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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

Arizona becomes latest state to shield lottery winners' namesNews Story
Arizona joined a growing number of states allowing winners of big lottery jackpots to stay anonymous Wednesday after Republican Gov. Doug Ducey signed legislation letting winners of jackpots of $100,000 or more request that their names not be made public. The move comes as privacy concerns are increasingly trumping lottery groups' wishes to publicize winners to boost sales and show that the games are fair. Four years ago, just five states allowed anonymous winners, but the number has now g
Apr 18, 2019, 8:51 am - Lottery News

California Lottery official dismissed amid investigationsNews Story
A senior California Lottery executive has been dismissed from his position six months after anonymous state employees sent a letter to the Governor's Office complaining about rowdy behavior among a group of the lottery's top brass. Deputy Director of Sales James David Cole's dismissal comes amid ongoing investigations into hiring practices and alleged misconduct by senior lottery executives during a 2016 sales conference. Cole was notified Feb. 1 that his employment would be officially ter
Mar 26, 2019, 9:23 am - Lottery News

Arkansas bill to keep lottery winner names secret failsNews Story
An effort to keep the identities of some lottery winners secret has failed in the Arkansas House. The proposal to allow winners of more than $500,000 in the state lottery to keep their identities confidential failed in the House on a 39-30 vote last week. The sponsor of the measure said the bill was aimed at protecting lottery winners' safety. The measure was opposed by media groups who said keeping the information secret would prevent the public from knowing if there was any misconduct in
Mar 18, 2019, 10:06 am - Lottery News

State lotteries line up against DOJ reversal on Wire ActNews Story
State lotteries continue to fight back against a January Department of Justice reversal of its interpretation of the Wire Act, threatening every form of online gambling in the country. (See DOJ reverses 2011 opinion of the Wire Act; legal online gaming in question, Lottery Post, Jan. 14, 2019.) Now the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania joined a New Hampshire lawsuit challenging the validity of the new Wire Act opinion. Before joining the lawsuit, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro co
Mar 11, 2019, 9:26 am - Lottery News

Long Island co-workers claim $437 million Mega Millions jackpotNews Story
A group of Long Island area co-workers have claimed the $437 million Mega Millions jackpot for the January 1 drawing, the largest jackpot in New York Lottery history. The 23-member group has claimed the prize through the New Life 2019, LLC, opting to take the lump sum payment totaling $262,213,914. They will receive a net check of $176,155,308 after required state and federal withholding. They have also chosen to remain anonymous. Representatives of New Life 2019, LLC, said they play
Feb 20, 2019, 7:21 am - Lottery News

Connecticut Lottery considering switch to computerized drawingsNews Story
Apparently new CEO looking to make things even worse at beleaguered lottery By Jon Lender The Connecticut Lottery Corp. (CLC) is quietly examining possible changes to the drawing procedures by which it selects winning numbers in its various games from the daily Play 3 game on up and one option under consideration is to discontinue live TV drawings that have been broadcast on local stations since 1977. Another option could be that, in addition to taking the drawings off TV, the lottery w
Dec 30, 2018, 10:04 am - Lottery News

$2.7 billion El Gordo Christmas 2018 lottery drawing held in SpainNews Story
Includes video report Those holding ticket number 03347 struck it rich Saturday when they won the top prize in Spain's famous Christmas lottery. The lottery, known as El Gordo, or The Fat One, dished out 2.4 billion (US$2.7 billion) in prize money this year. The top prize for a winning ticket was 400,000 euros ($455,000), but there were many smaller prizes. Here the people are celebrating a lot, it's the first time that the top prize for the Christmas lottery has fallen here, Luis Sori
Dec 23, 2018, 5:04 pm - Lottery News

Iowa lottery winner donates $500K to veterans' groupNews Story
Includes video report A Powerball winner in Iowa this week donated $500,000 of her prize to a group supporting disabled veterans. Lerynne West, who was part of a group sharing an-almost $700 million jackpot, announced the donation on the Ellen DeGeneres Show Wednesday. West said she was donating the money to the Travis Mills Foundation, a group based in Hallowell, Maine, and that three of her brothers served in the military and that her father was a Vietnam War veteran. It's very im
Nov 16, 2018, 9:32 am - Lottery News

Lottery flub pays off: Michigan co-workers win $1MNews Story
A Mega Millions mistake by an office employee is paying off for her and 20 of her Ottawa County coworkers. The Michigan Lottery says the Bus Busters lottery club won $1 million during the historic Mega Millions drawing on Oct. 23. All 21 winners work for SoundOff Commercial Vehicle Solutions in Hudsonville. The lottery club's representative said they pooled their money for lottery tickets, with their boss matching the amount for a total of $212. However, the woman who volunteered to bu
Nov 8, 2018, 8:21 am - Lottery News