Search

Wisconsin Republicans to hold hearing on lottery privacy billNews Story
Wisconsin Republicans are planning to take public comments on a bill that would keep lottery winners' names secret. The Legislature's Committee on State Affairs is set to hold a hearing on the measure in the state Capitol on Wednesday afternoon. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos introduced the bill in April on the same day that 24-year-old Manuel Franco of West Allis came forward to claim a $768 million Powerball prize. Franco said he started feeling paranoid as soon as he realized he had the win
Jul 10, 2019, 11:19 am - Lottery News

Florida grandmother says state agency's mistake cost her lottery winningsNews Story
Includes video report Bobbi Segel said she can still remember the feeling she had scratching off the winning lottery ticket. According to my children, I sounded like a teenager in high school squealing at her prom date, Segel said. Segel said she was hoping to use $1,000 she won on an upcoming family trip she had already planned. I thought, 'Woo hoo! Vacation! Party! Key West, Segel said. That was all that was going through my mind at the time of winning that lottery. She also
Jul 9, 2019, 11:49 am - Lottery News

Massachusetts retailers resist Lottery's push for online salesNews Story
The Massachusetts Lottery's technological systems are on par with an old, wall-mounted rotary phone outdated and inconvenient, but it still works while customers increasingly expect to be linked to the world through a smartphone at all times, the agency's executive director told lawmakers last week. Holding up a large, black rotary phone, Executive Director Michael Sweeney made his latest pitch to lawmakers to allow the Mass. Lottery to offer its current products scratch tickets, draw games,
Jul 8, 2019, 8:57 am - Lottery News

Wisconsin bill allowing anonymity for lottery winners heading to committeeNews Story
A bill that would allow lottery winners to remain anonymous in Wisconsin will go before a State Assembly committee next week. The privacy act was introduced by Speaker Robin Vos the same day that a Milwaukee-area man claimed a $768 million Powerball prize this spring. Voss says requiring winners to be identified opens them up to possible fraud and takes away their right to privacy. Manuel Franco, a 24-year-old New Berlin man, claimed the prize back in March and during his press conference
Jul 8, 2019, 8:42 am - Lottery News

Florida Gov. vetoes bill to require warnings on lottery ticketsNews Story
A bill that would have required warnings on all Florida Lottery tickets will not become a law. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed the bill Friday. (See Florida lawmakers want to slap addiction warning notices on every lottery ticket, Lottery Post, May 2, 2019.) In a memo that accompanied the veto, DeSantis explained that Florida Lottery revenue goes to public education and that an agency analysis showed the bill could lead to a minimum $79.4 million reduction in education funding. A
Jun 28, 2019, 10:59 pm - Lottery News

Florida Lottery issues last-minute challenge to 'addictive' warning labels on ticketsNews Story
The Florida Lottery wants another look at the potential impact on education funding from legislation that would require slapping gambling-addiction warning labels on the front of tickets and ads. Gov. Ron DeSantis is getting closer to deciding whether to approve the bill (HB 629), which passed the House and Senate in early May. An initial projection about the bill's impact on education funding was made in March. But, appearing this week before state economists, Florida Lottery Director of
Jun 13, 2019, 9:43 pm - Lottery News

Former tribal lobbyist named as new California Lottery directorNews Story
California Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed Alva Vernon Johnson to take over the the state's lottery Monday, after former director Hugo Lopez stepped down Friday amid investigations. Johnson, a former tribal lobbyist, takes over a department that has been been under scrutiny from the Department of Justice and the State Controller's Office since August, when anonymous employees sent a letter to former Gov. Jerry Brown alleging misconduct among senior executives at sales conferences. Johnson lobb
Jun 11, 2019, 8:40 am - Lottery News

California Lottery director resigns amid investigationsNews Story
California State Lottery Director Hugo Lopez is stepping down immediately, he announced in an email to lottery staff on Friday. Lopez has led the department since 2015. It's been under scrutiny from the Department of Justice and the State Controller's Office since August, when anonymous employees sent a letter to former Gov. Jerry Brown's office alleging misconduct among senior executives at sales conferences. Lopez in his message said he was proud of the department's performance, particul
Jun 10, 2019, 8:18 am - Lottery News

New Hampshire wins Wire Act lawsuitNews Story
Federal judge to DOJ: Wire Act only applies to sports betting New Hampshire has won its lawsuit against the US Department of Justice clarifying the scope of a 1961 federal gambling law. In a 60-page ruling issued Monday, US District Court Judge Paul Barbadoro rejected a 2018 opinion from the Office of Legal Counsel which expanded the Wire Act to broadly cover interstate online gambling. The previous interpretation from 2011 applies narrowly to sports betting. The judge handed the DOJ a
Jun 5, 2019, 6:39 pm - Lottery News

Massachusetts legislators looking into fairness of lottery fund distributionNews Story
Massachusetts residents have been playing the lottery for nearly 50 years, enjoying both the risk and the benefits their towns and cities see. But some legislators are worried certain communities are getting more out of the game than others. Every year, about 20% of the revenue the state lottery rakes in is distributed to the 351 towns and cities, according to the Massachusetts State Lottery's website. In 2018, the lottery returned $997 million to the state, which was the second-highest total
May 29, 2019, 8:00 am - Lottery News