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N.J. increases initial state tax withholding on lottery winningsNews Story
But does not affect what winner would ultimately pay in state taxes If someone buys a winning ticket for Friday's $540 million Mega Millions game in New Jersey, the state will be collecting more money at payout than it would have last month. Under the new rates, winnings greater than $10,000 up to $500,000 will have 5 percent automatically withheld, and prizes above $500,000 will face an 8 percent withholding. Previously, prizes greater than $10,000 faced a withholding of 3 percent. The
Jul 7, 2016, 8:53 pm - Lottery News

Illinois Gov. signs bill ensuring lottery prize paymentsNews Story
By Todd Northrop Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner Thursday night signed a bill giving the Illinois Lottery legal authority to continue all prize payouts if a budget deal is not reached. By passing SB 2047, Governor Rauner and the General Assembly are ensuring that the Illinois Lottery can continue its mission of supporting K-12 education, capital projects and select charitable causes throughout Illinois, said Acting Director Tim McDevitt. On December 7, 2015, Governor Rauner signed SB 20
Jul 1, 2016, 11:55 am - Lottery News

Online sales fuel increase in Michigan Lottery revenueNews Story
Since it began in Michigan last Thanksgiving, Internet lottery sales have mushroomed along with the number of players using their smartphones and personal computers to play. In November 2015, the State Lottery Bureau, without fanfare, moved into the Internet gaming market, making it easier for players to bet from home instead of driving to the nearest lottery store to place a wager. At the outset there were about 86,000 players who registered with the state for the Internet games. The n
Jun 21, 2016, 2:09 pm - Lottery News

Illinois Lottery winners again might not get paidNews Story
People who've waited more than a year for Illinois leaders to finish a state budget might start to feel like the prospects of a compromise are similar to the odds of winning the lottery. Now, Illinois Lottery winners might again face the prospects of not being paid their jackpots in a timely manner if no spending deal is struck by the end of the month. Last year, lottery winners sued the state to get their payouts and eventually did after Gov. Bruce Rauner and lawmakers agreed on a patchwo
Jun 17, 2016, 12:03 pm - Lottery News

Texas Lottery on track to crush sales recordNews Story
With three more months still remaining in the fiscal year, the Texas Lottery has already generated $1,019,639,473 in revenue for the state of Texas. This is the 13th consecutive year the Texas Lottery has contributed more than $1 billion in revenue to the state in the lottery's 24-year history. This is by far the earliest in the fiscal year that the Texas Lottery has passed the $1 billion revenue mark, said Gary Grief, executive director of the Texas Lottery. With phenomenal scratch ticket s
Jun 15, 2016, 8:42 am - Lottery News

State lawmaker calls for Illinois Lottery probe in light of audit findingsNews Story
Lottery head resigns, another possible winner payout shutdown looms A state lawmaker is calling for an investigation of the Illinois Lottery after a recent audit revealed it had violated the state finance law. The audit found that the Lottery circumvented the state's budget impasse by prepaying $20 million to take part in future multi-state lottery games, such as Powerball and Mega Millions. State Rep. Jack Franks, D-Marengo, said he wants either Illinois State Attorney General Lisa Mad
Jun 12, 2016, 8:45 am - Lottery News

Wyoming Lottery expansion faces hurdles despite state money woesNews Story
As Wyoming loses millions of dollars in revenue from its declining minerals extraction industry, the state lottery has started paying off by distributing some of its profits to cash-strapped cities and towns. A member of the board that oversees the Wyoming Lottery says the state might want to look at an expansion to tap even more revenue. But that would require expanding the type of games allowed a prospect that faces long odds in a Legislature wary of encouraging compulsive gambling. WyoL
May 30, 2016, 2:07 pm - Lottery News

Millions in prize money never claimed by NJ lottery playersNews Story
While the New Jersey Lottery pays out well over $1.8 billion in prize money each year, players lose out on tens of millions more when they fail to claim their winnings. In just the past eight years, about $317.7 million in payouts have been forfeited by players who fail to cash in their ticket within a year as lottery rules require. While lottery players are more diligent in some years than others, there's been at least $33.9 million forfeited every year since 2008. Winners have a year
May 23, 2016, 9:14 am - Lottery News

Audit: Illinois Lottery broke law to get around budget impasseNews Story
Eleven months ago, just as the state budget impasse was about to take hold, the Illinois Lottery violated state finance law by prepaying $20 million to take part in future multi-state lottery games, according to an Auditor General's report. Lottery officials made the prepayment because they were worried that a budget stalemate could prevent the state from participating in the Multi-State Lottery Association's future Powerball and Mega Millions games, according to the audit. The state's Lot
May 21, 2016, 5:14 pm - Lottery News

Which lottery games do N.J. residents spend the most money on?News Story
While Powerball and Mega Millions capture the public's attention when their jackpots soar into the hundreds of millions, it's other lottery games that pay the freight in New Jersey. During fiscal year 2015, the New Jersey Lottery sold more than $1.7 billion in scratch-off tickets, which accounted for about 57 percent of the roughly $3 billion the lottery generated last year. Mega Millions and Powerball, tickets for which are sold across the country, combined make up less than 11 percent of
May 13, 2016, 8:25 am - Lottery News