Vermont ranks forty-sixth in gambling revenues among the forty-seven states that have some form of legalized gambling. Only Alaska has less gambling. Vermont created a state lottery in 1978. Of the thirty-eight lottery jurisdictions in the United States (thirty-seven states plus the District of Columbia), only Montana sells fewer tickets. Although Vermont is a very small state, it has not joined the Powerball multistate lottery that was designed so that small states could generate sales through offering large jackpot prizes. Previously, the state joined with New Hampshire and Maine in the Tri-State lotto game.
Although horse-race betting is permitted at Vermont tracks, there were no such tracks as the state entered the twenty-first century. There is a short dog-racing season at the Green Mountain racetrack.
The closest the state has come to considering casino gambling has been the effort of the Abeniki Native Americans to have lands in the state declared to be reservation lands. It is assumed that if they ever get federal recognition, they will seek also to gain a compact for gambling.
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