Search

Arkansas Lottery marks 5th anniversaryNews Story
With over 150,000 Arkansas students awarded almost half a billion dollars in lottery-funded Academic Challenge Scholarships, the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery is celebrating five full years of big wins and big opportunities as an engine for higher education and an educated, higher-earning workforce. Before that first ticket was bought at 12:01 a.m. on September 28, 2009, we could only guess at what this lottery could do for our state, Arkansas Scholarship Lottery Director Bishop Woosley said.
Oct 7, 2014, 9:25 am - Lottery News

Governor revamps Missouri Lottery CommissionNews Story
Gov. Jay Nixon replaced most of the members of the Missouri Lottery Commission on Thursday as he released a report recommending the agency review its policies on prizes and advertising in a quest to route more money to education. The shake-up in oversight at the Missouri Lottery comes after it posted record sales during the past budget year yet transferred less money to education than it had in the previous year. Nixon in July had directed his state budget office to review the lottery's op
Sep 19, 2014, 8:21 am - Lottery News

Kentucky Lottery finally able to advertise where the money goesNews Story
Required change in state law Includes video report For the first time in its 25 year history, the Kentucky Lottery is advertising where proceeds from the sale of its games are spent. This has never happened before because, until recently, it would've been against the law. When the state's General Assembly put together the governing legislation for the Kentucky Lottery back in 1989, a floor amendment was passed which stated, ...government programs and services shall not be mention
Aug 27, 2014, 9:02 am - Lottery News

More people playing, winning in SC LotteryNews Story
The South Carolina Education Lottery announced Monday it set records for ticket sales and the amount of money raised for education in the last fiscal year. It also set records for the amount of prize money paid out and the commissions paid to lottery retailers. Lottery revenue was more than $1.26 billion for the year. Ticket sales grew by $66 million, which meant the amount that got deposited into the lottery's education account was $323.4 million, or $23 million more than the previous year.
Aug 5, 2014, 9:57 am - Lottery News

Is it game over for the Texas Lottery?News Story
Some Texas lawmakers say it may be time to scratch out the lottery. More than two decades after Texas voters legalized the game of chance in the state, a group of lawmakers will soon start reviewing whether to end at multibillion-dollar industry that pumps more than $1 billion a year into schools. Critics say they fear that the game financially hurts some of the most vulnerable Texans and doesn't do enough to help the state. Supporters disagree and question where $1 billion a year can be f
Aug 2, 2014, 8:31 pm - Lottery News

Missouri Gov. orders review of Lottery operationsNews Story
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon has asked the state Office of Administration to carry out a comprehensive review of the Missouri Lottery's operations. The lottery posted more than $1.14 billion in sales last year, according to unaudited figures, but its $267.3 million profit (which goes to education funding) was $31 million short of its goal and was below 2006 totals when adjusted for inflation. The governor cited declining lottery and casino revenue in his decision to withhold $35 million of educ
Jul 24, 2014, 10:13 am - Lottery News

Seeing sales slowing, Missouri Lottery officials seek new customersNews Story
For many years, as state revenue has fluctuated and stagnated, the Missouri Lottery has been a welcome outlier, a dependable, sometimes surging revenue stream that rarely failed to post record profits. From 2001-2008, the lottery doubled its sales, to just shy of $1 billion, and its contribution to state education funding (where its profit is directed) reached $265 million. Since then though, the pace has slowed. While sales have continued to tick upward, gone are the years of double-digit
Jul 22, 2014, 7:13 am - Lottery News

N.C. school construction lottery money doesn't really build schoolsNews Story
Includes video report Where does the North Carolina Education Lottery money go? You know, you buy a ticket, you put money into the education lottery, and you think all that money goes to North Carolina schools. But that is not quite how it works. Of every dollar, 61% goes back into the lottery for prizes, 28% goes to education, and 11% go back to retailers and the lottery for administration. Of that 28 percent for schools, the Education Lottery website says 45.8% goes to teacher pay, 20
Jul 10, 2014, 8:50 am - Lottery News

How lottery tickets are helping states' budgetsNews Story
The scores of losing players in this week's $425 million Powerball jackpot did more than take an extremely long shot at getting rich. Their ticket purchases also helped fund a small but increasingly important part of their states' budgets. Changes in the nationwide Powerball and Mega Millions games have led to some of the world's largest jackpots in the last two years, boosting player interest and sales. Fueled by the growth of those games and the steady expansion of other offerings, many sta
Feb 24, 2014, 7:08 am - Lottery News

California Lottery is booming, thanks to higher payoutsNews Story
After years of decline, the California Lottery is booming. The jackpots are bigger, and that's drawing more players and excitement. Just a few weeks ago, a Mega Millions ticket sold in San Jose matched all six numbers. The state-record prize of $324 million worth about $174 million in a single payment was claimed by a Northern California man Friday. The turnaround is due to changes made to the lottery in 2010, when revenues were on the decline. The changes brought bigger prizes, but they a
Jan 6, 2014, 7:51 am - Lottery News