Oklahoma Lottery worried about prospect of Arkansas lottery
Already falling short, Oklahoma Lottery sales could suffer even more from Arkansas competition
A proposed lottery in Arkansas would devote more sales revenue to prizes, giving it a critical advantage over Oklahoma's game, Oklahoma's lottery director says.
Oklahoma law requires 35 percent of sales revenue to go to the state, reducing the size of jackpots, making the game less attractive, hurting sales and ultimately resulting in less money for the state, lottery director Jim Scroggins told ...
Sep 19, 2008, 12:15 pm - - Lottery News forum
Sweet dreams in hard times add to lottery sales
When gasoline prices shot up this year, Peggy Seemann thought about saving the $10 she spends weekly on lottery tickets.
But the prospect that the $10 could become $100 million or more was too appealing. So rather than stop buying Mega Millions tickets, Ms. Seemann, 50, who lives in suburban Chicago and works in advertising sales for a financial Web site, saved money instead by packing her lunch a few days a week, keeping alive her dreams of hitting a jackpot and retiring as a multimillionair ...
Sep 14, 2008, 9:49 pm - - Lottery News forum
Illinois House approves privatizing state lottery
Illinois would raise $10 billion for building roads and schools by privatizing its state-run lottery for half a century under a plan the House approved Wednesday night.
After years of resisting, Speaker Michael Madigan and his House Democrats approved turning the lottery over to a private vendor because Gov. Rod Blagojevich and the Legislature have never agreed on another way to pay for a statewide construction program.
The House also voted to restore some of the painful budget cuts Gov. R ...
Sep 12, 2008, 3:15 am - - Lottery News forum
Ohio Lottery's new Keno does $7.2M in business the first month
Keno attracting players, but sales below projections
Mike Winiasz of Lorain watches his neighbor pick numbers in the Ohio Lottery's new game, Keno, but he does not indulge.
The last time I was in a lottery, I was picked No. 1 in the draft, he said. I figured I used up my lottery luck.
Keno, the Ohio Lottery's newest game, finished up its first month of operation this week. As of Sunday, Keno brought in $7.2 million and awarded $4.6 million in prizes, Ohio Lottery officials said.
Th ...
Sep 6, 2008, 9:50 am - - Lottery News forum
Senate panels look into privatizing Texas Lottery
As state revenue from the Texas Lottery continues to decline, two Senate committees on Wednesday began searching for ways to boost the state's take from the games of chance including the possible privatization of the entire lottery operation.
Senators indicated they are willing to look at a variety of options to get the revenue flow back on an upward track after recent declines - including a drop to about $975 million this fiscal year after several straight years of totals over $1 billion - a ...
Aug 30, 2008, 12:41 am - - Lottery News forum
Some may say times are tough, but lottery spending doesn't show it
Illinoisans apparently haven't lost an appetite for lottery tickets, even though some say they are pinching pennies elsewhere in their personal budgets.
Sales figures for the Illinois Lottery were up nearly 3 percent to about $2.08 billion in the fiscal year that ended in June.
In the year before, the lottery hit $2 billion in sales for the first time. Both increases come with a steady increase in the popularity of the lottery's instant games.
Illinois Lottery Superintendent Jodie Win ...
Aug 1, 2008, 9:45 pm - - Lottery News forum
Connecticut Lottery sets sales record
The Connecticut Lottery Corp. says it set a record during the last fiscal year with $998.5 million in sales.
The state received $283 million of that for its General fund, about $4.5 million more than expected.
The Lottery says sales were up by 4.3 percent or $41.5 million over the 2007 fiscal year, and contributions to the state rose by 1.4 percent, or $4 million.
Scratch ticket sales showed the largest gain, up $24 million from fiscal 2007.
Jul 15, 2008, 10:11 pm - - Lottery News forum
Maryland lottery sales exceed $1.6 billion
The Maryland Lottery said it has achieved its 11th straight year of record sales, topping $1.673 billion and surpassing state estimates for the fiscal year.
The lottery also exceeded its revenue target, raising $529 million in total revenue for the State of Maryland for Fiscal Year 2008. Records were set in every major category, including total sales, prizes paid to players, commissions earned by lottery retailers and revenues returned to the state to help support vital state-funded programs ...
Jul 15, 2008, 8:24 pm - - Lottery News forum
Georgia Lottery had record sales
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 forum
Drive to boost Calif. lottery sales under way
Revenue-building campaign needed as governor's bond proposal gains footing
The California state lottery is switching its advertising pitch on nearly two dozen billboards throughout the state, a modest attempt to boost ticket sales.
But the sales campaign will have to get much more aggressive if the lottery is going to pay off Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's $15 billion bond plan to help cover a huge state budget deficit.
Instead of showing life-changing jackpots that can exceed $100 milli ...
Jun 24, 2008, 8:24 pm - - Lottery News forum
