Utah - Will the Strict Gambling Ban Ever End?
If Utah Rep. Kira Birkeland had gotten her way, Utah residents would have been asked in November 2026 if they were willing to authorize state elected officials to introduce the type of lottery that has existed for generations in most U.S. states.
But the bill, introduced in the Utah statehouse in 2024, never gained traction. And with the 2026 legislative session having ended for the year in early March, it's clear that it will be years before Utahns will be able to enter a convenience store and add a lottery ticket purchase along with their cup of coffee and snack.
Utah doesn't allow for any form of gambling - no casinos, no horse racing tracks, and no sports betting anywhere within state lines.
It seems as if the first step toward change - if it ever is to come - would be via the lottery, the least controversial form of gambling.
Birkeland asserted upon introduction of her bill that Utahns already spend $200 million or more annually to buy lottery tickets in neighboring states. So, she suggested, why not reap the tax rewards from letting those residents "stay home?"
That point of view about all sorts of gambling has worked across the nation for decades, after all.
Birkeland even offered a compromise in hopes of persuading some fellow lawmakers to join her efforts. She only sought approval for lottery sales in the counties that border Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, and Wyoming.
Reaction from legislators at the time were blunt.
"I’d probably bet quite a bit of money in Vegas it wouldn’t pass," Senate Majority Leader Evan Vickers, R-Cedar City correctly predicted.
Mormon resistance is not the only factor in gambling opposition
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - whose members often are described as Mormons - historically has held sway against any efforts to add gambling in the state.
Nearly 50% of the state's residents describe themselves as members, including a majority of state lawmakers.
That is the predominant reason for the gambling ban - but there is another, perhaps a little bit underrated one.
Roughly 1.2 million Utahns live in Salt Lake County - about one-third of the entire state population. Utah, Davis, and Weber counties combined are home to slightly more than that many people.
The significance is that each of those four counties - which all are in northern Utah - are not close to the border of another state, nor a city in another state with a large population.
That means that more than two-thirds of state residents can't just travel a few miles away and then partake in the forms of gambling that are banned in Utah. In most of the U.S., the largest cities tend to be near another state line.
The result is that a state legislature that bans a particular form of gambling is vulnerable to losing much more annual tax revenue than Utah does from not having a lottery.
So while Birkeland's bill to limit the number of counties allowed to sell lottery tickets was creative, it wasn't nearly enough to overcome the political power of the Church – particularly since, to use a gambling term, the stakes just aren't very high.
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What other states don’t have a lottery?
The other states as of 2026 that do not have a lottery are Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, and Nevada.
Alabama's ban is similar to Utah's in that the state religious and conservative culture sees gambling as immoral, while Nevada's casinos already bring in a massive amount of annual tax revenue from national and international tourism.
The tiny number of residents per square mile in Alaska and its rich oil reserves have combined to make a lottery seem unnecessary. Hawaii, like Utah, bans all forms of gambling, and - like Nevada - it is highly protective of its lucrative tourism industry.
Finally, Alaska and Hawaii are the lone U.S. states with no "neighbors" - meaning that residents across each state have no way to gamble away easily their money in another state.
The 45th state to introduce a lottery was Mississippi in 2019. At this point, it’s anyone’s guess as to which of the “holdouts” finally become state No. 46.
