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Mississippi lawmakers could debate creation of a lotteryNews Story
Mississippi residents for years have been crossing into Louisiana, Arkansas and Tennessee to buy lottery tickets. In 2018, lawmakers could debate whether Mississippi will join the large majority of states that offer games of chance. Supporters say money being spent on lottery tickets elsewhere could, instead, be spent in Mississippi, creating revenue to help pay for highways, schools or other state government services. If that money is going to go to educate children and it's going to
Dec 27, 2017, 11:42 am - Lottery News

Mississippi lottery committee plans final meetingNews Story
What is expected to be the final meeting of House Speaker Philip Gunn's lottery study committee is scheduled for Nov. 16 at the Mississippi Capitol. Gunn formed the study committee in April in response to efforts in the House to pass lottery legislation. After the November meeting, the plan is for legislative staff to compile the information garnered by the nine-member committee into a report to be presented to the Mississippi House before the 2018 session starts in January. The study comm
Oct 29, 2017, 9:26 am - Lottery News

Mississippi panel studying other state lotteriesNews Story
A special House panel has been looking at other states' experience with lotteries as it works on a study requested by House Speaker Philip Gunn, who opposes a lottery for Mississippi but says he wants the issue thoroughly vetted. Members of the House Lottery Study Working Group comprised of lawmakers, state gaming and other officials held their second of three meetings at the Capitol on Tuesday. The first meeting in May was described as lottery 101, on the history of, laws and facts about lot
Sep 6, 2017, 8:10 am - Lottery News

Mississippi lottery panel visits neighboring states to garner informationNews Story
Trips to neighboring states to observe their lottery operations have shed light on the types of decisions that must be made should Mississippi opt to enact a lottery, two Northeast Mississippi legislators recently said. Reps. Mac Huddleston, R-Pontotoc, and Nick Bain, D-Corinth, made trips to Little Rock last week as members of a task force created by House Speaker Philip Gunn, R-Clinton, to study the issues surrounding the lottery. Other members of the committee made a similar trip to Baton
Jun 25, 2017, 9:55 am - Lottery News

Critic calls a Mississippi lottery 'new tax' and 'false hope'News Story
Slams his aunt for sending lottery tickets for birthday gifts rather than cash The following is a column written by Jameson Taylor, the vice president for policy at the Mississippi Center for Public Policy. It is presented here as an example of how lottery opponents feel they should be able to decide how you live your life, the type of entertainment you should be allowed to enjoy, and how you should spend your money. Every year my aunt sends me $5 worth of lottery tickets for my birth
May 21, 2017, 12:19 pm - Lottery News

Mississippi lawmaker forms group to study why lottery would be bad for stateNews Story
Your tax dollars at work Mississippi House Speaker Philip Gunn said weeks ago that he would form a group to study the pros and cons of starting a state lottery. As the group met for the first time Wednesday, Gunn repeated his opposition to the game of chance. I do not believe a lottery is based on sound economic policy, and it violates a number of conservative, Republican principles, Gunn, a Republican who is also a leader in his local Baptist church, said in a news release. The purpo
May 4, 2017, 8:12 am - Lottery News

Odds of a Mississippi Lottery still long, but may be improvingNews Story
Democratic Rep. Alyce Clarke, who has represented Jackson in the Mississippi Legislature since 1985, is persistent. She has been an author of legislation to create a lottery in Mississippi every session since 2003. This year, as often is the case, she has two bills filed, one to create a lottery after a statewide vote and another to simply enact the lottery after the passage of her legislation. Clarke believes lottery revenue could be used to fund a college scholarship program as it is in
Jan 8, 2017, 1:45 pm - Lottery News

Chicago mayor toyed with idea of city-only lotteryNews Story
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has toyed with the concept of establishing a city lottery to help ease the city's financial woes and, while the idea has not progressed, it could get backing from at least one key Democrat in Springfield. That's one of the better nuggets buried in the trove of private emails that Emanuel was forced to release just before Christmas under pressure from a Better Government Association lawsuit. The May 5, 2015, email came from former Illinois Lottery Director Michael
Dec 28, 2016, 11:49 am - Lottery News

Alabama gambling council hears from state lottery executivesNews Story
The president of Louisiana's lottery said Alabama should be careful in how it drafts lottery legislation and cautioned against defining the game too narrowly. Louisiana Lottery President Rose Hudson and New Hampshire Lottery Executive Director Charlie McIntyre spoke to Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley's advisory council on gaming yesterday. Both states have long-established lotteries that provide money for public education. To establish a lottery in Alabama, the Legislature would have to pas
Dec 2, 2016, 10:48 am - Lottery News

Mississippi voters approved a lottery 24 years ago, so where is it?News Story
Every time a Powerball jackpot grows to life-altering levels, Mississippians pour across the state line to buy tickets. Americans spent $73 billion on lottery tickets last year, according to the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries. Mississippi voters approved a state lottery back in 1992, but the Legislature never followed up and has voted down all of the dozens of bills introduced to legalize the lottery. In the last session, Rep. Richard Bennett, R-Long Beach, sp
Oct 9, 2016, 8:05 am - Lottery News