Powerball helps Florida Lottery cover losses
Since the multi-state lottery game Powerball arrived in Florida a year ago, people have bought more than $430 million in tickets. But even that couldn't stop overall lottery revenue in 2009 from dropping 3 percent compared with the year before.
Lottery sales, which are usually immune from recessions, have taken a hit during the downturn. Sales have plummeted nearly $300 million since the lottery's high-water mark in 2008. It's the first significant drop since 1995.
But without the Powerbal ...
Jan 6, 2010, 9:46 am - - Lottery News forum
Arkansas Lottery finishes 2009 with $132M in sales
The Arkansas Scholarship Lottery marked the end of its first 95 days of operation at midnight December 31 with a year-end sales total of $132,097,968.
The first instant ticket was sold just after midnight on September 28, followed by the introduction of Powerball on October 31 and of the first Arkansas draw game Cash 3 on December 14.
During the 2009 Arkansas legislative session when the lottery legislation was crafted, it was expected that ticket sales would begin on January 1, 2010.
W ...
Jan 2, 2010, 8:35 am - - Lottery News forum
Oklahoma Lottery gets mixed financial review
Oklahoma gets a larger share of the take than most states do, but its net revenue lags
Oklahoma squeezes a better return from its lottery than most states do from theirs, but it might get more if it loosened some rules, U.S. Census Bureau data suggest.
Oklahoma ranks high in the percentage of lottery proceeds netted for government use, but it's low in actual lottery sales and dollars netted, according to information gathered by the Census Bureau as part of its annual survey of state govern ...
Dec 30, 2009, 7:48 am - - Lottery News forum
Tenn. lottery scholarships outstrip revenue; day of reckoning looms
A day of reckoning is coming for students and parents over Tennessee's lottery scholarships that could result in tightened eligibility, reduced scholarship awards or both.
After more than five years of steadily expanded eligibility and grant amounts, the annual cost of the program is outstripping the net revenue produced by the lottery.
If no action is taken, that funding gap is now expected to overtake the lottery reserves some $385 million built up in the lottery's booming early years an ...
Dec 21, 2009, 9:54 am - - Lottery News forum
Ontario Lottery may be sold off
The Liberal government will sign a $200,000 deal with two investment banks within days to do preliminary research on privatizing all or part of the problem-prone Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, the Toronto Star has learned.
While Bay Street has been tantalized by millions in lucrative commissions from the possible sale of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, Hydro One, and Ontario Power Generation, informed sources say the provincial lottery monopoly is the main public asset in play.
...
Dec 21, 2009, 8:22 am - - Lottery News forum
Oklahoma Lottery sales hurt by lagging economy
Lottery ticket sales declined about $11.3 million in the past fiscal year, mainly because of a downturn in the economy, Oklahoma officials said.
Powerball sales, which make up the majority of lottery sales, tumbled an estimated $7.6 million, partly because of the economy and a lack of significant jackpots, Jim Scroggins, executive director of the Oklahoma Lottery Commission, said Tuesday.
The Oklahoma Lottery is expected to contribute $66.7 million to public education for the 2010 fiscal y ...
Dec 11, 2009, 9:33 am - - Lottery News forum
Mass. Lottery becoming political football
A war of words and numbers broke out in the governor's race yesterday as Gov. Deval Patrick accused rival Tim Cahill of making excuses about the Lottery's performance even as the state treasurer touted a better-than-expected financial forecast.
I and I think the legislative leadership are losing our patience with the excuses with the Lottery performance, Patrick said yesterday. Just give us a realistic estimate so we can build that into a budget, and not have to do patches and plugs to cope. ...
Dec 11, 2009, 8:25 am - - Lottery News forum
Lottery to the rescue: Will 4-minute Keno fill Washington budget gap?
Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire is seriously considering legislation that would allow four-minute Keno games as a way to help deal with a projected $2.6 billion budget shortfall.
The games could bring in an estimated $30 million a year. That's not much money compared with the budget gap, but lawmakers are hunting for any cash they can find.
Similar bills have been proposed and have died in the past. Things could be different this time, given the severity of the state's budget crisis, but th ...
Dec 7, 2009, 7:52 am - - Lottery News forum
Lottery giant GTECH lays off 31 R.I. employees
Lottery giant GTECH Corp. laid off 31 employees in Rhode Island two weeks ago as part of a larger round of worldwide cuts by its parent company, a spokesman said Tuesday.
The job cuts took place on Nov. 17 at a number of the company's facilities in the state, said Robert Vincent, senior vice president for corporate affairs at GTECH, a subsidiary of the Italian company Lottomatica SpA. The parent company eliminated about 80 positions across its divisions, he said.
Like most good companies, ...
Dec 1, 2009, 8:42 pm - - Lottery News forum
N.C. Lottery spent $11 million on advertising
You've seen them and heard them.
The cheesy game show character. The singing chorus. The ubiquitous billboards touting a big, life-changing jackpot. No one is immune from the state lottery's advertising efforts. And with good reason: In the last fiscal year, the lottery spent $10.9 million on advertising.
Spending records released through a public records request show that lottery officials seek to blanket the state's airwaves and dot its highways with the messages: Buy tickets that will b ...
Nov 29, 2009, 10:45 am - - Lottery News forum
