Lottery Question: Is This Fair?

In My Humble Opinion
1

As many might know, we used to live in California - my SO played lottery every week for all the time we were there. We didn’t win diddle squat (surprise, surprise) but now, even though we live in the gambling capital of the world (Las Vegas), my SO still insists upon driving to the Nevada/California border (about 25 minute drive from us) every couple of months to play the California Lottery. We only play his numbers (you can play several weeks in advance), it is not a lot of money and it makes him happy - plus, should he ever win (a real surprise, surprise!) it would make me very happy as well.

Fine. So far, so good.

The thing is, California is more than happy to take our money and let us play “their” lottery. If we should win (small prize or large) we get the same as everyone in California. So far so good.

Now for the part I find unfair. They have “special” drawings for those who buy tickets, and occasionally special other drawings for ticket holders - HOWEVER, those winners have to be California residents. The most recent example is the 1000 game - you can go online to enter to win a chance at getting $1000 if your number is pulled, but when you log in, you can only enter if your address is in CA.

Can you imagine the uproar if Nevada had special odds for just the locals and not out-of-state guests?

Now granted, the chances of winning those “special” drawings are about as slim as winning the lottery, but am I being thin-skinned in thinking that if they are happy to take money from us “foreigners” in Nevada, they ought to make the rules for extra games the same for everybody who plays, and not just give Californians extra chances to win?

2

How is it unfair?

They’re offering a benefit to their residents, not taking a benefit away from you.

You’re trying to compare apples and oranges.

NV cannot tax out-of-state residents differently than it does in-state residents because of some case about minnows in Minnesota that I’m not going to look up but in which some Supreme Court Justice said that the economic unit of the nation is the nation, not the states (although he certainly said it more eloquently than I just did).

The casinos are private business operating in interstate commerce.

The California lottery is not. In this case, it has chosen specifically not to do so.

3

I have to admit that yours is the first story I have heard of someone driving across the border to get OUT of Nevada for gambling.

If you happen to travel on I-80 between Salt Lake City and Wendover, NV on the weekend, you can almost hear the “giant sucking sound” as Ross Perot would put it.