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Lottery scam with a twist hitting Central TexasNews Story
How would you react if you heard, Congratulations, your prize has been reserved! over the phone? The message is part of a sophisticated phone scam plaguing Central Texas, and is responsible for stealing millions of dollars from Americans each year. Joann Keilberg and her husband Jim almost fell for it. The Smithville, Texas, couple received a call in July from someone claiming to work for Publishers Clearing House. I was happy, Keilburg said. The caller said the won couple won $3.5
Sep 5, 2015, 8:10 am - Lottery News

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

N.C. legislators look to expand lotteryNews Story
Lawmakers in Raleigh are looking to place bets on the state lottery once again as a source of more money for education programs across North Carolina. House and Senate budget negotiators are working on a plan, already adopted by the state Senate, that would significantly increase advertising of the lottery's scratch-off and other offerings, including the Powerball and Mega Millions jackpot games. Another part of the plan, also backed by the Senate: Making a version of instant tickets availabl
Aug 22, 2015, 10:07 pm - Lottery News

NJ Lottery officials still investigating cause of massive outageNews Story
The exact cause and circumstances of a five-day outage that blocked nearly half of New Jersey's lottery retailers from selling printed tickets like Pick 3 and Mega Millions earlier this month are still a mystery, but a few determinations are unanimous. The blackout, although anomalous, was unacceptable, may have been detected sooner and should have been handled better, state officials and executives from Northstar New Jersey, the group responsible for the lottery's sales and marketing, said a
Aug 20, 2015, 8:27 pm - Lottery News

Lottery Places mobile app featured on Discovery ChannelNews Story
Lottery store locator app works on iPhone, Android and Windows Includes video report How many lottery tickets go unpurchased every day because people with an urge to play the lottery right now aren't sure where they can buy tickets? That's a question a new mobile app hopes to eliminate, by giving everyone a quick and easy and free way to find the nearest lottery retailers. The app is called Lottery Places, and it will be featured on the Discovery Channel Friday morning, Aug. 7, on th
Aug 6, 2015, 7:53 pm - Lottery News

California Lottery begins offering tickets at gas pumpsNews Story
Play at the Pump, the California Lottery's latest expansion of the lotto market, is both convenient and controversial. Convenient because it allows credit card users to both fill up and buy up to $20 worth of Quick Picks without ever having to go inside. At the same time, it's controversial because the offerings are a sharp change from the lottery's long standing cash-only rules aimed at cutting down on overspending by poor people and chronic gamblers. The concerns are valid, said Alex
Aug 4, 2015, 10:40 am - Lottery News

N.J. lottery drawing games offline across the state over the weekendNews Story
Half of all lottery retailers across New Jersey were not been able to issue any tickets from Friday night through Monday as a result of a technical issue, a state Treasury spokesman confirmed Monday. The problem was touched off by a scheduled system upgrade Friday, according to an email from Treasury spokesman Chris Santarelli. The glitch interfered with retailer shops' ability to print out ticket for draw games, such as the Pick 3, Pick 4 and the Jersey Cash 5, and Cash4Life. Instant game
Aug 4, 2015, 7:47 am - Lottery News

Former lottery security employee guilty of rigging $14.3M drawingNews Story
Jurors convicted a former Iowa lottery security official of two counts of fraud Monday for rigging a Hot Lotto drawing to win $14.3 million. The jury's verdict came after three days of witness testimony last week in the case against Eddie Tipton, 52, who faces up to 10 years in prison. It's believed to be the first prosecution of a person accused of tampering with lottery equipment to manipulate a draw. Tipton stared straight ahead with his hands folded as the verdict was read, showing no
Jul 20, 2015, 2:21 pm - Lottery News

Hot Lotto case moves to jury for deliberationsNews Story
Attorneys gave their closing arguments Friday in the fraud case against a former lottery vendor employee accused of manipulating a Hot Lotto drawing to win a $14.3 million ticket. Eddie Tipton, 52, is being tried on two counts of fraud. He has been accused of buying the winning Hot Lotto ticket at a Des Moines QuikTrip on Dec. 23, 2010. Tipton was defined by Iowa law as a prohibited player in his former position as the information security director for the Multi-State Lottery Association, or
Jul 17, 2015, 8:53 pm - Lottery News

Defense quickly wraps up in Hot Lotto trialNews Story
Argues that store video does not show Tipton Includes video report The defense rested its case Thursday afternoon about an hour after starting to call witnesses in the trial of a man accused of rigging a Hot Lotto computerized lottery drawing. Eddie Tipton, 51, is charged with two counts of fraud. He was a lottery security worker who is charged with rigging a Hot Lotto game so he could win a $14.3 million jackpot. This morning a worker at the multi-state lottery spoke of Eddie Ti
Jul 16, 2015, 7:25 pm - Lottery News