LAS VEGAS (FOX5) -
It is against the Nevada constitution to have a lottery.
While lawmakers in Carson City might propose studies and back a push to change that, it is the voters who have to make the move.
To do that, they'll have to take on the biggest political animal in the state - the gaming industry.
Every time the Powerball or Mega Millions jackpot gets big, the lines in nearby California and Arizona back up with mostly Nevadans looking to get in on the action.
The majority of the public wants a lottery, as do high-profile politicians like Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman.
"I have been pushing for a lottery in this state," Goodman said. "I hear it wherever I go, why don't we have a lottery?"
To do that the constitution has to change, and it's not easy.
"There would have to be enough signatures to qualify it to get it on the ballot," said FOX 5 Political Analyst Dan Hart. "It would have to be on a ballot in a statewide election, so it wouldn't be next year, it would be the year after. And then it would have to pass again. A constitutional amendment has to be passed twice in statewide elections. So we're talking about a four or five-year process."
Then there's the issue of opposition, mainly from the gaming industry, who fears lottery sales would cut into their bottom line.
"The problem with the lottery is the gaming community has been on record to opposed to it or certainly having a lot of concerns about it and whether it interferes with their businesses," Hart said.
The mayor sees a way around that.
"I would say put the lottery tickets for sale in the licensed gaming establishments," Hart said.
But it's not a gamble casinos are likely to make.
Proponents of the lottery system say our schools need the help.
While the education system will certainly take anything it can get, in reality, studies show a lottery would bring in anywhere from $40-60 million dollars a year in education funding.
But compare that with a K-12 and higher education budgets of around $2 billion combined and it's a drop in the bucket.
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