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Privatization of Texas lottery may get 2nd look in 2009News Story
Texans could buy lottery tickets at the checkout lines in supermarkets and big-box department stores, at coffee shops and cabarets. They could pay with credit cards or personal checks and play online or the old-fashioned way with a ticket that's also a tiny ad for anything from soft drinks to sporting events. Those are just some of the proposals offered to state officials by some of the nation's largest financial firms that have an interest in remaking the 16-year-old government-run Texas Lot
Apr 8, 2008, 10:42 am - Lottery News

Tenn. lawmakers want to force lottery to drop computer drawsNews Story
There is new discussion in the Tennessee Legislature about the possibility of the state lottery going back to using ping-pong balls to select the Cash 3 and Cash 4 winners. In 2007, a computer programming error prevented anyone who played repeated digits, such as two fives in a row, from winning. The error was discovered Aug. 20 when lottery officials contacted the system designer, Smartplay, about their concerns. The lottery is asking Smartplay, and the company that certified the syste
Mar 26, 2008, 9:08 pm - Lottery News

Appeals Court rules in favor of N.C. LotteryNews Story
Ruling leaves open possibility of N.C. Supreme Court appeal The North Carolina state lottery is safe for now. The N.C. Court of Appeals on Tuesday upheld a lower court's dismissal of a suit that challenged the way North Carolina's lottery was established. The lawsuit, filed in 2005, contended that the lottery is a tax and didn't go through the procedural requirements in the legislature for new taxes. The state disagreed, arguing that it makes a profit on the sale of lottery game tick
Mar 19, 2008, 9:59 am - Lottery News

Governor's plan to lease Vt. state lottery comes up a loserNews Story
Some called it the final nail in the coffin. Some called it a eulogy. Whatever they called it, members of the state Senate said a bill they passed Tuesday will likely stand as a tombstone over Gov. James Douglas' proposed lease of the state lottery. The bill seems fairly mundane in itself. It requires lawmakers' approval before the lottery could be leased something that might well have been required by law already. And the administration was already planning on obtaining Legislative accepta
Feb 27, 2008, 8:47 am - Lottery News

Michigan lawmaker wins $2M lottery jackpotNews Story
A Michigan lawmaker has won a $2 million lottery jackpot. Southgate Democrat Barb Farrah won the prize during Friday's game between the Detroit Pistons and the Milwaukee Bucks at The Palace of Auburn Hills. She randomly was selected from a pool of five finalists. It's a nice financial cushion for Farrah. She is serving her last year in the state House of Representatives and can't run again because of term limits. All the finalists were picked from a pool of 875 people who had bought $2
Feb 25, 2008, 2:54 pm - Lottery News

Editorial criticizes N.J. Lottery privatization proposalNews Story
Privately run lottery faces long odds Home News Tribune Feb. 2, 2008 Give [New Jersey] state Senate President Richard J. Codey credit for trying. Responding to the governor's assurance that he is open to ideas for solving the state's long-term budget woes, Codey, D-Essex, floated the notion of leasing the state's lucrative lottery. The way Codey figures it, the lottery might be worth billions upfront, and it might even produce some ongoing cash for the state if it is able to negotiate
Feb 5, 2008, 1:27 am - Lottery News

N.Y. takes first step toward lottery privatizationNews Story
New York has taken a step toward privatizing the state lottery. The state's Budget Division has started the process of hiring an independent investment adviser to guide Gov. Eliot Spitzer's proposal. Spitzer wants to open the lottery to private investors, using money made on a potential lease to start and sustain an endowment funding the State University of New York system. Spitzer has said any offer must include at least $4 billion in upfront payments. The Budget Division is seeking a f
Feb 4, 2008, 10:14 pm - Lottery News

Calif. Lottery director's job doesn't depend on auditor's reportNews Story
The California state Senate's decision on confirmation of Joan Borucki as director of the state lottery will be history by the time the state auditor completes its report on a questionable employee recognition celebration. The Senate Rules Committee postponed Wednesday's scheduled hearing for a week while staff gathers information for any committee members who may have questions on the Nov. 8 lottery event, said Alicia Trost, a spokesman for Senate leader Don Perata, D-Oakland. Perata plans t
Jan 29, 2008, 11:36 pm - Lottery News

Arkansas lottery plan garners some supportNews Story
Arkansas Lt. Gov. Bill Halter found support Thursday among Arkansas' city officials for his proposed constitutional amendment to establish a state-run lottery. The proposal, for which supporters are gathering signatures to place on the November general election ballot, would earmark lottery proceeds for college scholarships. Using a football analogy Thursday, Halter pitched his proposal to the winter conference of the Arkansas Municipal League as a way to move Arkansas from mired at or nea
Jan 11, 2008, 9:11 am - Lottery News

Tennessee Gov. wants to spend lottery reserveNews Story
Excess money would be distributed to school districts Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen said Thursday the state lottery's huge cash reserves need to be distributed. Bredesen, a Democrat, has abandoned last year's proposal to create a $100 million pool that would have served as collateral to improve credit ratings for school districts, he told The Associated Press in an interview Thursday. The legislature wanted to spend it, they didn't want to put it aside to enhance credit, Bredesen said.
Jan 11, 2008, 7:12 am - Lottery News