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Bob Newhart brings back Papa Elf in new Kentucky Lottery holiday commercialNews Story
Includes video report You may do a double take when you see the latest commercial from the Kentucky Lottery. Yup. Legendary actor Bob Newhart dusted off his Papa Elf costume from his turn in the Christmas blockbuster movie Elf to work with the Kentucky Lottery promoting its Holiday Gift Series Scratch-Off campaign. The 88-year-old actor's popularity spans multiple generations thanks to his television work on Newhart and The Bob Newhart Show, which aired in the 1970s and '80s. He was int
Nov 29, 2017, 7:10 pm - Lottery News

Lotto America multi-state lottery game tickets on sale SundayNews Story
New game replaces canceled Hot Lotto By Todd Northrop What's old is new again. Ripping a page from the 1980s, the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) is starting a new game on Sunday called Lotto America the original name of what is now known as Powerball. The throwback name is probably a good idea, since the new game has the difficult task of helping people forget the tumultuous ending to Hot Lotto, the game it replaces. Fortunately for lottery players, not only does the new g
Nov 10, 2017, 10:15 am - Lottery News

Mississippi panel studying other state lotteriesNews Story
A special House panel has been looking at other states' experience with lotteries as it works on a study requested by House Speaker Philip Gunn, who opposes a lottery for Mississippi but says he wants the issue thoroughly vetted. Members of the House Lottery Study Working Group comprised of lawmakers, state gaming and other officials held their second of three meetings at the Capitol on Tuesday. The first meeting in May was described as lottery 101, on the history of, laws and facts about lot
Sep 6, 2017, 8:10 am - Lottery News

State lotteries losing revenue to 'jackpot fatigue' and casinosNews Story
The biggest loser in the lottery game? Increasingly, it's the states that rely on lottery revenue, as fewer people are buying tickets of chance. In 22 of the 44 states with lotteries, revenue declined between 2014 and 2015, the most recent year for comprehensive data, the Pew Charitable Trusts reported Thursday. Twenty-one states experienced declines from 2013 to 2014. In 2016, lottery revenue fell 3.3% in Missouri, more recent data shows, while it fell 3.2% in Rhode Island and 2.6% in Wes
Jul 14, 2017, 11:02 am - Lottery News

Illinois lost $4 million by halting Powerball, Mega Millions salesNews Story
llinois lost nearly $4 million by shutting down Powerball and Mega Millions ticket sales because of the state budget impasse, a lottery official said Friday. Lottery chief of staff Jayme Odom said the state lost about $2.4 million in revenue from Powerball and $1.5 million from Mega Millions during the ticket-sales hiatus. She said it's unclear whether sales have recovered since they were reintroduced Thursday night. Late last month, the lottery announced it would halt sales of Powerball a
Jul 10, 2017, 8:40 am - Lottery News

Network of dummy online stores used to hide internet gambling paymentsNews Story
A network of dummy online stores offering household goods has been used as a front for internet gambling payments, according to a recent investigation. The seven sites, operated out of Europe, purport to sell items including fabric, DVD cases, maps, gift wrap, mechanical tape, pin badges and flags. In fact, they are fake outlets, part of a multinational system to disguise payments for the $40 billion global online gambling industry, which is illegal in many countries and some U.S. states.
Jun 26, 2017, 6:55 am - Lottery News

Mississippi lottery panel visits neighboring states to garner informationNews Story
Trips to neighboring states to observe their lottery operations have shed light on the types of decisions that must be made should Mississippi opt to enact a lottery, two Northeast Mississippi legislators recently said. Reps. Mac Huddleston, R-Pontotoc, and Nick Bain, D-Corinth, made trips to Little Rock last week as members of a task force created by House Speaker Philip Gunn, R-Clinton, to study the issues surrounding the lottery. Other members of the committee made a similar trip to Baton
Jun 25, 2017, 9:55 am - Lottery News

Critic calls a Mississippi lottery 'new tax' and 'false hope'News Story
Slams his aunt for sending lottery tickets for birthday gifts rather than cash The following is a column written by Jameson Taylor, the vice president for policy at the Mississippi Center for Public Policy. It is presented here as an example of how lottery opponents feel they should be able to decide how you live your life, the type of entertainment you should be allowed to enjoy, and how you should spend your money. Every year my aunt sends me $5 worth of lottery tickets for my birth
May 21, 2017, 12:19 pm - Lottery News

Are lawmakers selling the Texas Lottery short?News Story
Scratch-off lottery tickets are big business in Texas. They raise billions for state coffers and are so popular that as many as 95 new scratch-off games are introduced here each year, making up a sizable chunk of overall Texas Lottery sales, officials say. But lottery officials are worried they will have to cut back on the variety of scratch-offs offered and on the advertising that promotes the games now that Texas budget writers are considering cutting as much as $18 million from the agen
Apr 13, 2017, 8:39 am - Lottery News

State audit questions Georgia Lottery business practices despite record profits to educationNews Story
Georgia sells more lottery tickets per capita than all but one other state lottery, according to a state audit of the Georgia Lottery Corporation, the quasi-governmental agency that runs it. But a steadily declining portion of lottery revenues flow back to the education programs the lottery is required by law to fund, and the corporation that runs the lottery needs to reform its business practices, according to auditors in the Performance Audit Division of the Georgia Department of Audits and
Jan 2, 2017, 5:31 pm - Lottery News