Lawmakers Hear Sales Pitch for “Monitor Games”

Arkansas lawmakers heard a sales pitch yesterday for “monitor games” from lottery contractor Intralot.

Intralot is an international corporation based out of Greece; they supply the Arkansas Lottery with many of its games. “Monitor games” are lottery games much like the electronic gambling you would expect to see in a casino. They typically include bingo, keno, poker, and similar games.

According to Arkansas News Bureau, the presentation for monitor games was made to the lottery’s Legislative Oversight Committee, composed of lawmakers from both houses, on Tuesday. Intralot officials claim Arkansas would be a likely candidate for “bingo” style electronic games, and that the Arkansas Lottery could see an extra $18 million a year.

Here’s the problem: These machines are just one more step in a very long, predictable pattern from the Arkansas Lottery. Every time lottery ticket sales start to sag, the Lottery rolls out some new game or gimmick to keep people buying lottery tickets. We’ve seen it since 2009.

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