Search

N.Y. man's lottery fortune hurts home town state aidNews Story
Good fortune smiled on Richard Loveless in 2015, when the retired electrician won a $42.5 million lottery prize, but those winnings are bringing headaches to the Port Byron School District. Loveless' winnings pushed up the school district's total wealth, as calculated by the state's school aid formulas. It bumped Port Byron from being one of New York's poorest school districts to one that's almost middle class, said Neil O'Brien, Port Byron's superintendent. I'm thrilled he won. I play th
Jul 18, 2017, 10:45 am - Lottery News

Ohio Lottery's annual profit exceeds $1 billion for the second yearNews Story
The Ohio Lottery reported a $1 billion profit for the second year, bolstered by high sales of two games, Keno and EZPlay QuicKeno. Ticket sales of $3.05 billion were $59 million less compared to the last fiscal year, according to unaudited numbers for the year. But much of the prior fiscal year's increase was due to a record-setting $1.6 billion Powerball jackpot in January 2016. Financial details will be presented today at the lottery commission meeting. By law, all lottery profits go
Jul 17, 2017, 9:22 am - Lottery News

Texas plan would tap lottery revenue for teacher bonusesNews Story
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick Thursday unveiled a plan to boost teacher pay beyond the $1,000 raise called for by Gov. Greg Abbott, and to ultimately pay for it by requiring school districts to reallocate existing funds and, if voters agree, earmarking the first $700 million in lottery money, that already goes to education, for teacher salaries. Patrick compared his plan, which he hopes to see enacted at the special session that gets underway Tuesday, to what he called House Speaker Joe Straus' Ponzi
Jul 13, 2017, 3:21 pm - Lottery News

Oklahoma Lottery boosts prizes to lure back playersNews Story
Oklahoma lottery officials are rolling out a new series of games after lawmakers restructured the system this year. The state lottery, which has seen diminished participation with its scratch-off cards in recent years, is now able to increase prize amounts. As participation dwindled, officials had to shrink prize amounts because state law required that at least 35 percent of all proceeds be diverted to the Education Trust Fund. In 2013, the Lottery lowered payouts so it could comply with t
Jul 5, 2017, 7:48 am - Lottery News

Oklahoma Lottery revamping after lawmakers pass legislation to increase prizesNews Story
The Oklahoma Lottery is revamping its products and marketing strategy in light of a recent law change removing the requirement that 35 percent of its profits go to education. The changes were discussed Tuesday during a meeting of the Lottery Commission. Supporters of House Bill 1837, which was signed into law by Gov. Mary Fallin, say the removal of the 35 percent requirement will increase prizes, resulting in more players and more funding for education. The change in the law means the l
Jun 21, 2017, 7:42 am - Lottery News

New Mexico reduces college scholarships funded by lotteryNews Story
Lottery given minimal flexibility to increase sales College scholarships funded by New Mexico lottery proceeds will cover 60 percent of tuition costs for the next school year down from 90 percent as state education officials announced changes Wednesday aimed at stretching dwindling revenue for the financial aid program. The lottery-based scholarships help pay tuition for about 26,000 students at public universities, four-year colleges and two-year community colleges throughout the state. N
May 31, 2017, 3:58 pm - Lottery News

Bill allowing Oklahoma Lottery to increase prizes heads to the Senate floorNews Story
A bill moving through the Oklahoma statehouse would allow the state's lottery to increase prizes in hopes of generating more dollars for schools and boost the payout to education by about $100 million over the next five years. For years, lottery officials have asked lawmakers to let them plug more dollars into prizes in hopes it would increase participation and add more money to educational coffers. And for years, lawmakers balked. But this year, faced with a huge budget hole, lawmakers
Apr 17, 2017, 11:18 am - Lottery News

Are lawmakers selling the Texas Lottery short?News Story
Scratch-off lottery tickets are big business in Texas. They raise billions for state coffers and are so popular that as many as 95 new scratch-off games are introduced here each year, making up a sizable chunk of overall Texas Lottery sales, officials say. But lottery officials are worried they will have to cut back on the variety of scratch-offs offered and on the advertising that promotes the games now that Texas budget writers are considering cutting as much as $18 million from the agen
Apr 13, 2017, 8:39 am - 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

State audit questions Georgia Lottery business practices despite record profits to educationNews Story
Georgia sells more lottery tickets per capita than all but one other state lottery, according to a state audit of the Georgia Lottery Corporation, the quasi-governmental agency that runs it. But a steadily declining portion of lottery revenues flow back to the education programs the lottery is required by law to fund, and the corporation that runs the lottery needs to reform its business practices, according to auditors in the Performance Audit Division of the Georgia Department of Audits and
Jan 2, 2017, 5:31 pm - Lottery News