Following is the reply I received from the Hoosier Lottery's legal counsel:
Dear Mr. Grimes,
Thank you for your e-mail in which you raised questions about the Powerball game and lottery statutes.
First, let me assure you that the Hoosier Lottery does not ignore the statutes that govern its operations. This organization is committed to conducting the best lottery games available and depends upon the confidence of the public in the integrity of those games for its success. We have implemented and improved our systems to prdvent future security breaches.
Be advised that the sales cut off for Powerball has NEVER been ½ hour before the drawing. Rather, since at least 1996 Powerball sales have been cut off at one hour before the Powerball drawing. Prior to that year, the cut off period may have been even longer. You may have the Powerball cut off confused with other drawings that have sales cut offs that are closer to the drawing.
The Lottery's Powerball rules establish that the director has the discretion to determine when to cut off sales. The one hour Powerball cut off decision was made in conjunction with the Multi State Lottery (MUSL) which is governed by a board made up of the lottery directors from the lotteries participating in the Powerball game. MUSL conducts the Powerball drawings in Iowa.
The Lottery has announced cut off times in various publications, on the Lottery's web site, in press releases, and, as you know, on occasional top-of-ticket messages.
I am confused by the second part of your e-mail where you have quoted a statute and referred to the "RNG scam," "liability limits" and "actively" tracking "player selections." I do not know what the term "RNG" means. Similarly, the Lottery has published certain "liability limits" in its rules limiting certain repeated plays in Daily 3 and Daily 4 games. I am not, however, sure if that is what you are referring to. Similarly, EVERY state tracks player selections in a computer database prior to a drawing. If they did not, they would not know when there was a winning ticket.
Finally, the Lottery seeks public comment on its activities and is always interested in feedback from our players.
If you could clarify your concerns, I would be happy to try and address them.
Janna J. Shisler
General Counsel
Hoosier Lottery
I should point out that I no longer play any Hoosier Lottery games, but only PowerBall, since it's drawn in Iowa and uncontaminated by the hands of the Hoosier Lottery. In the past, however, the message appearing at the top of every online ticket sold was the same one, regardless of the game. These messages are used to promote new games, to announce upcoming dvents or to distribute Amber Alerts across the state. In this case, it appears the message applies only to the PowerBall game. My apologies for the error.