Ark. lottery panel puts new limits on chief's pay
The Arkansas Lottery Commission, in an attempt to deflect criticism it received in the past for former top officials' six-figure salaries, set new salary limits Monday for its next director.
The commission voted to set the maximum salary for the next director at $175,000. The nine-member commission plans to begin interview candidates this weekend for the opening left by former director Ernie Passailaigue, who resigned in September after criticism over his management of the games.
Passailai ...
Feb 8, 2012, 9:36 am - Lottery News forum
Florida Lottery education spending investigated
Lottery money still invested in education, but targeted differently than it used to be
Florida Lottery education dollars that used to go mainly to K-12 education are now being spread into several different educational initiatives, raising the ire of local Superintendents, but pleasing those who feel that education spending should be more diverse.
Nearby 4 billion dollars was spent on the Florida Lottery last year. It's money lawmakers promised would go to education. But according to infor ...
Feb 7, 2012, 10:04 am - Lottery News forum
Ruling by Justice Dept. opens a door on online gambling
2012 may the year of widespread Internet lottery ticket sales
The Justice Department has reversed its long-held opposition to many forms of Internet gambling, removing a big legal obstacle for states that want to sanction online gambling to help fix their budget deficits.
The legal opinion, issued by the department's office of legal counsel in September but made public on Friday, came in response to requests by New York and Illinois to clarify whether the Wire Act of 1961, which prohibits ...
Dec 25, 2011, 2:33 pm - Lottery News forum
Kentucky Pick 4 lottery players beat the house
Quad-zeros pay off big bucks for Pick 4 players
The Kentucky Lottery may have hit a streak of bad luck in November, which means good luck for lottery players in the state.
Kentucky Lottery chief financial officer Howard Kline said the payoff to Pick 4 players in November turned out to be far more than was taken in on the game.
Greg Harkenrider, one of the state's top budget experts, said Wednesday that revenue from the popular Pick 4 game plummeted in November because more people than e ...
Dec 22, 2011, 8:50 pm - Lottery News forum
State lotteries get creative to drive higher sales
The Arizona Lottery has spent four years ramping up efforts to get players to part with a dollar.
It raised its average jackpot by 8 percent and introduced pricier scratch-off games that cost from $5 to $20 but yield bigger winnings, up to $1 million. The tickets now come in brighter colors on thicker paper, and more of them get displayed in bigger cases to catch the eyes of would-be winners lining up at grocery and convenience stores. The lottery also increased its advertising budget by roug ...
Dec 12, 2011, 8:05 am - Lottery News forum
Arkansas Lottery forecasts $5M drop in scholarship money
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 forum
Tenn. legislators float idea that lower prizes will bring in more money
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 forum
Tennessee Lottery raking in record profits
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 forum
Hoosier Lottery admits new office too lavish
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 forum
New travel questions crop up in Ark. Lottery director's final days in office
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 forum
