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Missouri Lottery sales drop amid coronavirus responseNews Story
With Missouri already losing tax revenue from the shutdown of the state's casinos, sales of lottery tickets have taken a nosedive as people stay home amid a pandemic. According to a weekly sales update obtained by the Post-Dispatch, overall sales dropped by 11% this week compared to a similar period last week. Scratch off ticket sales have dropped 9% and lottery draw games are down 11%. For the lottery, that amounts to a total sales drop of more than $1.7 million. The decline in sales i
Mar 20, 2020, 7:25 am - Lottery News

California lottery shorted schools by $36 million, auditor saysNews Story
The California lottery skimped on giving $36 million in revenue to fund public education and spent $720,000 on food and travel expenses without considering cheaper options, the state auditor said in a report made public Tuesday. Sales from scratch and lotto tickets have funded public schools and colleges in California since 1985. But the lottery should have accounted for an increase in profits during the fiscal year that ended in June 2018 by turning over an additional $36 million to finance
Feb 27, 2020, 4:35 am - Lottery News

Oregon Lottery will lose money on sports betting this yearNews Story
Agency cites higher start-up costs, lower margins and less betting activity than it expected Oregon Lottery Director Barry Pack will present some unwelcome news at the Lottery Commission's monthly meeting on Feb. 28. Scoreboard, the agency's new mobile sports betting app, will lose money for the fiscal year that ends June 30. Lottery will have a loss of $5.3 [million] from the program for the first nine months of FY '20, Pack said in a memo prepared for that meeting. Prior to launching
Feb 25, 2020, 7:17 am - Lottery News

Lottery industry facing new threat in 'skill' gamesNews Story
State lotteries are grappling with the rapid spread of unregulated skill gaming machines, which are found in convenience stores, bars, restaurants and taverns across the country. While these machines have existed for some time, their manufacturers and operators have become increasingly aggressive in their roll out strategy, placing these machines in the front of stores and even replacing lottery self-service terminals with them. Individual lotteries predict these machines could reduce their r
Feb 19, 2020, 9:34 am - Lottery News

Pa. Lottery blames growth of skill games, lack of big jackpots for drop in profitsNews Story
The growing proliferation of so-called skill games at Pennsylvania Lottery retailers are having an impact on the lottery's ability to generate revenue to pay for programs for senior citizens, a lottery official told state lawmakers on Tuesday. Lottery executive director Drew Svitko told lawmakers skill games could lead to a $200 million decline in scratch-off ticket sales this year. That is a bigger loss than the $115 million hit last year. Svitko attributed the higher projection to the ri
Feb 18, 2020, 7:06 pm - Lottery News

Lottery exceeding expectations in MississippiNews Story
Through a little more than two months of operation, Mississippi's lottery has generated about $16 million in revenue for work on the state's roads and bridges. Thomas Shaheen, president of the Mississippi Lottery Corporation, speaking at a legislative hearing, recently estimated that during its first full fiscal year the lottery would generate $81 million in revenue for the state. We are very pleased with these early results, Shaheen said recently. Retailer and player support have been fa
Feb 17, 2020, 9:27 am - Lottery News

California Lottery under fire for giving away $212,500 in Scratchers on 'Ellen'News Story
Comedian Ellen DeGeneres drew wild cheers from the studio audience of her television talk show in December when she announced each person in attendance would receive a $500 bundle of Scratchers tickets from the California State Lottery. Lottery officials saw it as a publicity boon, but a whistleblower complaint filed by some lottery employees argues the agency's giveaway of the tickets which have a combined face value of $212,500 should be investigated as a misuse of funds, according to docum
Feb 6, 2020, 5:32 pm - Lottery News

Despite predictions, state lottery ticket sales have not been hurt by casinosNews Story
For years, Rajesh Keshar heard the concerns of his fellow owners of corner stores in Everett, Massachusetts, about what the Encore Boston Harbor casino might do to their lottery sales. They worried that some customers would shift their spending from scratch tickets and numbers games to slot machines and gaming tables. Everybody was talking bad about it, said Keshar, who runs Elm Street Market, about 2.5 miles from the massive casino, which opened in June. I was thinking positive. Because I k
Feb 3, 2020, 9:37 am - Lottery News

Nearly $9 million of Mississippi Lottery tickets sold in first 6 daysNews Story
The Mississippi Lottery sold nearly $9 million in tickets during its first six days of operation. About $3.8 million of the money was awarded in prizes, and nearly $2 million of it will go into the state budget to help pay for roads and bridges. The Mississippi Lottery Corporation started selling tickets Nov. 25, and it announced the initial sales figures in a news release Wednesday. The corporation says the largest prize awarded has been $15,000. It says most people who are collecting
Dec 5, 2019, 10:29 am - Lottery News

State auditor general to audit Pennsylvania Lottery, with special focus on high-frequency winnersNews Story
State Auditor General Eugene DePasquale announced a new performance audit of the Pennsylvania Lottery Wednesday, with a special emphasis on studying the state-run gaming franchise's protections against being ripped off by players or retailers who are intentionally gaming the system. Last fiscal year, Pennsylvania Lottery players bought $4.5 billion in game tickets and claimed more than $2.9 billion in prizes, DePasquale said in announcing the new review at the state Capitol. Seniors, lottery
Dec 4, 2019, 3:32 pm - Lottery News