Minnesota Lottery suspended during government shutdown

Jul 2, 2011, 9:51 pm (52 comments)

Minnesota Lottery

By Todd Northrop

The budget impasse in the Minnesota state capital is having a widespread effect across the state — including at the state lottery.

Many state services, including the Minnesota state lottery, ceased operations Friday.

The Lottery closed all its offices 5 p.m. Thursday, and no lottery tickets were available for sale after 11:59 p.m.  During the shutdown, lottery tickets cannot be validated or paid out.

Players currently holding winning tickets should sign them immediately and place them in a safe location until they can be redeemed after lottery operations resume.

No second-chance drawings will be held during the shutdown and players will not be able to enter non-winning tickets.  Players should hold on to non-winning tickets and enter them after operations resume.

Starting Thursday evening, the Minnesota Lottery's Web site displayed the following information to visitors:

DUE TO THE CURRENT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN, THE MINNESOTA STATE LOTTERY IS CLOSED AND THIS WEBSITE IS NOT BEING MAINTAINED.

No Lottery tickets may be sold or winning tickets redeemed until further notice.

Please sign any winning tickets and retain in a secure location.

We have tried to provide Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s) about the shutdown and you may link to those questions here.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Once the state budget crisis is resolved and lottery operations resume, players will again be able to redeem winning tickets and purchase lottery tickets from state lottery retailers.

Lottery Post Staff

Comments

JADELottery's avatarJADELottery

No drawings, too?

Hmm, I bought multiple draw tickets, do I get my money back if they have no drawings as well?

TRUEBELIEVER's avatarTRUEBELIEVER

 When you shut down the lottery you know things are bad  i never heard of lottery shutting down.

time*treat's avatartime*treat

Wouldn't it have made sense to leave OPEN those offices that BRING IN revenue? Roll Eyes

myturn's avatarmyturn

This is incredibly stupid! Whatever one may think of the state government, the lottery is generating revenue for the state and should continue, regardless of what else is happening in the state. I am against privatizing state lotteries, however, if it prevents lunacy like this, maybe it is the way to go.

 

People should respond my playing out of that lotteries and let their elected officials know. If you can't travel, you can play the Massachusetts lottery by phone, and you don't need to reside in that state. They will send you a subscription confirmation by UPS.

CashWinner$

Thankfully, we live close enough to the state line, that we could hop-over & still get our tickets....Whew -

Hope our government gets their act together soon though! We need our lotto-fix!! Smash

haymaker's avatarhaymaker

Quote: Originally posted by JADELottery on Jul 2, 2011

No drawings, too?

Hmm, I bought multiple draw tickets, do I get my money back if they have no drawings as well?

this happened in jersey 2 years ago you're $ should be OK.

haymaker's avatarhaymaker

Quote: Originally posted by time*treat on Jul 2, 2011

Wouldn't it have made sense to leave OPEN those offices that BRING IN revenue? Roll Eyes

this happend in jersey 2 years ago,POLITICS.thats all.

rdgrnr's avatarrdgrnr

I've seen it on the news.

Dem Governor won't agree to cut spending, insists on more spending and raising taxes to cover it.

Just the thing that got them into this mess.

But you have to wonder about people who would elect Stuart Smalley to the Senate anyway. (Anybody have that picture of him in the diapers with the baby bottle?)  That picture should be their state symbol, lol.

Dollar419's avatarDollar419

Quote: Originally posted by myturn on Jul 2, 2011

This is incredibly stupid! Whatever one may think of the state government, the lottery is generating revenue for the state and should continue, regardless of what else is happening in the state. I am against privatizing state lotteries, however, if it prevents lunacy like this, maybe it is the way to go.

 

People should respond my playing out of that lotteries and let their elected officials know. If you can't travel, you can play the Massachusetts lottery by phone, and you don't need to reside in that state. They will send you a subscription confirmation by UPS.

I totally agree with you, if the lotteries run by private companies, they could not shut down the lottery because they cannot balance the budget, and therefore the revenues would continue to come in.  This is very bad decision and I feel sorry for all of the lottery players in the State of MinnesotaUnhappy 

HANG IN THERE!!

Dollar419's avatarDollar419

Quote: Originally posted by JADELottery on Jul 2, 2011

No drawings, too?

Hmm, I bought multiple draw tickets, do I get my money back if they have no drawings as well?

I hope you did get your money back.  Hang in there!!

JADELottery's avatarJADELottery

From MN Lottery FAQ

 

Shutdown FAQ

Now that the Lottery is closed, what will happen?

Like many other state agencies, the Lottery will close on July 1st since a budget agreement was not finalized.  You will not be able to purchase Lottery tickets or redeem winning tickets during the shutdown period.  Lottery terminals at retailer locations will not allow those transactions. Winning tickets under $600 can still be cashed at Lottery retailers until 11:59 on June 30th.

• When will I know when the Lottery is back in business?

The Lottery will do its best to begin selling and redeeming tickets as quickly as possible once a budget agreement is finalized and all state agencies are allowed to reopen at full capacity.  For the latest general information on the state government shutdown, please visit BeReadyMN.com.  The Lottery’s website will announce when we can begin selling tickets again.  Additionally, when you see jackpot amounts on the jackpot billboards, or watch our daily drawing show, or if there's no shutdown signage at your favorite Lottery retailer, we’re likely up and running again!

• What about the game drawings?  What happens now?

The multi-state jackpot drawings for Powerball, Mega Millions and Hot Lotto will continue as always on each game’s regularly-scheduled drawing day.  But you will not be able to purchase tickets for these games in Minnesota during the shutdown period. If you purchased tickets in advance for these games, your tickets are still valid. You can call our player hotline at 651-634-1111 or go to www.powerball.com for winning numbers, but you will have to wait until after the shutdown to redeem any winning tickets.  We will also be conducting the Gopher 5, Northstar Cash and Daily 3 drawings for players who purchased multi-draw tickets with drawing dates of July 1st or later.  You can also call the Winning Numbers Hotline at 651-634-1111 for the winning numbers for these games. 

• Since the Lottery is closed, why will the Lottery still be holding drawings for the Minnesota-only games?

We believe that we have a commitment to players who have already purchased multi-draw tickets with drawing dates in July.  Also, continuing to hold these drawings will allow the Lottery’s computer system to operate properly so that we will be able to resume normal business when the shutdown is over.

• Because I have a winning ticket and the Lottery is closed, what should I do?

Please sign the back of your ticket immediately and place it in a secure location.  Once the Lottery is fully operational the ticket can be cashed.  Tickets under $600 can be cashed at any Lottery retailer or by mail.  Winning tickets worth $600 - $30,000 can be redeemed at any Lottery office or by mail.  Winning tickets above $30,000 must be claimed in person at Lottery headquarters in Roseville. 

• Can I still enter my non-winning ticket into a contest for the chance to win a prize through the LuckyMN Players Club?

No, tickets cannot be entered for any contest drawings during the shutdown period because our computer system will be unavailable.  Any valid contest entries submitted previously have been saved.  Please retain any tickets you have not yet entered.  When the shutdown ends, players will be given extra time to submit appropriate ticket entries into all current contests.  All prizes for every contest will be awarded and any new drawing dates will be posted when the Lottery reopens.  Additional details about these second-chance drawings and contests will be posted on the contest pages after the shutdown.

• Why can’t retailers sell tickets, at least scratch tickets, during the shutdown?

The shutdown means all but the most critical Lottery computer operations will have to cease.  The closure means that all Lottery terminals at all retailer locations must be disabled, so retailers will not be able to sell or redeem any tickets, including scratch tickets. 

• I bought tickets through your subscription service.  What do I do now?

All subscriptions purchased prior to July 1st will be honored and all wagers will be placed for the appropriate drawings.  Any winnings will be placed in your wallet.  You will be able to access your account and view activity; however, no account updates or additional purchases may be made.  After the Lottery resumes normal business, you will be able make additional transactions.

JADELottery's avatarJADELottery

Here's what is going to suck for MN if the Mega Millions or Powerball get to very larger Jackpots.

I WILL GO TO WISCONSIN to get my TIX!!!

redhot7's avatarredhot7

What happens to those who receive annuity payment from the lottery?

JADELottery's avatarJADELottery

Quote: Originally posted by redhot7 on Jul 3, 2011

What happens to those who receive annuity payment from the lottery?

Oo..oo.

I'd be pizzed.

Subscribe to this news story