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Minnesota woman made $117,000 from illegal lottery she claimed benefitted charityNews Story
Lottery organizer tried to disguise raffles after law enforcement told her to stop all operations By Kate Northrop A Minnesota woman has allegedly raked in at least $117,000 by operating an illegal lottery on Facebook and tried to disguise further attempts to run it after authorities gave her a hard warning. Kathryn Jean Deblack, 39, of Hibbing, has been issued multiple charges after she ran an illegal lottery that brought in more than $117,000 over the course of ten months. She
Sep 18, 2023, 2:24 pm - Lottery News

Former Ohio Lottery Director denies claims of harassment days before resigning for "medical reasons"News Story
Report finds that Pat McDonald engaged in inappropriate conduct in the workplace By Kate Northrop Former Ohio Lottery Commissioner Pat McDonald retired from his role due to medical reasons one day after denying allegations of unwanted behavior toward other commission employees. A new report documenting alleged harassment toward lottery employees has surfaced weeks after the former member of the Ohio Lottery Commission resigned due to undisclosed medical reasons. On April 12, McDo
May 6, 2023, 6:25 pm - Lottery News

Americans gamble over half a trillion dollars illegally each year, AGA Report saysNews Story
Illegal operators capture a third of all gambling revenue, according to study By Kate Northrop According to a report published by the American Gaming Association (AGA), Americans gamble an estimated $511 billion every year through unregulated sportsbooks and websites. Last week, AGA released a report on money spent in the unregulated sports betting and gaming market, which found that Americans spend more than half a trillion dollars on illegal gambling each year. The findings are
Dec 5, 2022, 2:22 pm - Lottery News

Alabama Supreme Court finds that casinos are operating illegallyNews Story
State will shut down casinos in question By Kate Northrop The Alabama Supreme Court on Friday ruled that several casinos in the state are to be shut down after they were found to be in violation of Alabama's gambling laws. Court case State v. Epic Tech, LLC came to a close with the Alabama Supreme Court's decision that casinos are operating illegally in the state. The Alabama Supreme Court found itself in agreement with the Attorney General's assertion that the Southern Star, Whi
Oct 4, 2022, 5:59 pm - Lottery News

Audit of frequent Pennsylvania Lottery winners draws concernNews Story
Lottery pushes back against stricter auditing processes for potential fraud By Kate Northrop The Pennsylvania Lottery is butting heads with Pennsylvania Auditor General Tim DeFoor on whether stronger controls are needed to monitor frequent lottery winners. An audit conducted on Pennsylvania Lottery winners of prizes between July 1, 2017 through Jan. 26, 2021 revealed that the Lottery gathers data on players who claim prizes of $600 and above solely for tax-related purposes but does
Nov 20, 2021, 7:28 pm - Lottery News

Twelve individuals and three stores indicted in Massachusetts lottery schemeNews Story
Another fraud ring is caught By Kate Northrop On Tuesday, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey announced that twelve individuals and three stores in the state were indicted in connection with an ongoing scheme to launder lottery winnings and thus avoid paying taxes. The Massachusetts State Lottery Commission (MSLC), in conjunction with State Police, discovered that twelve individuals conspired to evade taxes in a calculated scheme to defraud the state of taxes on lottery winnings
Oct 28, 2021, 12:42 pm - Lottery News

NJ man admits running illegal "Pick 6" lottery, evades $65,000 in taxesNews Story
Illegal gambling business took in $250,000 By Kate Northrop A man from Ocean County, New Jersey pleaded guilty to operating an illegal lottery on Tuesday after having drawn in $250,000 in cash proceeds from the scheme. Edward O'Neill, 54, of Beachwood appeared before U.S. District Judge Brian R. Martinotti via videoconference and pleaded guilty to charges against him, including one count of managing an illegal gambling business and one count of subscribing to a false tax return. Acco
Apr 22, 2021, 2:55 pm - Lottery News

New Hampshire wins appeal; Wire Act does not apply to lotteriesNews Story
By Kate Northrop The New Hampshire Lottery has prevailed against the US Department of Justice when a federal court ruled Wednesday that the Wire Act does not apply to lotteries, cementing the legality of participating in the state lottery over the Internet. In August of 2019, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) filed a notice of appeal following the decision by the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire to find in favor of the New Hampshire Lottery in the long-awaite
Jan 24, 2021, 9:16 am - Lottery News

Lottery industry facing new threat in 'skill' gamesNews Story
State lotteries are grappling with the rapid spread of unregulated skill gaming machines, which are found in convenience stores, bars, restaurants and taverns across the country. While these machines have existed for some time, their manufacturers and operators have become increasingly aggressive in their roll out strategy, placing these machines in the front of stores and even replacing lottery self-service terminals with them. Individual lotteries predict these machines could reduce their r
Feb 19, 2020, 9:34 am - Lottery News

State auditor general to audit Pennsylvania Lottery, with special focus on high-frequency winnersNews Story
State Auditor General Eugene DePasquale announced a new performance audit of the Pennsylvania Lottery Wednesday, with a special emphasis on studying the state-run gaming franchise's protections against being ripped off by players or retailers who are intentionally gaming the system. Last fiscal year, Pennsylvania Lottery players bought $4.5 billion in game tickets and claimed more than $2.9 billion in prizes, DePasquale said in announcing the new review at the state Capitol. Seniors, lottery
Dec 4, 2019, 3:32 pm - Lottery News