Journal article on passage of the lottery reform bill • March 12, 2007
Read Think New Mexico's opinion editorial on lottery reform • March 2007
Read Santa Fe New Mexican editorial in support of lottery reform legislation • January 25, 2007
Read syndicated columnist Jay Miller's columns on Think New Mexico's lottery initiative • November 23, 2006 • October 8, 2006
and his follow-up column on the impressive initial results of the reform September 28, 2007
Read Albuquerque Journal editorials endorsing lottery reform • October 30, 2006 • September 5, 2006
Read Las Vegas Daily Optic editorial endorsing lottery reform • September 26, 2006
Read Deming Headlight editorial in support of lottery reform • September 13, 2006
Read Santa Fe New Mexican editorial endorsing lottery reform • September 10, 2006
Read Hobbs News-Sun editorial in support of lottery reform • September 9, 2006
Read Las Cruces Sun-News editorial in support of lottery reform • September 7, 2006
Read New Mexico Business Weekly article on Think New Mexico's lottery reform initiative • November 3, 2006
Radio Stories
Listen to KSFR Santa Fe Public Radio report on lottery reform • January 16, 2007 (mp3, 5:30)
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Saga of the Lottery Lobbyist
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