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GTECH sale closer as more states approveNews Story
The sale of West Greenwich-based GTECH Holdings Corp. to Italian lottery giant Lottomatica SpA this week inched toward completion. Lottomatica said that the state lotteries would continue existing contracts with GTECH, which it plans to buy in a $5 billion deal that would create the world's biggest lottery operator. Lottomatica had asked various U.S. states to confirm that the deal would not hurt existing lottery concessions when it launched the takeover earlier this year. Most states
Jul 28, 2006, 9:48 am - Lottery News

Texas Lottery audits find more problemsNews Story
Prize estimates were inflated at least 3 times after scandal Months after Texas Lottery officials were chastised for inflating Texas Lotto jackpot estimates in a scandal that cost the executive director his job, the agency did it again at least three more times, according to one of two highly critical state auditor reports on the lottery released Tuesday. Auditors found a significant number of instances in which agency management did not comply with policies and procedures to review or ap
Jul 13, 2006, 12:15 pm - Lottery News

Texas Lottery defends jackpot advertising policiesNews Story
The Texas Lottery Commission defended its Lotto Texas jackpot advertising policies yesterday, after an audit said the current practice could reduce the amount of money transferred to the state to support education. An uproar last summer over the lottery's decision to advertise four jackpots that officials knew they couldn't afford to pay cost former executive director Reagan Greer his job and shook public confidence in the games. As a result, the lottery commission approved a measure in Oc
Jul 13, 2006, 7:36 am - Lottery News

Texas Lottery audit finds security flawsNews Story
The Texas Lottery Commission needs to better enforce its computer system security policies and more effectively ensure that its main contractor is conducting background checks on its employees, according to a state auditor's report obtained Wednesday. The report, which is scheduled for public release on Friday, said security at the lottery is generally satisfactory. But the auditors identified several significant security weaknesses, especially in the area of system access. For example,
May 4, 2006, 10:00 am - Lottery News

Canada lottery employee wins $8.5 million jackpotNews Story
Technical whiz, 50, becomes first Canadian lotto worker to win jackpot Subjected to intense security check before being allowed to pick up prize An Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. tech whiz known to his colleagues as Mr. BlackBerry has won an $8.5 million jackpot, the first Canadian lottery employee to take home the top prize. And Stephen Cook, an operations analyst who has worked for the lottery corporation for the past 18 years, didn't hesitate during celebrations at a downtown hotel
Apr 8, 2006, 8:54 am - Lottery News

Police arrest lottery ticket thiefNews Story
A routine audit of lottery tickets conducted by the Texas Lottery Commission showed that more than $37,000 in scratch-off tickets were missing from a Flower Mound convenience store. The tickets were missing from a Diamond Shamrock station in the 220 block of Long Prairie Road. Police later arrested a store employee, Joanna Diaz, on charges of theft.
Mar 22, 2006, 9:36 am - Lottery News

Man sues S.C. Lottery, claiming the state is misleading ticket buyersNews Story
A Charleston County, South Carolina, man has sued the state lottery for fraud, claiming false advertising caused him to buy scratch-off lottery tickets for prizes already claimed.Pete Cuming filed the lawsuit one week after a state audit revealed the lottery, in a single year, sold nearly $20 million worth of tickets in 16 scratch-off games after all the contests' top prizes were awarded. His lawyers are seeking class action status, saying the millions of dollars represent thousands of misled ti
Dec 30, 2005, 6:26 am - Lottery News

Lottery: Promises and pitfallsNews Story
A look at problems and solutions of some state lotteries, as North Carolina leaders try to predict their own problems to come.Art Johnson isn't a big gambler but plays the Florida lottery on occasion. No, not because it will help the Palm Beach County School District, where he is superintendent. I want to win, Johnson said with a laugh.Ask him about the lottery's funding for education and Johnson is a lot less jovial. I'm unimpressed, said the former principal and school board member who now h
Dec 26, 2005, 8:42 am - Lottery News

Audit: S.C. lottery leaders paid more than those in other statesNews Story
Top South Carolina lottery officials are being paid more than those in many other states, according to an audit released Thursday.In its 57-page report, the Legislative Audit Council said the South Carolina Education Lottery is paying its executive director more than at least 16 other states. In the council's survey of 18 state lotteries, Tennessee's executive director garnered the highest salary, at $350,000, and West Virginia's executive came in lowest at almost $97,000.South Carolina's execut
Dec 16, 2005, 9:18 am - Lottery News

Illegal deals of Minn. Lottery revealed in court documentsNews Story
Authorities investigating former Minnesota lottery director George Andersen suspected he was involved in bribery, conspiracy and conflicts of interest, court documents show.Search warrants unsealed Friday lay out the still-open criminal investigation into Andersen's dealings with Media Rare, a public relations firm that had no-bid contracts with the lottery. The warrants are the first public indication that investigators thought Andersen's dealings might have amounted to more than mismanagement.
Dec 5, 2005, 9:45 am - Lottery News