Moratorium Official on Iowa Lottery Machines 

On Monday, the Iowa Lottery was forced to hinder the explosive expansion of its TouchPlay machines as concerns blossom over the appropriateness of the machine’s appearance in local grocery and convenience stores.

There are quite a few lawmakers and citizens that feel the TouchPlay to closely parallel a casino slot machine.  In the state of Iowa, slot machines are only legal within casinos.  The only real distinction between the lottery machine and a slot machine is that the TouchPlay is programmed to pre-decide winners, similar to a scratch-off ticket.  That program difference was enough for state Legislation to initially approve the machines deployment a few years ago. 

Close to 4,600 TouchPlay machines can be found in over 2,500 pubs and retail establishments across Iowa.  Iowa Lottery President Edward Stanek sent down the official mandate forbidding the further licensing of machines ordered after this past weekend. 

The state has allowed machines ordered prior to the moratorium to be installed.  According to Stanek, that number could be in the thousands. 

Stanek, who has openly agreed to cooperate with the wishes of state officials, received a letter from Governor Tom Vilsack, requesting that the moratorium be enacted.  Vilsack's reasons were to address "recent concerns expressed about the proliferation of gambling."

The TouchPlay suspension will span 60 days, giving the governor’s task force enough time to assess multiple issues related to the game.  Issues range from TouchPlay's casino slot machine similarities to safeguards against machine play by gambling addicts, minors, and the intoxicated. 

TouchPlay machines were designed for use in taverns and fraternal lodges, however, since April nearly 4,000 machines have exploded across the state.  The temptation the game may have over youths and recovering gambling addicts has become a serious communal concern. 

Stacey Cargill, chairwoman of One Voice Iowa, believes “there should be a statewide referendum on this issue.”  The anti-gambling One Voice Iowa has been in firm support of the moratorium.  But, there is a large portion of the Iowa public that cannot get enough of the TouchPlay.

Maxine Kelly plays her TouchPlay machine at Perry Bowling Alley.  “They are just fun. Some days you win. Some you don't,” said the 61-year-old Iowa local. 

Treatment specialist Janet Meisenbach, director of Davenport’s Eastern Iowa Center for Problem Gambling foresees the TouchPlay creating serious issues within Iowa families.  With the easy, public access to TouchPlay machines, compulsive gamblers can feed their addiction without directly lying to their family. 

Meisenbach fears, “They can honestly go home and say, ‘Well, I wasn't at the casino.’ What family member would suspect their loved one spent nine hours at a gas station?” Meisenbach says “Compulsive gamblers are very ingenious.”

A group of businesses holding financial stake in TouchPlay games formed the TouchPlay Coalition.  According to Mike Triplett, a gambling lobbyist, groups such as this were against the imposition of the moratorium.  

Triplett says that the TouchPlay product has received almost $100 million dollars in investments from businesses in a public-private partnership with the Iowa Lottery.

Businesses are not the only bodies with reserves in the future of the TouchPlay. In 2005 they produced approximately $30 million in revenue for the Iowa state government.  Projections predict that number will reach $45 million in the unfolding year. 

Triplett says, "Now that the moratorium is there, we are willing to work with the governor and the task force to come up with some common ground on this"

Casinos are concerned about the, until now, slack regulations on the lottery machine.  Senator Bill Dotzler (D), points out the competitive concern future establishments like the currently under construction Isle of Capri gambling boat may have with the TouchPlay.  Dotzler, who represents the district where the gambling boat is to be built, says as long as the TouchPlay remains unrestricted “people can go just about anywhere” to try their luck.

Christopher Rants (R), Iowa House Speaker, says that, in the end, the TouchPlay will be a matter for the Iowa Legislature.  The moratorium will only allot time to the investigation of the issues at hand. 

The Iowa Lottery has of course defended their product.  They have not confirmed any incidents of minors gambling on the TouchPlay and they continue to stress the fact that they only moved forward with the TouchPlay after receiving the approval of state officials.

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