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Tennessee bill advances to remove lottery winners from government assistanceNews Story
The Tennessee House on Monday passed a bill despite opposition from Democrats that, if it becomes law, would require the names of lottery winners to be cross checked with federal and state government assistance programs. Sponsored by Rep. Dan Howell, R-Georgetown, passed by a 73-21 near party-line vote on Monday night. The bill would make any lottery winner of prizes more than $5,000 ineligible for government assistance. Howell said federal law, which has a lower prize threshold, requires
Feb 28, 2017, 3:52 pm - Lottery News

New Mexico House committee endorses changes in lottery operationsNews Story
Financial bonuses for state lottery officials and contractors would be tied to increases in scholarship money available to New Mexico college students under a bill that got unanimous bipartisan approval from a House committee Monday. House Bill 250, sponsored by Rep. Jason Harper, R-Rio Rancho, also would require the state lottery to transfer money from unclaimed cash prizes usually $2 million to $4 million a year to the lottery scholarships fund. In addition, the bill would halt a pilot p
Feb 28, 2017, 3:40 pm - Lottery News

Idaho Lottery-winner secrecy bill headed to House floorNews Story
A proposal to provide more confidentiality for lottery winners got pushback Wednesday from the Idaho State Lottery Commission, but was ultimately approved by a legislative panel. This idea came to me from one of my constituents: an elderly lady who was a lottery winner but was quickly harassed by phone calls and people showing up at her door, trying to separate her from her winnings, said Rep. Lynn Luker (R-Boise). If we approve this, Idaho would join six other states that offer some form of
Feb 15, 2017, 6:29 pm - Lottery News

Georgia Gov. to support casino bill if lottery not impactedNews Story
Georgia Governor Nathan Deal said Tuesday he won't oppose legislation that would legalize casino gambling as long as it doesn't devastate the state's popular lottery-funded HOPE scholarship program. We need to be absolutely certain that if a casino bill passes, it doesn't adversely impact a lottery program for the state, he said. That is the first big marker to make sure that we don't devastate what is probably perceived as the most successful lottery program in the country. The governor
Jan 24, 2017, 12:59 pm - Lottery News

Virginia nixes online lottery ticket salesNews Story
A Virginia House of Delegates subcommittee jettisoned legislation that would have allowed the Virginia Lottery to sell tickets on the Internet. Convenience store owners were among those opposed to the bill that would have opened the door to online gambling. This is the first time a Virginia Assembly Committee has voted on the issue. Del. Roxann Robinson introduced the bill, which was defeated 6-1 in a House General Laws subcommittee. The commonwealth is always looking for additional fundin
Jan 19, 2017, 7:41 pm - Lottery News

Odds of a Mississippi Lottery still long, but may be improvingNews Story
Democratic Rep. Alyce Clarke, who has represented Jackson in the Mississippi Legislature since 1985, is persistent. She has been an author of legislation to create a lottery in Mississippi every session since 2003. This year, as often is the case, she has two bills filed, one to create a lottery after a statewide vote and another to simply enact the lottery after the passage of her legislation. Clarke believes lottery revenue could be used to fund a college scholarship program as it is in
Jan 8, 2017, 1:45 pm - Lottery News

Chicago mayor toyed with idea of city-only lotteryNews Story
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has toyed with the concept of establishing a city lottery to help ease the city's financial woes and, while the idea has not progressed, it could get backing from at least one key Democrat in Springfield. That's one of the better nuggets buried in the trove of private emails that Emanuel was forced to release just before Christmas under pressure from a Better Government Association lawsuit. The May 5, 2015, email came from former Illinois Lottery Director Michael
Dec 28, 2016, 11:49 am - Lottery News

Judge rules NJ couple's lottery annuity payments can't be taxed retroactivelyNews Story
A New Jersey Tax Court judge has sided with a couple who won $46 million in the state lottery in 2000 and elected to have their winnings distributed in annual installments as a multiyear annuity payment, holding that the state did not have the right to retroactively tax their winnings after passing a new statute. Plaintiffs Melvin Milligan and Kim Lawton-Milligan, who won the Big Game Lottery jackpot drawing in 2000, opted for 26 annual payouts of $1.77 million. They argued that the 2009 sta
Oct 14, 2016, 9:33 am - Lottery News

Mississippi lottery talk likely to coalesce odd coalitionNews Story
Analysis: Natural foes to reunite yet again in opposition to lottery efforts Nothing puts preachers and their flocks in political cahoots with the state's casino gaming industry barons faster than any serious talk of Mississippi authorizing a state lottery. Fellow scribe Geoff Pender told us last week in a story about the possible prospects of Mississippi adopting a state lottery that Gov. Phil Bryant is open to a discussion of a state lottery. The exact quote Pender attributed to Bryan
Oct 6, 2016, 11:11 am - Lottery News

Hope still alive: Alabama House passes modified lottery billNews Story
The Alabama House of Representatives narrowly approved Gov. Robert Bentley's proposed state lottery Thursday night after 10 hours of contentious debate and two vote attempts. Legislators clapped and cheered as the bill passed shortly before midnight on a 64-35 vote, exceeding the 63 votes required to pass the chamber. The bill now moves to the Alabama Senate where senators must decide whether to go along with mostly minor House changes to the legislation. The Republican governor, seeking t
Aug 26, 2016, 5:56 am - Lottery News