Step 1 : Introduction to the question "What do Alaska, Mississippi, Utah and Hawaii have in common?"
...Over the years, the states of the U.S. have adopted various and diverse methods of generating funds to cover their operating costs. One of the more popular ways of generating cash is participation in a state lottery or national pool lottery. Out of the 50 U.S. states, 44 participate in lotteries. The states choosing not to take part in lotteries as a way of generating funding for state government include Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Mississippi, Utah and Wyoming. Source: GamblingSites.com