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Lawmakers steamed about lottery promotionNews Story
The Maine Lottery is getting strong, bipartisan criticism for its Funds For Fuel promotion as lawmakers say the lottery should not be using Mainers' fear of high fuel prices this winter to sell more lottery tickets. I think it is misleading, Sen. Debra Plowman, R-Hampden, a member of the Legislature's Legal and Veterans Affairs Committee that has oversight of the lottery, said this week. It almost sounds like some of the money will go to fuel assistance. It doesn't. It is just another way to
Nov 14, 2008, 7:39 am - Lottery News

Weak bond market lowers lottery annuity jackpotsNews Story
Situation serves as reminder of how jackpots are calculated The nation's financial crisis is causing a dip in one of the optional jackpots offered in Wisconsin's Megabucks lottery game. The lottery said Tuesday that the annuity option which has a jackpot paid in installments over 29 years will decline for the first time because of a weak bond market. State lotteries fund their annuity options by using ticket revenue to buy conservative, government-backed bonds. For the Wisconsin lott
Oct 29, 2008, 9:06 am - Lottery News

DOJ says privatizing state lotteries illegalNews Story
Indiana drops privatization plans after DOJ issues opinion Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels said Friday that he is dropping the idea of privatizing the Hoosier Lottery as an option of funding a college scholarship program after the U.S. Department of Justice said such a move would not comply with federal law. The Oct. 16 opinion, which Daniels' office said was requested by Indiana and New Jersey, says states would not comply with federal law if they enter into long-term private management ag
Oct 28, 2008, 8:25 am - Lottery News

Oklahoma lottery seeking more prize moneyNews Story
Oklahoma lottery officials may try to ask the Legislature to put more money into prizes, but a House leader doesn't expect they'll have much success. Sales of lottery games are down about $9.6 million in the first 3 months of the 2009 fiscal year. Oklahoma Lottery Executive Director Jim Scroggins last week suggested that the commission approach lawmakers after the Nov. 4 elections.The idea did not win much support in this past legislative session and faces long odds this time around. We a
Oct 21, 2008, 8:51 am - Lottery News

Lawsuit filed to pull lottery off Arkansas ballotNews Story
A group opposing a state-run lottery asked the Arkansas Supreme Court on Friday to throw the proposal off this fall's ballot. The Arkansas Family Council argued in a petition filed with the state's highest court that the proposed constitutional amendment's title and name should be found inaccurate, incomplete and misleading because they don't define lotteries and doesn't warn voters of potential consequences of authorizing a state-run lottery. The proposal leaves it up to the Legislature to w
Sep 20, 2008, 2:42 pm - Lottery News

Illinois House approves privatizing state lotteryNews Story
Illinois would raise $10 billion for building roads and schools by privatizing its state-run lottery for half a century under a plan the House approved Wednesday night. After years of resisting, Speaker Michael Madigan and his House Democrats approved turning the lottery over to a private vendor because Gov. Rod Blagojevich and the Legislature have never agreed on another way to pay for a statewide construction program. The House also voted to restore some of the painful budget cuts Gov. R
Sep 12, 2008, 3:15 am - Lottery News

Law creating N.C. Lottery to be reviewed by state's Supreme CourtNews Story
North Carolina's highest court will decide whether the Legislature approved properly a bill that created the state's education lottery. State Supreme Court justices scheduled oral arguments Monday in a lawsuit originally filed by taxpayers who sued state and elected officials. At issue is whether 35 percent of the price of each lottery ticket constitutes a tax. If so, the state legislature violated the North Carolina Constitution when it approved the lottery in 2005 because it did not foll
Sep 8, 2008, 2:59 pm - Lottery News

Senate panels look into privatizing Texas LotteryNews Story
As state revenue from the Texas Lottery continues to decline, two Senate committees on Wednesday began searching for ways to boost the state's take from the games of chance including the possible privatization of the entire lottery operation. Senators indicated they are willing to look at a variety of options to get the revenue flow back on an upward track after recent declines - including a drop to about $975 million this fiscal year after several straight years of totals over $1 billion - a
Aug 30, 2008, 12:41 am - Lottery News

Arkansas Lt. Gov. pushes lottery proposalNews Story
Four times members of Lt. Gov. Bill Halter's staff have traveled to various corners of Arkansas to speak about the lottery proposal. When college has never been more important to Arkansas, it's also never been more expensive. Halter says Arkansas needs more college graduates. And the way to fund that is to keep some of the dollars flying out of Arkansas to neighboring states lottery games. Halter says, In Texas alone they raised more than a billion dollars for education last year off of t
Jul 15, 2008, 6:54 pm - Lottery News

D.C. Lottery contract award put on holdNews Story
Washington, D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty is withdrawing a controversial proposal to award a $120 million lottery contract to a start-up firm in a maneuver designed to prevent the agreement from dying in the D.C. Council. Fenty (D) will resubmit the proposal in September, when the council returns from a summer recess, interim Attorney General Peter J. Nickles said. That would be the third time Fenty asks the council to give the contract to W2I Ventures instead of extending the agreement with
Jun 27, 2008, 8:01 am - Lottery News