Search

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

Should a town that doesn't sell lottery tickets take in less lottery revenue?News Story
A steady flow of customers pulled up to the Harvard General Store one recent afternoon, picking up groceries, beer and wine, or prepared foods like quiche lorraine and split pea and ham soup. But lottery tickets, a lucrative staple of convenience and liquor stores in nearly every corner of Massachusetts, were nowhere to be found. In fact, the entire town forgoes the scratch-ticket business, standing on the sidelines of a nearly $5 billion enterprise. At least when it comes to playing. One
Feb 24, 2017, 1:11 pm - Lottery News

Florida House Speaker prepares to sue LotteryNews Story
The Florida Speaker of the House is drafting a lawsuit that would pit the House against the Florida Lottery. At the heart of the issue is a contract between the Florida Lottery and gaming vendor IGT Global Solutions Corporation, which provides lotto vending machines. Last year, the Florida Legislature budgeted about $26.6 million for terminal machines, $5 million for instant-ticket vending machines and $2.9 million for full-service vending machines, according to a draft of the suit. The
Feb 15, 2017, 10:30 am - Lottery News

US lottery operators worry as fewer millennials line up to playNews Story
Young Americans are showing less interest in buying lotto tickets than their parents, prompting lottery officials to worry about the odds for future growth. While overall ticket sales rose 9 percent last year versus 2015, the number of millennials adults in their late teens to early 30s who play is falling. That is creating consternation among leaders of the industry, which generates $80 billion in annual revenue, more than the combined U.S. sales of movie tickets, music and concerts.
Feb 10, 2017, 11:36 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

Older Pennsylvanians lose from lawmakers' raid on lottery fundNews Story
Includes video report Pennsylvania is now six years into the glut of baby boomers aging into their senior years and it's taking a toll on the Pennsylvania Lottery, which pays for the programs that serve them. Unless some changes happen and/or lottery ticket sales rise dramatically, the budget office projects the lottery fund that pays for senior programs could come up more than $70 million short in the next fiscal year and the situation worsens in ensuing years. We've been hit by the t
Jan 13, 2017, 7:32 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

N.C. Lottery chief refutes state studyNews Story
By Alice Garland, executive director of the N.C. Education Lottery One benefit of a state lottery is that as North Carolinians win the lottery, their prize money is subject to the collection of any debts owed to state and local governments. The lottery makes every effort to ensure all debts are collected from every prize, $600 or more. No exceptions. So far, more than $11 million that would have gone uncollected has been collected from lottery prizes. That's a benefit to all whom the money
Dec 26, 2016, 10:32 am - Lottery News

Maryland's love affair with the lottery at an all-time highNews Story
If you dream of winning the lottery and want to improve your chances of hitting it big, try your luck at Central City Liquors in Hagerstown, Maryland. The liquor store at 401 W. Washington St., shelled out the most cash to winners in Washington County, this year and last, according to the Maryland Lottery and Gaming Control Agency. We aren't able to provide the location where the most winners were sold, but the top cashing retailer in Washington County, for both calendar year 2015 and cal
Dec 19, 2016, 9:14 am - Lottery News

Illinois lawmakers call for investigation into lotteryNews Story
State lawmakers from both political parties are calling for an investigation of how the Illinois Lottery managed scratch-off games in response to a report showing the lottery didn't award many of the biggest prizes in the biggest games. I just don't think we should promise people things we don't deliver, said state Rep. Lou Lang, D-Skokie. And if we say we have a game that's going to pay X and it doesn't pay X, then we've lied to the people who bought the tickets. Lang was joined by stat
Dec 13, 2016, 8:24 am - Lottery News