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Internet sales of Minnesota lottery tickets coming to haltNews Story
Minnesota's lottery is primed to pull the plug on ticket sales over the Internet. In a series of steps beginning Friday, the lottery will stop selling Mega Millions, Hot Lotto, Gopher 5, Powerball and instant-win tickets online. When the instant-win games launched in early 2014, Minnesota became the first state to give the scratch-off franchise a virtual option. But state lawmakers were instantly uncomfortable and passed a law this spring that forced the lottery to stop those sales. The lo
Aug 28, 2015, 8:17 am - Lottery News

Minnesota Lottery to change policy after 6 major unclaimed prizes this yearNews Story
Officials with the Minnesota State Lottery said Wednesday they are changing their policy on information for winning lottery tickets after as many as six major prizes this year have gone unclaimed. Lottery officials said, effective immediately, they will disclose the name, address and city of the business where a winning lottery ticket is sold. In the past, the lottery has only released the county in which the ticket was sold. The new policy applies to six unclaimed prizes that amount to a
Jul 2, 2015, 8:46 am - Lottery News

Minnesota paperless, instant-win Lottery games to endNews Story
The Minnesota Lottery's experiment with paperless, instant-play tickets sold over the Internet and other platforms will come to an end as Gov. Mark Dayton decided Thursday against vetoing legislation suspending the games. The Legislature had sent Dayton the bill to stop the virtual games after overwhelming votes in the Senate last week and the House on Thursday. Spokesman Matt Swenson said Dayton would defer to their will rather than veto it, which could have subjected him to a possible overr
May 15, 2015, 8:45 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

New fight looms over MN lottery online salesNews Story
Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton is braced for a repeat struggle over the Minnesota Lottery and said Tuesday that its director faces a challenge in trying to preserve online ticket sales that many lawmakers want to outlaw. Dayton expressed little doubt that the Legislature will again attempt to bar most virtual ticket sales and acknowledged that the veto he used to short-circuit their push last spring might not hold up. At the urging of Lottery Director Ed Van Petten, Dayton struck down the prop
Dec 9, 2014, 8:55 am - Lottery News

Minnesota couple claim $11.7M Hot Lotto jackpotNews Story
Generous couple gives store clerk college money Rhonda Meath waits tables for a living. Her husband, Joe, is a retired turbine operator who still does some snowplowing at a nearby gas station. They live on a quiet 10 acres in northern Anoka County. None of that is likely to change, the Bethel couple say, now that they're $11.71 million richer, thanks to a winning lottery ticket Joe bought at that gas station. As the Meaths drove to Minnesota Lottery headquarters in Rosevilleon Monday mo
Sep 9, 2014, 9:45 am - Lottery News

Minnesota Gov. vetoes bill to limit online lottery salesNews Story
Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton vetoed a bill Friday that would have done away with online instant-play lottery games and barred sales of tickets via gas pumps or ATMs. His decision ends suspense over a bill that passed with big bipartisan majorities on the final day of the legislative session. The Democratic governor confessed to being torn over the strong message sent by lawmakers and his fear that the legislation was partly motivated by other gambling interests looking to protect their turf
Jun 1, 2014, 8:49 am - Lottery News

Minnesota Legislature passes lottery bill scrapping online scratch-off gamesNews Story
Gov. unsure if he will sign bill Both the Minnesota House and Senate on Friday overwhelmingly approved restrictions on online sales of state lottery tickets. The bill now goes to Gov. Mark Dayton, who has said he hasn't decided whether he'll sign it. Sen. Carla Nelson, R-Rochester, called implementation of the new electronic games overreach by the administration. Politically, we pinned their ears back, said Rep. Greg Davids, R-Preston. The lottery needs to have some controls, some
May 17, 2014, 11:08 am - Lottery News

Minnesota lottery officials try to salvage online salesNews Story
Minnesota State Lottery officials are scrambling to craft a last-ditch deal that would stop legislators from slamming shut the lottery's foray into online ticket sales. Lottery officials have been meeting daily with legislators to broker a compromise that would allow them to continue selling tickets online while prohibiting any new initiatives. I am hoping we can we reach some kind of common ground, state lottery director Ed Van Petten said. I think there is a chance that people will fina
May 9, 2014, 4:48 pm - Lottery News

Minn. Gov. says lottery needs time to end online gamesNews Story
Gov. Mark Dayton said Monday it would be pointless for him to veto a bill stripping the Minnesota Lottery's ability to sell tickets online if the Legislature votes convincingly for the restriction. Dayton told The Associated Press that he hopes lawmakers at least give the lottery adequate time to end its Internet games and minimize breached contracts. The Senate voted overwhelmingly last week for an immediate online lottery prohibition. A House vote could come soon. The Democratic governor
Apr 29, 2014, 8:33 am - Lottery News