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W.Va. Lottery has $81M surplusNews Story
The West Virginia Lottery ended the just-completed budget year with an $81 million surplus, giving state revenues a surprising boost, but agency officials say the future remains challenging at best in the face of increasing competition from border states. The stronger-than-expected results also remain below the lottery's peak returns during the past decade, suggesting its best years may be behind it because of these market forces. We view this as uncharted territory, said James Toney, the
Jul 16, 2012, 8:20 am - Lottery News

Indiana lottery to outsource some operationsNews Story
The Indiana State Lottery Commission is asking companies to bid on taking over some of its operations. The commission Tuesday issued a solicitation for companies to bid by Aug. 31 on taking over the sales, distribution and marketing of the lottery, a state agency whose income has shrunk in recent years. It expects to sign a 10-year contract by Nov. 1. Lottery spokesman Al Larsen said the Lottery Commission will retain certain duties, including overall oversight of the lottery, rulemaking a
Jul 11, 2012, 10:24 am - Lottery News

NAACP wants Texas Lottery shut downNews Story
The Dallas chapter of the NAACP wants to stop seeing low income Texans pumping money into the state lottery by putting it out of business. In poorer communities, though, the lottery seems to offer the chance at a life otherwise out of reach. A study paid for by the Texas Lottery Commission says the people most likely to play Pick 3 are those making $20,000 a year or less below the poverty line. And people who are unemployed are more likely to buy scratch-off tickets than those who have job
Jun 28, 2012, 6:02 pm - Lottery News

NJ Lottery sets new sales record of $2.6BNews Story
The New Jersey Lottery has set a new sales record. Officials say the agency pulled in about $2.6 billion in the last fiscal year. That's $31.5 million more than the previous year, and marks the fourth straight year with sales over $2.5 billion. It's been on the rise consistently for 40 years, lottery spokeswoman Judith Drucker said. Of course, having record-breaking, historic Mega Millions jackpots doesn't ever hurt. Prize winners get most of that money, but the lottery generated $930
May 7, 2012, 12:17 pm - Lottery News

Penn. Lottery seeking outside help for marketing effortsNews Story
'The lottery would not be sold nor will it be fully privatized' An aging population's increased demand for services and the need for stable funding for those programs sparked Gov. Tom Corbett administration's decision to seek private managers for the Pennsylvania Lottery, senior administration officials told a House oversight committee Tuesday. By 2030, a quarter of Pennsylvanians will be 65 years or older, and the lottery, which had sales of $3.2 billion during the 2010-11 fiscal year, wi
Apr 5, 2012, 10:27 am - Lottery News

Ark. lottery panel puts new limits on chief's payNews Story
The Arkansas Lottery Commission, in an attempt to deflect criticism it received in the past for former top officials' six-figure salaries, set new salary limits Monday for its next director. The commission voted to set the maximum salary for the next director at $175,000. The nine-member commission plans to begin interview candidates this weekend for the opening left by former director Ernie Passailaigue, who resigned in September after criticism over his management of the games. Passailai
Feb 8, 2012, 9:36 am - Lottery News

Florida Lottery education spending investigatedNews Story
Lottery money still invested in education, but targeted differently than it used to be Florida Lottery education dollars that used to go mainly to K-12 education are now being spread into several different educational initiatives, raising the ire of local Superintendents, but pleasing those who feel that education spending should be more diverse. Nearby 4 billion dollars was spent on the Florida Lottery last year. It's money lawmakers promised would go to education. But according to infor
Feb 7, 2012, 10:04 am - Lottery News

Ruling by Justice Dept. opens a door on online gamblingNews Story
2012 may the year of widespread Internet lottery ticket sales The Justice Department has reversed its long-held opposition to many forms of Internet gambling, removing a big legal obstacle for states that want to sanction online gambling to help fix their budget deficits. The legal opinion, issued by the department's office of legal counsel in September but made public on Friday, came in response to requests by New York and Illinois to clarify whether the Wire Act of 1961, which prohibits
Dec 25, 2011, 2:33 pm - Lottery News

Kentucky Pick 4 lottery players beat the houseNews Story
Quad-zeros pay off big bucks for Pick 4 players The Kentucky Lottery may have hit a streak of bad luck in November, which means good luck for lottery players in the state. Kentucky Lottery chief financial officer Howard Kline said the payoff to Pick 4 players in November turned out to be far more than was taken in on the game. Greg Harkenrider, one of the state's top budget experts, said Wednesday that revenue from the popular Pick 4 game plummeted in November because more people than e
Dec 22, 2011, 8:50 pm - Lottery News

State lotteries get creative to drive higher salesNews Story
The Arizona Lottery has spent four years ramping up efforts to get players to part with a dollar. It raised its average jackpot by 8 percent and introduced pricier scratch-off games that cost from $5 to $20 but yield bigger winnings, up to $1 million. The tickets now come in brighter colors on thicker paper, and more of them get displayed in bigger cases to catch the eyes of would-be winners lining up at grocery and convenience stores. The lottery also increased its advertising budget by roug
Dec 12, 2011, 8:05 am - Lottery News