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Arkansas Lottery forecasts $5M drop in scholarship moneyNews Story
Arkansas' lottery is on track to bring in roughly $5 million less for scholarships than last year, the games' interim director said Tuesday, as lawmakers prepare to consider whether to reduce the amounts of the scholarships next year. Interim Lottery Director Julie Baldridge told the lottery's legislative oversight committee that the lottery is on track to raise $89 million for college scholarships for the fiscal year that began July 1. That's a drop from the $94.2 million the games raised in
Dec 7, 2011, 3:02 pm - 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

Tennessee Lottery raking in record profitsNews Story
As annual sales approach $1.2 billion, players probably will see even more games Despite the recession, one Tennessee financial institution is having a banner year. The Tennessee Education Lottery is raking in record profits selling nearly $1.2 billion in scratch-off tickets, nightly drawings, and multi-state mega-jackpot games in its latest fiscal year. While 17 other states' lotteries also hit all-time highs, the 7-year-old Tennessee lottery is growing faster than most, outpacing nati
Oct 9, 2011, 2:58 pm - Lottery News

Hoosier Lottery admits new office too lavishNews Story
Includes video report Less than a week after an Indiana TV station broke the story that the Hoosier Lottery overpaid for new offices, lottery officials are making some changes. In a news conference Wednesday lottery officials admitted mistakes were made. The Hoosier Lottery admits it did not follow state rules when it moved into a new multi-million dollar headquarters on Meridian Street. The WTHR segment called 13 Investigates first exposed the lottery's fancy new offices and that inves
Oct 6, 2011, 6:56 am - Lottery News

New travel questions crop up in Ark. Lottery director's final days in officeNews Story
Outgoing Arkansas Lottery Director Ernie Passailaigue gave his last scheduled report to state lawmakers today, as the lottery's internal auditor said new questions have arisen about Passailaigue's travel reimbursements. Michael Hyde told the legislative committee that oversees the lottery today that he has referred to the Division of Legislative Audit a few things that came up. It was of a nature that I felt like it needed to be investigated, he said. Hyde mentioned the matter in answ
Oct 3, 2011, 1:24 am - Lottery News

Tenn. lawmakers float ideas to improve lottery revenuesNews Story
Tennessee state Senate minority leader is calling on fellow lawmakers to find ways to increase lottery revenues instead of cutting back on the scholarship program, while Gov. Bill Haslam has assigned his staff to consider a broad range of options for stabilizing the game's finances. Jim Kyle, D-Memphis, said in a letter released Wednesday that while the Tennessee Higher Education Commission estimates that the lottery will deplete its sizable reserves by 2024, it also says annual losses could
Sep 29, 2011, 9:36 am - Lottery News

Panel eyes less pay for next Ark. lottery chiefNews Story
The Arkansas Lottery Commission hasn't begun its search for a replacement for outgoing Director Ernie Passailaigue, but the commission's chairman and a key legislative leader said Tuesday that whoever gets the job shouldn't expect the same paycheck. A day after Passailaigue resigned, the lottery commission's chairwoman and the co-chairman of the lottery's oversight committee said they didn't expect the next director to enjoy the same high salary. Passailaigue's $324,000 annual pay, along with
Sep 20, 2011, 8:40 pm - Lottery News

Lottery ticket sales increase across countryNews Story
Financial records for 41 state lotteries that end their fiscal year in June show 28 had higher sales than the year before. Seventeen of those states set all-time sales records. Kate Sweeny, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of California-Riverside, said an uptick in lottery sales largely occurs when people feel a lack of control over events larger than themselves, such as the economy. Jeff Anderson, head of the executive committee of the North American Association of S
Sep 6, 2011, 9:05 am - Lottery News

Nebraska Lottery records best year everNews Story
Total sales of Nebraska Lottery Scratch and Lotto tickets increased in the Lottery's most-recent fiscal year, resulting in increased transfers to Nebraska Lottery beneficiary funds and returns to players. Preliminary sales figures released by the Lottery show total sales at $131.7 million for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2011, an increase of 1.3 percent over the previous year. This is the highest revenue period since the Nebraska Lottery began in 1993, and marks the eighth consecuti
Aug 26, 2011, 6:52 am - Lottery News

Legislators grill Ark. lottery financial officerNews Story
The Arkansas lottery's chief financial officer said Wednesday that a $90,000 tax penalty probably resulted because of a data input error, though legislators remained puzzled over how the lottery's director wasn't told of the problem for more than three months. Lottery director Ernie Passailaigue told members of the Lottery Oversight Committee that he was disappointed he wasn't told of the Internal Revenue Service problem until long after it had emerged. The IRS assessed the penalty because
Aug 25, 2011, 10:56 am - Lottery News