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Longtime Rhode Island Lottery chief Gerald Aubin retiringNews Story
The longtime head of the Rhode Island Lottery is stepping down. Gerald Aubin, who has served as director of the Lottery since 1996, announced Friday that he will retire in the spring after nearly a quarter-century in the job. He oversees both traditional games such as scratch tickets as well as the two state-owned casinos operated by Twin River. Officials said Aubin is the longest-serving head of any lottery in the nation. The gaming agency's revenue has jumped from $90 million to nearly $
Mar 12, 2020, 9:27 am - Lottery News

Two Alaska state lottery plans are about to be debated; here's how they'd workNews Story
Alaska is one of five U.S. states without a lottery. This year, Gov. Mike Dunleavy and House Majority Leader Steve Thompson, a Republican from Fairbanks, have each offered plans to change that. With Alaska state government projecting a $1.5 billion budget deficit, both men have said a lottery could be one step toward a broader fix. But both have proposed very different approaches. Thompson is suggesting a draw-style lottery that would raise between $8 million and $10 million a year for the
Feb 17, 2020, 8:50 am - Lottery News

Bill would let Wisconsin Lottery retailers accept debit payment in addition to cashNews Story
In an age when more people are making purchases with plastic cards and digital devices, some Wisconsin lawmakers say it's time for lottery players to be able buy tickets via debit payment instead of strictly with cash. I'm thinking we need to get to the modern age with modern payment systems, which includes debit, said state Rep. Terry Katsma (R-Oostburg), one of the sponsors of a bipartisan bill that would allow debit payment for lottery tickets. But the retailers who sell the tickets an
Oct 30, 2019, 3:38 pm - Lottery News

Pa. spends $1.3M to date on search for lottery partner amid fierce competition for $1B contractNews Story
The hunt for a company to service the Pennsylvania Lottery's games and gaming system for the next decade has proven to be a contentious and costly venture. Two companies are vying for 10-year lottery servicing contracts that would pay close to $1 billion or more over the life of the deal (the contracts could be extended for two to four years). It's one of the commonwealth's most lucrative long-term contracts. The firms have engaged in a heated battle over the past year and a half as this i
Oct 22, 2019, 10:18 am - Lottery News

Will R.I. Lottery win or lose in $1 billion IGT contract battle?News Story
Is it a wise move that would keep more than 1,000 high-paying jobs in Rhode Island or just the latest example of a you gotta know a guy back-room deal? Is the lottery giant IGT as Rhode Island as Del's lemonade or as British as Big Ben? In short, is the proposed no-bid, $1-billion, 20-year extension of IGT's current 20-year gambling technology contract a solid win for the Rhode Island economy or an ill-advised sweetheart deal ? As state lawmakers prepare to review the proposal this fall
Aug 13, 2019, 8:34 am - Lottery News

Oregon Lottery glitch in July made all Keno tickets losersNews Story
The Oregon Lottery has built up a $1.2 billion a year business trafficking in the eternal thrill of gambling. Just one of its games, Keno, was played an extraordinary 73.7 million times last year. But the Keno odds took a sudden swing in the early morning hours of July 23, when scanners read all Keno tickets as losers, even when they weren't. The Lottery never widely disclosed the technical glitch that gave players zero chance of winning. The agency confirmed the defect lasted nearly six h
Sep 10, 2018, 5:53 am - Lottery News

First sports betting licenses issued by West Virginia LotteryNews Story
Legalization of sports betting in West Virginia has reached another milestone, with the issuing of the first sports betting licenses by the state Lottery Commission. That includes the first casino operator's license, issued to Hollywood Casino, in Charles Town. They are the first casino licensed to offer sports betting, Danielle Boyd, legal counsel for the Lottery Commission, said Monday. They are committed to going live at Charles Town and accepting bets on Sept. 1. She said Hollywoo
Aug 14, 2018, 10:10 pm - Lottery News

Companies battle for Pa. lottery contractNews Story
For one firm, it will be something like winning the Powerball: A state government contract worth more than $800 milion that comes along just once a decade in Pennsylvania. The current contract to provide the gaming system and instant ticket game services that power the Pennsylvania Lottery expires in June 2019. The chance to become the lottery's partner for the next 10 years has the paucity of vendors who do this type of work pulling out all the stops. Two of the major players have hired lobb
Jul 30, 2018, 7:31 am - Lottery News

Lottery giant IGT is sole bidder to run sports betting in R.I.News Story
IGT, the company that runs Rhode Island's electronic lottery systems, is the sole bidder for a contract to run the state's proposed foray into sports betting. The Lottery issued a request for proposals on the sports betting contract last month and although 18 firms participated in a pre-bid conference on the contract, the Providence-based company formerly known as GTECH was the only one to submit a bid by last Friday's deadline, the R.I. Lottery announced Monday. We would have preferred m
May 22, 2018, 8:39 am - Lottery News

Lottery tickets will not be sold in South Carolina for more than 12 hours this weekendNews Story
You're out of luck if you planned on buying Powerball or Pick 3 tickets in South Carolina on Mother's Day morning. Stores will stop selling tickets for computerized lottery games including Mega Millions and Palmetto Cash 5 at 11:45 p.m. Saturday as the state switches to a new contractor's computer system. Exactly when stores will start selling again is unclear, but it will be sometime Sunday afternoon, more than 12 hours after going dark, state lottery Director Hogan Brown said. The lotte
May 10, 2018, 11:02 am - Lottery News