House State Affairs Chairman Tom Loertscher, R-Iona, opened this morning’s hearing on his bill, HB 127, saying, “We authorized in the state a state lottery.” That, he said, “brings us to this discussion today.”

Loertscher noted that the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act “said that the tribes could do whatever the states allowed,” and said, “That centers around, of course, the discussion of what the constitution of the state of Idaho says, and that is that it prohibits the use of slot machines. For all of the things that have happened, there was an initiative passed, that basically said that whatever tribal gaming machines there were, they were not slot machines. So that’s what the discussion today is about, whether or not this is in compliance with the constitution of the state of Idaho, and whether or not we ought to continue down the road that we are, or if we ought to make a policy expression about whether we’re going to have slot machines in the state.”

Loertscher said, “Though it’s said that these are not slot machines, they’re being advertised as such.”