We need a minimum of 5,000 signatures in order to solicit federal sponsorship. This won't guarantee that congress will get behind us and support the needed legislation, but it does guarantee us an audience with a congressman or senator. The feds don't like to involve themselves in state issues but, given the growing trend of state lotteries instituting RNG's with no live drawing, I truly believe we can get this done.
As most of you know, I've contacted newspapers, investigative reporters, news magazines such as 60 Minutes, 48 Hours, MSNBC Investigates and more. I've sent what I've gathered on the Hoosier Lottery to Geraldo Rivera, Erin Moriarty, Bill Curtiss and even Oprah Winfrey (this is what desperation will drive you to, folks). With the exception of Kevin Leininger of the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel, no one in the news media wants this story. We'll have to wait until somebody flips out and goes on a rampage at their state lottery headquarters; until then, it won't be considered newsworthy.
I also printed out a stand-alone version of the petition and distributed it to lottery retailers throughout a wide area (from Warsaw, IN to New Haven, IN) over several weeks. Unfortunately, most of them disappeared within just a few days, and those that were still where I left them had only a few signatures each, and some were still blank. I suspect that either Hoosier Lottery personnel or the retailers themselves removed these petitions, since it seems logical that they would adversely affect sales. Each of these petitions allows for 60 signatures. Out of the 62 I distributed, I have 37 valid signatures (some people think it's fun to sign "Bugs Bunny," "I.P. Freely" or "Seymour Butts," etc.).
I like the fact that you guys are so fired up about this issue. LOTTOMIKE has been one of our biggest supporters in exposing the Hoosier Lottery. This is not an easy road to travel, though, and it has become obvious over time that the state legislators and lottery officials LosingJeff and I met with were only interested in learning exactly what and how much we knew. They adamantly oppose shutting down the Hoosier Lottery because they don't want to lose the perceived revenue (in fact, the state would lose very little, since 78% of Indiana's lottery revenues go directly into the Policemen's Firemen's and Teachers' Pension Fund). In my opinion, they're actually more worried about covering their own butts and keeping their jobs than they are about restoring honesty and integrity to the games.
I don't want to discourage you from trying; by all means, GET IN THERE AND FIGHT!!! I just want to point out that the obvious avenues aren't always the most productive, so be prepared to hear "No" a lot. Most of the time, they just choose to ignore you as not worthy of a response (I'm still waiting for a reply from our Republican Chief of Staff, to whom I sent an email on the day following the election).
Maybe duplicity is just what we need here. As it stands, they're only ignoring LosingJeff and me, but if enough people bombard them with enough correspondence, they'll be compelled to do something just to stop the flow of incoming demands and queries. This would be effective against the news media, too. Write letters to the editor; send emails and make phone calls to TV news magazines. Contact information for their reporters is displayed on their various websites, so pick one and let them feel your wrath. If enough people write in complaining about the same thing, they'll turn it into a demographic and might do a story on it.
I always make it a point to refer them to LotteryPost.com to see what's being said, and I would consider it a personal favor if you would do the same, since this is where it all began. I have no personal or financial stake in this forum, but I like to generate publicity for LP whenever I can; strength in numbers and all that. Whenever possible, I refer to a relevant news story that's currently posted on the home page.
Thanks to all who have signed the petition. With a little luck and some effort, we'll eradicate these RNG's, and make the states realize that we won't play anything but honest games with televised drawings.