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Vermont paying $8,000 per month on unused lottery machinesNews Story
Since last June, 25 lottery machines leased by the state of Vermont have gathered cobwebs in storage unplugged and unused at a cost of $8,000 a month. That means the state has paid $72,000 in fees for nothing. And the tab is still mounting. Neither the governor nor legislators were happy to hear about the losing proposition. I don't like that we're wasting money and having these machines sit idly, Gov. Phil Scott said Tuesday. His staff learned about the situation in February while workin
Apr 27, 2017, 2:37 pm - Lottery News

Pennsylvania eyes leap to internet for casinos, lotteryNews Story
Facing huge deficits, Pennsylvania could become the first state to allow both its casinos and lottery to take its games online in a quest for money from new and younger players. The state government has a slew of fiscal challenges, made worse by sluggish tax collections and one of the nation's oldest average populations. A Republican-controlled Legislature trying to avoid a broad tax increase under Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf has instead turned over other rocks in search of alternatives. Ther
Apr 24, 2017, 9:15 am - 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

Proposal to boost N.J. pensions with lottery could happen this year, treasurer saysNews Story
The state treasurer said Thursday that Gov. Chris Christie's proposal to use New Jersey Lottery ticket proceeds to bolster the government worker pension fund could be finalized by the June 30 end of the fiscal year. Christie floated the somewhat opaque proposal to transfer assets from the lottery to the pension fund in his February budget address. His administration hasn't released any additional details since, including what would happen to the programs currently funded by the lottery.
Apr 7, 2017, 10:02 am - Lottery News

Taxpayers pay millions in bonuses to outgoing lottery firm's staffNews Story
Illinois taxpayers have funded about $2 million in retention bonuses for employees of a private firm managing the lottery despite the firm performing so poorly Illinois is working to replace it. A Tribune investigation has found the state approved paying bonuses as part of a complicated deal it struck in 2015 with the firm, Northstar Lottery Group. Northstar agreed to end its 10-year deal early if the state met a host of conditions, including paying Northstar disentanglement fees, which inclu
Mar 29, 2017, 9:21 am - Lottery News

Judge rules whistleblower suit against Georgia Lottery can go forwardNews Story
A whistleblower lawsuit claiming a Georgia Lottery executive was fired after refusing to support inflated sales projections should go to trial, a Fulton County Superior Court judge decided this week. Kenneth Knight, former vice president for financial management at the Georgia Lottery, argued that he was pressured by Lottery President Debbie Alford and his boss to present the lottery board with flawed sales projections in April 2014. Knight says in the lawsuit that he told his boss about prob
Mar 22, 2017, 9:13 am - Lottery News

California Lottery delaying payouts to winnersNews Story
If you win a California Lottery scratchers prize above $600, you'll now have to wait much longer to get that money. The California Lottery says the reason is simple: they can't keep up with all the recent winnings. Winners used to receive their payouts in less than 6 weeks, but due the high volume of recent winners the estimated time is now between 12 to 14 weeks. While you can still redeem scratchers winnings of $599 or less at the stores where you bought them, $600 prizes require peop
Mar 9, 2017, 7:53 am - Lottery News

N.J. Gov. proposes using lottery funds to fix pension holeNews Story
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie used his budget address Tuesday to take a final stab at saving government worker pensions, proposing to dedicate revenues from lottery ticket sales to the distressed fund. Christie suggested the state transfer the lottery to public pensions to provide a dedicated source of revenue and dramatically reduce the amount actuaries say the state owes. Christie said pledging the lottery as an asset to the pension fund would have the same effect as a cash infusion, s
Mar 1, 2017, 7:39 pm - Lottery News

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