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Arkansas voters get first lottery-only proposalNews Story
Arkansas banned lotteries even before state lawmakers determined how to properly pronounce the state's name. The 1874 ban held through the era of Hot Springs' illegal casinos and their destruction at the hands of sledgehammer-wielding state troopers nearly a century later. In the time since, attempts to legalize a government-run lottery always included bringing back casino games or something else just as unpalatable for a state squarely in the nation's Bible Belt. Now, though, a proposal b
Oct 31, 2008, 7:24 pm - Lottery News

Arkansas lottery certified for November ballotNews Story
The Arkansas secretary of state's office certified a proposed constitutional amendment for the November ballot Monday that would allow voters to decide Lt. Gov. Bill Halter's measure for a state-run lottery to fund college scholarships. Only an anti-democratic move from some other party to try to get this initiative thrown off the ballot will deny Arkansas voters the right and the opportunity to decide this issue for themselves, Halter said at a Capitol news conference announcing certificat
Jul 23, 2008, 9:18 am - Lottery News

Georgia Lottery had record salesNews Story
A struggling economy hasn't kept Georgians from buying lottery tickets. The Georgia Lottery announced Tuesday that sales for fiscal 2008, which ended June 30, were just under $3.52 billion, a record in the 15-year history of the games. That's more than $97.6 million ahead of last year's record sales. The Georgia Lottery transferred $858 million of that to the state for education programs, surpassing last year's record transfer by more than $4.8 million. Lottery proceeds pay for t
Jul 15, 2008, 7:48 pm - Lottery News

Arkansas watches as Tenn rethinks lottery scholarshipsNews Story
If Lt. Gov. Bill Halter's push for a state lottery is successful, Arkansas legislators may want to consider Tennessee's dilemma before writing rules for spending proceeds that would be earmarked exclusively for college scholarships. Arkansas' eastern neighbor is struggling with what to do with an unintended $460 million surplus from that state's version of a scholarship lottery. Part of the problem is that many scholarship recipients have not been able to maintain grades good enough to keep t
Apr 14, 2008, 10:21 am - Lottery News

Tennessee Gov. wants to spend lottery reserveNews Story
Excess money would be distributed to school districts Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen said Thursday the state lottery's huge cash reserves need to be distributed. Bredesen, a Democrat, has abandoned last year's proposal to create a $100 million pool that would have served as collateral to improve credit ratings for school districts, he told The Associated Press in an interview Thursday. The legislature wanted to spend it, they didn't want to put it aside to enhance credit, Bredesen said.
Jan 11, 2008, 7:12 am - Lottery News

Georgia Lottery bonuses stir lawmakers into actionNews Story
The Georgia Lottery board's decision to hand out nearly $3 million in bonuses to employees this year has lawmakers vowing to put new controls on the corporation. Senate Majority Whip Mitch Seabaugh (R-Sharpsburg) filed legislation Friday that would give lawmakers appointments to the Lottery Corp. board. Currently, the governor appoints the board. His bill, which will be considered during the 2008 session, also would mandate that all Lottery Corp. spending, including employee bonuses, be appro
Dec 14, 2007, 10:54 pm - Lottery News

Georgia lawmakers question lottery bonusesNews Story
Top Georgia Republicans are calling for a review of the bonuses awarded to Georgia Lottery officials. Georgia Lottery President Margaret DeFrancisco and her employees collected nearly $3 million dollars in bonuses this year, a sum that has mystified Georgia legislators who three years ago tightened requirements for the lottery-funded HOPE scholarship. House Higher Education Committee Chair Bill Hembree called the figures insane and Senate Majority Whip Mitch Seabaugh said he wanted to re
Dec 3, 2007, 8:38 am - Lottery News

Is the lottery shortchanging schools?News Story
According to the North American Assoc. of State and Provincial Lotteries, 42 states and the District of Columbia run lotteries, and more than half claim the games boost funding for education. But CBS News chief investigative correspondent Armen Keteyian found that lotteries aren't exactly providing a windfall for schools. If you listen to state lottery ads, we're supposed to believe that all the numbers are supposedly adding up to more and more money for education. Lotteries help, but n
Sep 19, 2007, 12:38 pm - Lottery News

Scholarships hit by S.C. Lottery downturnNews Story
As revenue declines, grants could cover less of rising in-state tuition Declining revenues from the S.C. lottery and increasing demand for the scholarships it provides means students could see their tuition grants drop. It's already happened in Georgia, where tighter standards for winning lottery-funded scholarships have cost 18,000 students once-free rides. Some day, we will have to cap the cost, S.C. Senate Finance Chairman Hugh Leatherman said. The general fund cannot afford to ha
Aug 6, 2007, 7:43 am - Lottery News

N.M. Gov. signs bill to extend lottery scholarshipsNews Story
A bill signed by New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson on Thursday is designed to extend the life of the lottery scholarship fund, which has been projected to run out of money in the next few years. Senate Bill 364, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, D-Belen, will require that more money from lottery sales goes to the scholarship fund, and less to administration. The lottery scholarship allows all New Mexico high school graduates in good academic standing to attend college in s
Mar 30, 2007, 10:36 am - Lottery News