Legislation's refusal to deliver balanced budget threatens to cut off popular multi-state games
The association that runs the popular Powerball lottery and Mega Millions games will drop Illinois at the end of June without a budget agreement.
Concern over the state of Illinois' fiscal condition prompted that decision by the Multi-State Lottery Association, according to internal Illinois Lottery communications.
Illinois Lottery spokesman Jason Schaumburg on Thursday morning confirmed that the games will be dropped without a state budget. He said the association has had discussions since 2015 about dropping Illinois, but this is the first time the group has taken action.
He called it "another example of why the General Assembly needs to deliver a balanced budget to the governor."
"Its unfortunate. Powerball was the only thing that I would buy, because I knew that it would pay out," said Anthony Martinez, who lives in the Logan Square neighborhood. "With the Illinois budget crisis, it's not a guarantee that Illinois' going to actually pay out on your lottery winnings."
The state reported $99.4 million in Mega Millions sales and $208 million in Powerball sales within the 2016 budget year. It's unclear how much revenue the state got from the sale of those tickets.
The Multi-State Lottery Association is a non-profit, government-benefit association owned and operated by its 36 member lotteries. All profits are retained by the state lottery and are used to fund projects approved by the state legislatures, according to the association. The Illinois Lottery isn't part of the association.
Powerball is offered in 44 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Mega Millions is offered in 44 states, along with the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Shaneen Murray, a Woodlawn resident, said taking away the temptation of some of the high-profile lottery games is "not necessarily a terrible thing."
"Maybe people can save money, or put their money toward something better," she said.
Thanks to John L. for the tip.
If they lose PB and MM, they will riot.
Good, if they don't pay out they shouödn't sell.
There will be a string of cars heading to border States who do sell PB & MM. Kinda reminds one of the scene in " Fields of Dreams " where Mann* James Earl Jones says " People will come Ray, they will come to Iowa for reasons they can't even fathom".. in their cases for lottery tickets.
The state games have better odds. It's true
There's always Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Kentucky, and Indiana to provide these games for Illinois residents. Even for someone who lives in the middle of the state, Town of Chesnut, they will be no more than 100 miles away from the nearest out-of-state lottery retailer. It might be a hassle to make the drive or Uber, but at least it will be an excuse to go on a trip for a chance to win big on a record breaking jackpot and play another game that will actually payout.
If you're an Illinois resident, it's probably time to download Lottery Places and find that closest out-of-state lottery retailer.
SMH...
Their failure to get an agreement and lose these 2 games state wide will serve as an example to other states how not to be stupid. The governor needs to step in with an executive order to separate this out temporarily. The lost of funds will teach them a lesson.
I like your example. Look at what has happened here in Philadelphia with the soda tax. It's not going to where it's supposed to be. In fact they passed the bill without the consent of city residents so what does that say.
Indiana lets winners remain anonymous, sounds good to me.
But I do wonder if any states have been dropped before.
In the once grand Land of Lincoln, the pervasive political/fiscal corruption in leadership is leading Chicago & the State into potential bankruptcy-
So sad, so bad, sorry for the good citizens who deserve better
I'll be sad to see Illinois go, but I'll be happy they'll be saving money!
Though jackpots will rise slower then.
If Illinois doesnt pass a budget by the lottery's deadline, once it does, the lottery will admit the state back in. The lottery needs the state as much as the state needs the lottery.
I only play the Lucky Day Lotto because the odds are better. I could never see giving someone from Cali or N.Y. my money so I never buy a Power Ball or Mega Million ticket. Really would not bother me if Illinois did not have a lottery period. 3 years without a state budget has given me a case of "who gives a <snip>."
Would be sad to C Illinois go into bankruptcy. It would be even sadder to loss the MM and PB from that state
California could be next as they are on the way to single pay and so far Musk has received over 4 billion of free money from the government to keep building cars. Then we have Puerto Rico trying to get statehood because, then this territory could declare bankruptcy as a state and get rid of all there trillions of debt $$$$$ 
Well that is one thing the democrats really know how to do and are good at.... Riot So I wouldnt doubt it one bit.
Live in Indiana, sorry but they do not let you stay anonymous.
LottoExit I think Illinois should have been kicked out a long time ago from lottery business when they started I owe you. The only thing they should be selling is McDonald's and Burger King if they can even do that with no problems :) we have too many successful states already doing lottery good we won't miss Illinois and Oklahoma and tiger woods and bill Cosby they all suck like hell lol
Wasn't there a MM or PB winner from Indiana that was anonymous?
Yes. There was a large jackpot won by a man who worked at Purdue.
Why not create a lottery on your street, that only your neighbors could buy tickets for? The odds of winning would be much better and you'd be guaranteed that you would know the person who won. Oh wait. I guess that wouldn't be a very big jackpot, then. Never mind!
And it looks like the Illinois Lottery website is down, I keep getting the Ubuntu2 default web page.
From the IL lottery website:
NEWS ABOUT POWERBALL GAME IN ILLINOIS
Why Is The Lottery Halting Powerball And Mega Millions Sales?
The groups that own and operate these two popular games will not permit Illinois to sell the games without funds available to pay prizes. The Illinois Lottery must have an appropriation from the legislature to fund the prize payments, which has not yet happened.
"Sometimes" you need to lose a thing in order to miss it.
What's the old saying " You don't miss your water 'till your well runs dry"- unless its getting out of a truly bad relationship. Then,Yeah!
Actually for the last week or 2 the website has been going down sporadically. Sometimes I get the can't connect message, one time I got a wordpress site, and then today the default Ubunt2 webpage. I could get on later.
Yes. Indiana law allows winners to be anonymous if they claim their prize through a limited liability company or legal trust.
Illinois seems to be the home of Political Lunacy
NEVADA/UTAH/ALASKA etc IS ON FIRE!
While obviously WI and IN will see greatly increased sales due to Illinoisans crossing the border when the jackpot gets very big, most people ware not going to have strong opinions on the two big games leaving. Clearly if a majority or even a strong minority had a big devotion to the games, they wouldn't be in the mess they are right now.
I contacted Hoosier Lotto. Can claim as a LLC to try and remain anonymous but there is no true way to remain anonymous. I tried to upload a screen shot of their reply but didn't know how.
l *think creating an LLC " buys " you the winner some time, but unless you live in a State that preaches anonymity for winners,there are those people who are prepared to dig deep enough, to find out who the winner truly is.Knowing that, it would pay to win a lesser jackpot, like say $100 mil, cause it doesn't seem to raise an eyebrow these days.
Just saying..
Here's the problem;
http://thesouthern.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/here-s-a-look-at-illinois-unprecedented-budget-mess-as/article_35d52071-0081-5683-9ea3-d47fb3bc4fb4.html
Madigan and his cronies must go!
I wonder what this would do to lottery statistics...how many states with lotteries, etc...
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/kass/ct-dissolving-illinois-kass-met-20170620-column.html
Another one of Obama's legacies.
RL
This will hurt but not as bad as if an Illinois game went
In my area primary games played (From my own observations) are Pick 3 + Pick 4 + Lucky Day + Instant Tickets. Most people dont seem to play Illinois lottey regularly and Mega/PB only really sells alot when jackpots climb past 200M
I have been buying Mega every week though recently because I wanted to play it thru until the changes when I wont play it as much. So this will interfer with that but if jackpot gets high enough (300M) , Then I will go to Indiana since I dont live that far from border
People are not outraged ,, Just view this as another disappointment and embarrassment for our state
The bigger story is that IDOT (Illinois Department of Transportation) will stop work on all projects come July 1st without budget. That will be an issue that will impact state dramatically as IDOT cant pay contractors/etc on projects without budget or alternative funds
The Soda tax in Cook County that begins in July is going to effect business as well and many people may just decide that going to Indiana for food + gas + lotto is worth it
Illinois is a mess to be perfectly honest at this point
Illinois in danger of entering financial 'death spiral'
Illinois' budget corrupted crisis has become so dire that the state is in danger of entering a financial "death spiral," as a prominent ratings agency threatens to downgrade the state's credit score to "junk" status. Doing so would increase the cost of borrowing, worsening the deficit and making it even harder for taxpayers to dig out of the hole. “We’re in a death spiral-
And it appears that without budget wins of 25k+ wont be paid out on any Illinois Lottery win
Illinois again a laughingstock
Wonder how much this one will hurt the lotto. Its struggling to gain back trust of players after the revelations that many top prizes were not paid out on games and game payouts overall dropped from around 87% when state ran it to 56-57%+ under Northstar (A clearly deliberate man made influence in game to drop that much)
Wonder if Greg Smith regrets leaving Vermont to run Illinois lottery (He took it over this year)
Any Illinois winners waiting to be paid can contact WindyCityLLC 312-508-0818 for imeadiate payment
Well, for the time being, if you win the Lucky Day Lotto, all you will get from the State is an IOU.