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Indiana lottery sales decline has officials probing illegal gamesNews Story
The Hoosier Lottery, faced with slumping profits, is struggling to get more people to play ticket games in a world of electronic gambling.In the budget year just ended, lottery officials expect to see about a 5 percent decline in profits, which reached $199 million last year, according to W. Edward Benton, the lottery's chief financial officer.So what's eating into ticket sales? Smaller Powerball jackpots, for one thing, something Hoosier Lottery officials can't control.The approximately 22,00
Jul 11, 2005, 12:06 pm - Lottery News

Judge Rejects Men's Claim To $100K Lottery PrizeNews Story
Two Indiana men who claim they are the true winners of a $100,000 lottery ticket someone else found in the trash couldn't persuade a judge that they deserved the cash.Administrative Law Judge Gregg Henry agreed Friday with the Hoosier Lottery's decision to deny the claim of Ronald Vinson and Ronald Douglas, who bought Hold 'Em Poker scratch-off tickets at a Shelbyville caf .The decision was not much of a surprise, considering the pair's less-than-persuasive testimony at a May hearing.When Vinson
Jul 11, 2005, 10:18 am - Lottery News

Calif. Lottery Sales Reach Record HighNews Story
People bought more than $3 billion in California Lottery tickets this fiscal year, a record for the nearly 20-year-old games.Officials attributed much of the rise not to the flashy 12-state Mega Millions game that debuted last week, but to a burst in the popularity of Scratchers, in which players scrape a coating from tickets to reveal potential winning numbers.After some of Scratchers' dozens of themed games were tweaked last year to include interactive elements and more-lucrative prizes, their
Jun 30, 2005, 10:06 am - Lottery News

Texas lawmakers to grill lottery officials about inflated jackpotsNews Story
Texas lottery officials could face tough questions and some nasty wrist-slapping today when they testify before lawmakers about inflating several Texas Lotto jackpot estimates.But they would face more scrutiny under a bill filed Tuesday that forces the lottery to comply with laws against deceptive trade practices.Sen. Jane Nelson said recent revelations that lottery officials advertised bigger jackpots than they could afford to pay out jeopardize the integrity of the game and the government that
Jun 29, 2005, 5:36 pm - Lottery News

Texas lottery board charges bingo machine supplier fixed pricesNews Story
A bingo machine supplier has been charged with fixing prices and selling its products directly to charities, according to state records and public filings.The Texas Lottery Commission will hear evidence Friday against Game Tech International, the largest supplier of electronic bingo machines in Texas.The allegations concern the behavior of a former employee and are untrue, said Andrejs K. Bunkse, general counsel for Game Tech. We will actively defend ourselves and believe there will be no findin
Jun 21, 2005, 8:09 am - Lottery News

Oklahoma Lottery Director given approval to hire, set up officesNews Story
Oklahoma's lottery director was given authority Tuesday to hire employees and to move ahead with plans to design and renovate the lottery's offices.Executive Director Jim Scroggins said he expects to hire about 130 employees, with about 90 to 100 of them assigned to work at the commission's headquarters, 3815 N Santa Fe.Members of the Oklahoma Lottery Commission voted to give Scroggins authority to hire the employees. Scroggins will report new hires at commission meetings.Among the first to be h
Jun 15, 2005, 3:33 pm - Lottery News

Oklahoma Lottery expects to have 3,500 sales locationsNews Story
Oklahoma will have 3,500 lottery outlets after the statewide game gears up later this year, one for every 1,000 residents, the state's lottery director said.Speaking at the Oklahoma Grocers Association conference at the Cox Convention Center Wednesday, Director Jim Scroggins said about 80 percent of the tickets will be sold in grocery and convenience stores and retailers can expect a return of about 6 percent.Scroggins promised to keep retailers happy, because we're not going to succeed unless
Jun 10, 2005, 1:29 pm - Lottery News

Texas Lottery considers changing jackpot calculationNews Story
Amid complaints of false advertising, Texas Lottery Commission officials will consider changing the way jackpots are paid.C. Thomas Clowe, the commission chairman, said the three-member panel will discuss this month whether to guarantee the advertised jackpot or continue basing the grand prize on a percentage of ticket sales.Clowe said Thursday that he is concerned that miscalculating the lotto jackpot could undermine confidence in the game. We want the public to have confidence in the lottery,
Jun 10, 2005, 12:30 pm - Lottery News

Ticket machines on display for Oklahoma LotteryNews Story
On Wednesday, business owners who will comprise Oklahoma's main lottery ticket sellers filed the required applications and got a gander at machinery that may be used to sell Oklahoma lottery tickets.They had been waiting for this day since that November election night when Oklahoma voters enthusiastically endorsed a state lottery.Gas station and grocery store owners also had some questions for Jim Scroggins, the state's lottery director, and Scott Meacham, the governor's point man for the lotter
Jun 9, 2005, 1:20 pm - Lottery News

New Florida lottery law increases prizesNews Story
Florida lottery players soon will rake in more dough when they win games such as Lotto, Mega Money and Fantasy 5, thanks to a bill signed into law Thursday by Gov. Jeb Bush. Bush, an outspoken critic of gambling, and state lottery officials are betting that the higher payouts will boost ticket sales for the games, similar to a measure passed three years ago that doubled the sales of scratch-off games.Higher sales should mean more money for education, which is the stated purpose of the new law. A
May 29, 2005, 10:01 am - Lottery News