Search

NJ Lottery private operator on track to meet budget projectionsNews Story
Turnaround for Northstar after two years of missed targets Increased sales mean New Jersey's lottery contribution to the state budget is on track to meet its target for 2016 after falling short the first two years of a long-term contract with a private operator. The operator of the lottery's sales and marketing, Northstar New Jersey, is budgeted to return $1 billion to the state to help fund programs for education, disabled veterans and senior citizens. Through the first three months of th
Oct 16, 2015, 10:22 am - Lottery News

N.C. Lottery looking for new HQ as revenues growNews Story
Executives of the North Carolina Education Lottery have initiated a search for new office space that's more than double the size of the lottery's headquarters on Yonkers Road in Raleigh. N.C. Lottery spokesman Van Denton explains that since the lottery program was enacted by the General Assembly in 2006, lottery sales have more than doubled to more than $2 billion per year, requiring a need to increase the lottery's administrative staff. The N.C. Education Lottery currently has 160 people on
Sep 18, 2015, 6:56 pm - Lottery News

Ohio Lottery to conduct review of operationsNews Story
Not a move to privatization, officials say State officials say there are no plans to privatize the Ohio Lottery Commission amid a pending top-to-bottom review of its management and a document holding out privatized state lotteries as models of interest. A state request for proposals issued on Aug. 24 seeks a consultant to conduct a comprehensive review of the lottery and recommend ways to contain costs and maximize profits, which largely are routed to public schools. One part of the do
Sep 3, 2015, 7:39 am - Lottery News

Internet sales of Minnesota lottery tickets coming to haltNews Story
Minnesota's lottery is primed to pull the plug on ticket sales over the Internet. In a series of steps beginning Friday, the lottery will stop selling Mega Millions, Hot Lotto, Gopher 5, Powerball and instant-win tickets online. When the instant-win games launched in early 2014, Minnesota became the first state to give the scratch-off franchise a virtual option. But state lawmakers were instantly uncomfortable and passed a law this spring that forced the lottery to stop those sales. The lo
Aug 28, 2015, 8:17 am - Lottery News

Prosecution rests in Hot Lotto trialNews Story
The defense began calling witnesses Thursday morning in the trial against a former lottery vendor employee accused of rigging a Hot Lotto drawing to win a $14.3 million ticket. Eddie Tipton, 52, is being tried on two counts of fraud. Tipton has been accused of purchasing the winning ticket at a Des Moines QuikTrip on Dec. 23, 2010. In his former position as the information security director for the Multi-State Lottery Association, Tipton was barred by Iowa law from buying a lottery ticket.
Jul 16, 2015, 3:35 pm - Lottery News

Private management could be Alabama lottery optionNews Story
If Alabama gets a lottery, private management may at least be an option. But the Republican leader of the Senate said Wednesday he did not want to commit to any particular proposal, being wary of some of the negative experiences of other states with private managers. Having no experience in the lottery field, we're just going to have to look at what other states have done and what's worked best for them, he said. Marsh is sponsoring legislation that would establish a lottery and gambli
May 22, 2015, 7:17 pm - Lottery News

Minnesota paperless, instant-win Lottery games to endNews Story
The Minnesota Lottery's experiment with paperless, instant-play tickets sold over the Internet and other platforms will come to an end as Gov. Mark Dayton decided Thursday against vetoing legislation suspending the games. The Legislature had sent Dayton the bill to stop the virtual games after overwhelming votes in the Senate last week and the House on Thursday. Spokesman Matt Swenson said Dayton would defer to their will rather than veto it, which could have subjected him to a possible overr
May 15, 2015, 8:45 am - Lottery News

Minn. Senate passes bill restricting expansion of State LotteryNews Story
Minnesotans soon may no longer be able to buy lottery tickets at ATMs, gas pumps or online, as the Senate overwhelmingly passed a bill Thursday that would restrict the Minnesota State Lottery's yearslong foray into new gambling platforms. The decisive 56-8 vote was a rebuke to Gov. Mark Dayton, who vetoed a similar measure last year. Bill author Sen. Lyle Koenen, DFL-Clara City, and Republican advocates of the bill framed the issue as one of legislative prerogative, accusing the State Lott
May 9, 2015, 7:30 am - Lottery News

Texas man charged in Iowa lottery case contests extraditionNews Story
A Texas businessman accused of helping a lottery security official to try to claim a rigged $14 million jackpot is out of jail while he fights extradition to Iowa. Robert Rhodes, 46, of Sugar Land, Texas, left a county jail after posting bond April 9, three weeks after his arrest on two counts of fraud, court records show. He's expected to contest his extradition to Iowa during a May 7 hearing and is under electronic monitoring in the meantime. Rhodes is denying charges that he worked with
Apr 20, 2015, 7:33 am - Lottery News

IRS scammed with losing lottery ticketsNews Story
Here's one way to dodge the taxman buy thousands of losing lottery tickets. It's true. Gamblers have concocted a scheme to repurpose the dud ducats to offset their winnings. A winner can go online and get $5,000 worth of losing lottery tickets to cover their $5,000 in gambling winnings. The lottery tickets serve as a sort of security blanket if the auditor comes calling. Ads captured on Craigslist and eBay from Florida to California hawk the tickets so the potential lotto buyer can defraud
Apr 6, 2015, 4:54 pm - Lottery News