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Arkansas Lottery sales director to resignNews Story
The Arkansas Scholarship Lottery's director of sales was given a choice Monday resignation or termination. Lottery Director Bishop Woosley confirmed Monday that Robert Stebbins, who has been with the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery as the group's director of sales since its start, is no longer working for the program. Woosley said early Monday night that Stebbins was told he'd be fired if he didn't quit, but Woosley said he doesn't know which option Stebbins will take. There was no answer
Jun 30, 2015, 10:11 am - Lottery News

China reveals misuse of $2.7 billion in lottery fundsNews Story
China has uncovered widespread misappropriation of 16.9 billion yuan (US$2.72 billion) of funds from its state lottery program, underscoring the extent of official corruption as the country tries to root out graft. Funds were misappropriated through the buying and building of office buildings and hotels or embezzled, the National Audit Office said in a report on its website. The state auditor said the irregularities accounted for a quarter of the total of lottery funds received in its 2012
Jun 25, 2015, 8:12 am - Lottery News

Ohio Lottery officials exploring other ways to pay winning-ticket holdersNews Story
Ohio Lottery officials are considering new options to pay some winners because retailers now have less cash on hand to give out to those holding winning tickets. Lottery winners one day might receive payment cards or have their winnings electronically transferred to an account, the Northeast Ohio Media Group reported. Retailers can redeem winning tickets of up to $599, but Greg Bowers, Ohio Lottery finance director, said some retailers don't have enough cash on hand to pay out the prizes b
Jun 22, 2015, 7:57 am - Lottery News

Wyoming Lottery to release salariesNews Story
The Wyoming Lottery board voted 8-1 at a special meeting Monday to release salary information for board members and employees. Lottery CEO Jon Clontz said he will distribute the salary information Tuesday. After the salary issue was decided, the board passed a provisional budget for the upcoming fiscal year with $27 million in projected revenues but didn't have copies of the projections for the public to view. Since April, local media and lotto officials have disagreed on whether the sa
Jun 16, 2015, 12:47 pm - Lottery News

Wyoming Lottery refuses to release individual salariesNews Story
The Wyoming Lottery Corp. wants to keep its salaries and benefits secret from the public, with officials saying disclosure will hurt the new organization from a competitive standpoint. The Casper Star-Tribune sent a records request to the lottery, asking for compensation of executives and board members. CEO Jon Clontz denied the request May 8. The lottery and newspaper disagree in the interpretation of the 2013 law that created the organization. Lottery officials argue it is a private c
May 18, 2015, 7:13 am - Lottery News

Minn. Senate passes bill restricting expansion of State LotteryNews Story
Minnesotans soon may no longer be able to buy lottery tickets at ATMs, gas pumps or online, as the Senate overwhelmingly passed a bill Thursday that would restrict the Minnesota State Lottery's yearslong foray into new gambling platforms. The decisive 56-8 vote was a rebuke to Gov. Mark Dayton, who vetoed a similar measure last year. Bill author Sen. Lyle Koenen, DFL-Clara City, and Republican advocates of the bill framed the issue as one of legislative prerogative, accusing the State Lott
May 9, 2015, 7:30 am - Lottery News

Former Georgia Lottery official files whistleblower lawsuitNews Story
A former top finance official with the Georgia Lottery has filed a whistleblower lawsuit claiming that he was fired after refusing to present inflated sales projections. Kenneth Knight, former vice president for financial management at the Georgia Lottery, names the lottery and its president, Debbie Alford, in the lawsuit. Knight argues that he was pressured by Alford and his boss to present the lottery board with flawed sales projections in April 2014. Knight says in the lawsuit that he t
Apr 25, 2015, 6:28 pm - Lottery News

A state lottery could help Alabama get its financial house in orderNews Story
Fifty years ago, lotteries were illegal in every state, but they have proven so lucrative and politically irresistible that 44 states have since started selling tickets to the lottery. In 2013, state-run lotteries brought in $62 billion, which amounts to $257 in sales to every adult in the nation. Six stubborn holdouts remain. Alaska and Hawaii are isolated enough that they do not feel pressured by sales from their neighbors. Nevada and Mississippi have gambling lobbies that don't want a stat
Apr 20, 2015, 9:15 pm - Lottery News

Dozens of 'dead people' collected NJ lottery prizes last yearNews Story
Nearly four dozen New Jersey lottery winners collected their prizes with false Social Security numbers belonging to dead people, according to an audit of the state lottery system. The audit also found that the lottery missed out on recovering $890,000 that winners owed in taxes and other obligations for the fiscal year that ended last June. The report, released Wednesday, said 680 people who won at least $600 presented potentially invalid IDs from July 2013 to July 2014. People are requ
Feb 19, 2015, 4:32 pm - Lottery News

Texas Lottery has its best week of scratch-off sales in 23-year historyNews Story
Scratch-off sales for last week totaled nearly $76 million Last week, the Texas Lottery had its highest scratch-off ticket sales in the Lottery's 23-year history. Sales for scratch-off games totaled $75,677,650 beating the previous record of $75,360,138 set in March 2013. We are thrilled with last week's scratch-off sales as revenue generated from these games benefits public education and veterans in Texas, said Gary Grief, executive director of the Texas Lottery. When Texans are playi
Feb 10, 2015, 10:23 am - Lottery News