Iowa Governor May Stop Video Lottery Expansion

As reported by the Des Moines Register: "Gov. Tom Vilsack is considering a halt to the Iowa Lottery's rapid expansion of video gambling machines that closely resemble casino slot machines, a governor's spokeswoman said Friday.

"Iowa lawmakers Friday also expressed concern that the machines' proliferation is greater than they envisioned.

"The state-run lottery has authorized 4,600 TouchPlay machines in Iowa taverns, restaurants, convenience stores and other retail sites, and thousands more could be delivered in the coming months. The machines have been installed at a rate of about 100 per week in recent months.

"…Vilsack spokeswoman Jennifer Mullin said the governor is exploring asking the Iowa Lottery to temporarily stop allowing additional TouchPlay games, to permit time for a task force to conduct a study on the machines and the governor's authority to control them.

"…The TouchPlay machines look nearly identical to a casino slot machine. One key difference is that software inside the machine doesn't randomly generate winners like a slot machine. Instead, all winners are predetermined, just as with paper pull-tabs or scratch-off tickets…"