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Illinois lottery players may lose Powerball and Mega Millions at the end of JuneNews Story
Legislation's refusal to deliver balanced budget threatens to cut off popular multi-state games The association that runs the popular Powerball lottery and Mega Millions games will drop Illinois at the end of June without a budget agreement. Concern over the state of Illinois' fiscal condition prompted that decision by the Multi-State Lottery Association, according to internal Illinois Lottery communications. Illinois Lottery spokesman Jason Schaumburg on Thursday morning confirmed that
Jun 15, 2017, 3:52 pm - Lottery News

Oklahoma governor approves increased lottery payoutsNews Story
Gov. Mary Fallin signed legislation Tuesday that could lead to higher Oklahoma Lottery prize amounts and higher revenue to education. Lottery officials believe the law will spur more purchases of instant-win scratcher tickets, which in turn will boost funding for public schools, CareerTech institutions, colleges and universities. House Bill 1837 doesn't affect the multi-state lottery games like Powerball, but people who buy scratch-off tickets should see a change in July. The Oklahoma L
May 3, 2017, 3:34 pm - Lottery News

Vermont paying $8,000 per month on unused lottery machinesNews Story
Since last June, 25 lottery machines leased by the state of Vermont have gathered cobwebs in storage unplugged and unused at a cost of $8,000 a month. That means the state has paid $72,000 in fees for nothing. And the tab is still mounting. Neither the governor nor legislators were happy to hear about the losing proposition. I don't like that we're wasting money and having these machines sit idly, Gov. Phil Scott said Tuesday. His staff learned about the situation in February while workin
Apr 27, 2017, 2:37 pm - Lottery News

Pennsylvania eyes leap to internet for casinos, lotteryNews Story
Facing huge deficits, Pennsylvania could become the first state to allow both its casinos and lottery to take its games online in a quest for money from new and younger players. The state government has a slew of fiscal challenges, made worse by sluggish tax collections and one of the nation's oldest average populations. A Republican-controlled Legislature trying to avoid a broad tax increase under Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf has instead turned over other rocks in search of alternatives. Ther
Apr 24, 2017, 9:15 am - Lottery News

Arkansas lottery players now can buy tickets with debit cardsNews Story
Starting this summer, retailers selling tickets for the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery will be authorized to accept payment by debit cards, thanks to a new law that zipped through the Legislature in 23 days with little fanfare. Since the lottery started selling tickets on Sept. 28, 2009, the law allowed only cash to be used in transactions. Now Arkansas will join most other state lotteries by allowing debit-card use. Senate Bill 617 sponsored by Sen. Trent Garner, R-El Dorado is now Act 876
Apr 17, 2017, 11:26 am - Lottery News

Massachusetts Lottery battling to stay viable against online gamblingNews Story
As a Massachusetts commission looking into online gaming and online gambling presses ahead in its study of ways to regulate and possibly make money from the developing industries, the state's lottery is concerned that it could be left behind. The Lottery is seeking authority from the Legislature to offer its current products scratch tickets, draw games, Keno and more to customers over the Internet, arguing that its survival and the hundreds of millions of dollars it returns as local aid are o
Mar 29, 2017, 10:09 am - Lottery News

Lottery-winner secrecy bill dies in Idaho SenateNews Story
An Idaho Senate panel has killed legislation that would have allowed lottery winners to hide their identities. The Senate State Affairs Committee on Wednesday voted 8-1 to halt the measure that would have kept the names of individuals who win $600 or more secret. While the bill would have allowed winners to give written authorization to the lottery to publicize their names, the proposal also prevented those names from being released under public records requests for six months after the pr
Mar 1, 2017, 7:27 pm - Lottery News

Tennessee bill advances to remove lottery winners from government assistanceNews Story
The Tennessee House on Monday passed a bill despite opposition from Democrats that, if it becomes law, would require the names of lottery winners to be cross checked with federal and state government assistance programs. Sponsored by Rep. Dan Howell, R-Georgetown, passed by a 73-21 near party-line vote on Monday night. The bill would make any lottery winner of prizes more than $5,000 ineligible for government assistance. Howell said federal law, which has a lower prize threshold, requires
Feb 28, 2017, 3:52 pm - Lottery News

New Mexico House committee endorses changes in lottery operationsNews Story
Financial bonuses for state lottery officials and contractors would be tied to increases in scholarship money available to New Mexico college students under a bill that got unanimous bipartisan approval from a House committee Monday. House Bill 250, sponsored by Rep. Jason Harper, R-Rio Rancho, also would require the state lottery to transfer money from unclaimed cash prizes usually $2 million to $4 million a year to the lottery scholarships fund. In addition, the bill would halt a pilot p
Feb 28, 2017, 3:40 pm - Lottery News

Idaho Lottery-winner secrecy bill headed to House floorNews Story
A proposal to provide more confidentiality for lottery winners got pushback Wednesday from the Idaho State Lottery Commission, but was ultimately approved by a legislative panel. This idea came to me from one of my constituents: an elderly lady who was a lottery winner but was quickly harassed by phone calls and people showing up at her door, trying to separate her from her winnings, said Rep. Lynn Luker (R-Boise). If we approve this, Idaho would join six other states that offer some form of
Feb 15, 2017, 6:29 pm - Lottery News