Speaking of having money to burn, state lottery boss Norm Lingle told the Lottery Commission last Thursday that South Dakotans are paying more voluntary taxes via video lottery and Powerball:
Lottery director Norm Lingle said Thursday that video lottery will generate about $169.5 million for state government’s general fund during the 2026 fiscal year, which ends June 30.
That’s a 2.8% increase from 2025, according to Lingle.
It would be a record amount.
…He said jackpot draw games sales climbed to $35 million, up 35.2%, and provide state government with about $9.5 million in net proceeds. He said sales were helped by two $1 billion jackpots.
“The jackpot gods were with us,” Lingle said [Bob Mercer, “Video Lottery Produces More Than Ever for State Treasury,” KELO-TV, 2026.06.12].
South Dakotans aren’t itching to scratch lottery tickets quite as much. Lingle expects FY2026 instant tickets to yield $46.6 million for the state, down 1.72% compared to FY2025.
According to WalletHub, gambling is a leading source of anguish and despair in South Dakota with a high suicide rate and few avenues for treatment. The state is tied for first in the number of casinos and machines and second in overall addiction to the poison. The reasoning is hardly mysterious. It’s all about the money video lootery, a too big to jail banking racket, a medical industry triopoly, prostitution, the Sturgis Rally, policing for profit, sex trafficking, hunting and subsidized grazing bring to the SDGOP destroying lives, depleting watersheds and smothering habitat under single-party rule.
Its like drinking, a couple of tickets a week. Somebody’s got to win.