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Nearly $9 million of Mississippi Lottery tickets sold in first 6 daysNews Story
The Mississippi Lottery sold nearly $9 million in tickets during its first six days of operation. About $3.8 million of the money was awarded in prizes, and nearly $2 million of it will go into the state budget to help pay for roads and bridges. The Mississippi Lottery Corporation started selling tickets Nov. 25, and it announced the initial sales figures in a news release Wednesday. The corporation says the largest prize awarded has been $15,000. It says most people who are collecting
Dec 5, 2019, 10:29 am - Lottery News

The California lottery, public schools and the mystery of the 'missing' moneyNews Story
By Steve Lopez Where is the money from the lottery going? asked a reader named Jean. It never fails. Write about school funding shortages in California, and the emails start pouring in from people who insist the lottery was supposed to solve all our education money issues and wonder why it hasn't. The latest barrage came after my column last week about Measure EE, the L.A. Unified parcel tax that suffered a crushing defeat at the polls on June 4, despite a projected budget deficit in c
Jun 19, 2019, 8:00 am - Lottery News

Lawmaker: Alabama lottery bill 'dead' for sessionNews Story
An Alabama lottery bill is defunct for the legislative session, a key lawmaker said Wednesday. It's dead for this session. It won't be coming back this session, said Republican Rep. Steve Clouse, who was shepherding the bill in the House of Representatives. The bill hit a politically fatal mix of conservative opposition to gambling and liberals' feuds over electronic gambling and how to use lottery revenue. Clouse said they do not have the 63 bipartisan votes needed to pass the measure in
May 23, 2019, 11:48 am - Lottery News

Lottery bill stalls in Alabama HouseNews Story
Bill stalls on partisan vote, with most Democrats voting against it Alabama lawmakers Tuesday rejected a plan to allow voters to decide whether to establish a state lottery, a question that was last on the ballot 20 years ago. Rep. Steve Clouse, R-Ozark, who is handling the bill in the House of Representatives, initially said it could be reconsidered Tuesday night or Wednesday. Clouse later said the bill was not coming up again Tuesday, according to the Associated Press. The bill fell o
May 22, 2019, 10:58 am - Lottery News

Alabama lottery plan approved by committeeNews Story
A plan to allow voters to decide whether to set up a state lottery in Alabama advanced Wednesday in the House of Representatives. The House Economic Development and Tourism Committee approved the bill. The committee had held a public hearing last week but did not vote. Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Range, is sponsor of the legislation, which passed the Senate. But the committee today approved a substitute for Albritton's bill by Rep. Steve Clouse, R-Ozark, who chairs the House General Fund budget
May 16, 2019, 7:01 am - Lottery News

New lottery agreement with private operator Northstar expected to save NJ up to $100MNews Story
New Jersey government officials have renegotiated a contract with the private operator of the New Jersey Lottery that is expected to save taxpayers up to $100 million over the next decade. The new agreement raises the performance targets for Northstar New Jersey, a gaming conglomerate which has struggled to meet its financial promises to the state while also reaping tens of millions of dollars each year in incentives and fees. It had promised to generate at least $1.4 billion for the state ov
May 14, 2019, 11:38 am - Lottery News

Alabama lottery plan changed; vote next weekNews Story
An Alabama House committee today adopted a new version of a bill to set up a state lottery in Alabama, changing how the money would be distributed. The House Economic Development and Tourism Committee adopted the bill by Rep. Steve Clouse, R-Ozark, who is chairman of the House General Fund budget committee. Clouse's bill would direct 75 percent of net lottery revenues to the General Fund and 25 percent to the Education Trust Fund. The original version, by Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Atmore,
May 10, 2019, 8:40 am - Lottery News

Florida Lottery will go offline for systems upgrade on April 15News Story
Florida Lottery officials say they don't anticipate problems as a multimillion-dollar upgrade of a vending system goes into place this month. But rather than press their luck, players are urged to buy earlier than normal as the new system is expected to require the main office to go offline for several hours April 15. The vast majority of the upgrade will occur overnight on the 15th, causing minimal inconvenience, lottery spokeswoman Keri Nucatola said. Still, we are encouraging our frequ
Apr 1, 2019, 4:48 pm - Lottery News

Alabama senator announces lottery planNews Story
Alabama State Sen. Jim McClendon of Springville announced this morning he is introducing legislation to set up an Alabama lottery. The people of Alabama have convinced me, the people in my district, that they would like to be able to buy a lottery ticket without having to drive to another state, McClendon said. They'd like to be able to buy a lottery ticket just like folks in 45 states across our nation can do. McClendon is a Republican who sponsored lottery legislation in 2016. That leg
Mar 20, 2019, 2:51 pm - Lottery News

SC officials getting nervous that $1.5 billion Mega Millions winner won't claim prizeNews Story
Here's how a big money winner could end up being a bit of a money loser for South Carolina. If in a few weeks no one claims a lottery ticket worth $1.5 billion sold in the Upstate, Palmetto State lawmakers may have less money to spend in the coming fiscal year. The state expects to collect $61 million in income taxes as its share of the Mega Millions jackpot if the winner opts to take the money as a lump sum. The winner still has three months to turn over the ticket to state lottery of
Jan 23, 2019, 10:36 am - Lottery News