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NJ moves to privatize lottery sales, marketingNews Story
Four companies interested in running portions of the New Jersey Lottery attended a mandatory information session in Trenton last Thursday, the first step toward privatization. The state Treasury Department is looking to hand over sales and marketing operations to a private vendor next year. The state would retain ownership of the lottery under the plan, and state employees would continue to manage its operations though those jobs are not guaranteed. New Jersey has the eighth largest state
Sep 11, 2012, 12:24 pm - Lottery News

Hoosier Lottery director offers reassurances on outsourcingNews Story
Indiana won't turn its lottery over to a private company if bidders don't meet the state's high standards, the executive director of the Hoosier Lottery said Friday. The state has been seeking bids on a 10-year contract to run the Hoosier Lottery. Executive Director Karl Browning released a statement Friday, a day after a spokeswoman for Camelot Global Services, which runs the national lottery in Great Britain, told The Indianapolis Star it dropped out because the state's process encourages b
Sep 8, 2012, 8:49 am - Lottery News

Penn. Lottery gets advice from Illinois on privatizationNews Story
State trying to decide if privately operating the lottery is right approach Pennsylvania is currently looking into privatizing its lottery, but one official with the Illinois lottery, the only private system in the nation, is warning the commonwealth to carefully plan how it would choose a company to manage day-to-day operations. Illinois Lottery Superintendent Michael Jones says in the Land of Lincoln, potential overseers had to estimate how much money they'd be able to bring into the lot
Aug 9, 2012, 7:42 am - Lottery News

States up the online anteNews Story
The director of the New York State lottery said a few months ago he had cleared hurdles in his quest to sell lottery tickets over the Internet, but now that plan is stalling. When the U.S. Justice Department in December narrowed its interpretation of the 50-year-old Wire Act, saying it banned only sports betting and not other forms of online gambling, the decision sparked hope in state capitals that lotteries could start selling tickets online and lead a charge into online gambling. But th
Apr 30, 2012, 8:00 am - Lottery News

Some Baptists want Texas Lottery Commission shut downNews Story
As lawmakers look at whether the Texas Lottery Commission is operating effectively, influential Baptists are suggesting the lottery shouldn't merely be tweaked. They want it abolished. Ask the pertinent questions. Has the lottery fulfilled its promise? My answer would be 'no,' said Suzii Paynter, director of the Baptist Christian Life Commission, in an interview Friday. Baptists contend the lottery was sold to Texans 20 years ago as a voluntary, non-regressive way to raise money, but inst
Apr 17, 2012, 7:17 am - Lottery News

Connecticut to audit lottery winners for back taxesNews Story
After successfully targeting deadbeat parents, the state of Connecticut is going after tax evaders' lottery winnings. Beginning Dec. 31, a new law will take effect requiring the Connecticut Lottery Corporation to deduct delinquent taxes, crosschecked with the Department of Revenue Services, from any claim of $5,000 or more. If someone is lucky enough to win a lottery prize and they also owe back taxes, it is reasonable to collect those taxes at that time, co-sponsor Rep. Gerald Fox, D-Sta
Dec 20, 2011, 7:42 am - Lottery News

Washington Gov. proposes privatizing state's lotteryNews Story
Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire on Thursday floated the idea of privatizing the state lottery system as a way to bring in more money for education. I want to be clear: I am not proposing that the lottery expand gambling, Gregoire said at a news conference. Private-sector operation of the lottery would be the lottery that we have today. She wants the Legislature to approve having the lottery solicit proposals from private vendors to run the operation. The idea would be to see if the pri
Dec 16, 2011, 8:49 am - Lottery News

Minnesota Lottery tests Internet salesNews Story
A quiet revolution in gambling is under way in Minnesota. Without a single press release or announcement, the Minnesota State Lottery is nearly a year into an experiment to get more Minnesotans to gamble online through a subscription lottery service. Private online gambling is illegal in Minnesota, and the state's elected leaders have turned back various gambling expansion proposals and online gambling ventures. But in the waning months of Gov. Tim Pawlenty's administration, the Minneso
Nov 28, 2011, 12:23 am - Lottery News

Dropping out of lottery pool costs teacher millionsNews Story
Dave Johnston is kicking himself for pulling out of a lottery pool that's about to cash in a lucky ticket for $30 million. The steam-fitting instructor at Red Deer College in central Alberta, Canada, used to play regularly with plumbing teachers he sat with in the school's lunchroom every day. But he pulled out over a year ago. It's hard to stay in, said Johnston, who added he kept putting in his cash but the pool wasn't winning big. He eventually decided it just wasn't going to happen
Nov 25, 2011, 3:10 am - Lottery News

Tenn. legislators float idea that lower prizes will bring in more moneyNews Story
Task force says 'bad idea' Some Tennessee legislators are eying a reduction in prize payouts for Tennessee lottery players while letting them buy tickets with debit or credit cards. The proposals are among ideas that are being floated as a way to generate more money that can be used for college scholarships. Both were criticized at a meeting last week of the Senate Lottery Stabilization Task Force with a lottery official suggesting that a cut in prizes could be a bad business decision a
Oct 31, 2011, 7:38 pm - Lottery News