North Dakota lottery proponent Andrew Maragos said his heart wrenches every time a dollar is spent across the border on Powerball tickets.
But the Minot representative is hopeful because North Dakotans will soon benefit from lottery proceeds.
Chuck Keller, interim North Dakota lottery director, said the state lottery will be launched during the first quarter of next year.
"I know there's a lot of pent-up demand by the public for it," Keller said Wednesday. "I believe we are on track, but the public needs to understand that it is a very time-consuming process, especially since we are developing something from scratch."
North Dakota was accepted into the Powerball lottery group in late April. Twenty-four states sell Powerball tickets, including Minnesota, South Dakota and Montana.
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The Powerball jackpot was estimated at $250 million Wednesday, the fourth-largest jackpot ever.
Until North Dakota's lottery is available, the state is losing resources because citizens have to cross the border to purchase tickets, Maragos said.
Several top-selling Minnesota retailers for Powerball tickets border North Dakota, including No. 1 ranked M&H of Moorhead.
Joe Mahoney, a spokesman for the Multi-State Lottery Association, said on average a state receives 35 cents for every dollar spent on Powerball tickets.
In Minnesota during fiscal year 2002, 21.6 cents of every dollar went to the state, said the Minnesota State Lottery.
"We could do some wonderful things with that money," Maragos said.
North Dakota's lottery will feature technology such as an online gaming system and an Amber Alert system with each terminal. The state is also looking into sharing a lottery system with another state."We are breaking new ground in some of the concepts we are proposing," Keller said.
Today Keller and other North Dakota lottery officials will meet with representatives from the Multi-State Lottery Association. They will discuss computer requirements, game security standards and other issues.
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Four primary lottery vendors have expressed interest in the North Dakota lottery. By early August, a request for proposals will be issued, Keller said.
Public hearings are planned in August, including one Aug. 14 in Fargo, to discuss proposed rules for the lottery.
Proposed rules and a timeline are posted on the North Dakota Attorney General's Web site at www.ag.state.nd.us .
Readers can reach Forum reporter Amy Dalrymple at (701) 241-5590
