By far the worst Lottery in the Country (and maybe even the world) is the Hoosier Lottery. Here are just some of the reasons why:
A history of scandal and corruption: The Hoosier Lottery has a well documented history of scandal and corruption. These are just a few of the high...or rather low lights:
1. Jack Crawford was the Hoosier Lottery's first Director. He was forced to resign after news of an affair with his "housekeeper" hit the press. While this scandal was not related to lottery operations it does show that the Hoosier Lottery's first director was a person of questionable moral fibre.
2. The Foreman scandal proved that Hoosier Lottery employees can and do rig games. Mr. Foreman (a Hoosier Lottery security guard) provided information concerning the whereabouts of a winning scratch-off ticket. His partners in crime then purchased the ticket and tried to collect the prize. They were caught and forced to make a plea bargain agreement. However, Mr. foreman has not been prosecuted and press reports in Indiana indicate that he will not be.
3. In January of this year a class action lawsuit was filed against the Hoosier Lottery for posting false and misleading information with regard to the number of prizes available on scratch off games. In other words they said there were more prizes than there actually were. The Hooseir Lottery was forced to admit their published information was incorrect and prize information was indeed overstated but they blamed the company who produced the tickets for them. The outcome of the lawsuit is pending.
4. Hoosier Lottery Executive Director Esther Q. Schneider was forced to resign this year in what has come to be known as Esthergate. It seems Esther has even less moral fibre than the philandering Jack Crawford. Charges against her range from the relatively silly forcing Hoosier Lottery employees to watch her dog and pick up her dry cleaning to the far more severe awarding her friends and colleagues with Hoosier Lottery contracts. Published reports indicate was Esther was a terror to work for who had contempt for the citizens of her state. It is said she routinely referred to the citizens/players as rubes and hayseeds.
5. The Build Indiana Fund was a scandal to top all scandals and it shows how politicians will use and abuse the system for their own personal gain. Lottery (and Casino) revenues were to go into the Build Indiana Fund and were to be used to build (the ever popular) infra-structure of our great state. But alas, no infra-structure was ever built. It seems the money simply disappeared. The conculsion of the investigating Marion County Grand Jury...Well the money's gone but we can't find any evidence of wrong doing.
A culture of Secrecy, mis and dis-infrmation: The Hoosier Lottery has a history of not proviing any information or false and misleading information to anyone.
1. Despite a law that says the Hoosier Lottery is subject to regular public audits, in 1999 The Indianapolis Star Newspaper had to sue to get Hoosier Lottery sales figures. And despite same said law no public audit has ever been conducted. In other words the citizens of this state have no idea how much money the Hoosier Lottery makes or where it goes. And the Hoosier Lottery has no intention of telling anyone.
<>2. Go to the Hoosier Lottery website...click on games...pull down the Hoosier Lotto game and try to determine the cash value of the Hoosier Lottery. The cahs value of the Hoosier Lotto game is not published and in fact cash value is not even mentioned. The reality is all references to the cash value of the Hoosier Lotto game have been eliminated from the website...with one exception. In the FAQ section of the Hoosier Lottery website it says that the cash value of the Hoosier Lotto game is 40% to 50% of the annuity value. That information is simply flat wrong! Esther changed it last year (without announcement or public notice) to a flat 40%. But if you want to know the cash value you must call and ask or send an e-mail because as I said all reference to it under the game section has ben eliminated and the amount is not published.
3. Hoosier Lottery draws (while said to be open to the public) are not broadcast or televised. More about this later.
<>Horrible Games and Terrible Prizes:
<>1. The Hoosier Lotto (6/49) Game starts at $1 million annuity ($400,000 cash) and if nobody wins it..it doesn't roll over! That's right the Hoosier Lotto does not roll over until after the second draw. Then it goes up $500,000 (annuity) per roll. Regardless of how many tickets are sold...after the second draw the Hoosier Lotto game goes up a flat $500,000 (annuity).
<>2. In addition to this the Hoosier Lotto game now has a 30 year payout. Esther changed it from 25 years to 30 once again without announcement or public notice. By the way...even though there is 5 additional years tacked on the the annuity...there was no increase in the jackpot amount. That's right....the annuity was extended and the cash value was reduced.
By the way...How many of you are aware that the Hoosier Lotto game has not been won in over 9 months? That's correct nobody has won the Hoosier Lotto game since mid-October of last year. Could that be because of the...
<>Random Number Generator!
<>1. All Hoosier Lottery draw games are conducted by a computerized Random Number Generator and thy are not broadcast. (Nuff said about that.)
2. The Hoosier Lottery does not have mandated liability limits. Nonetheless, the Hoosier Lottery routinely blocks sets of numbers from their Pick 3 and Pick 4 games. The blocking is not based on sales but rather it is solely at the discretion of the Hoosier Lottery and is therefore, totally arbitrary.
Disproportionate distribution of winners.
1. The vast bulk of Hoosier Lottery winners come from the city of Indianapolis (Marion County)...the state capital and home of the Hoosier Lottery. The Hoosier Lottery says this is because Marion County is the most populous area in the state. But that compariosion does not stand up to scrunity. You can combine 3 or 4 different majr metrolitan areas in Indiana with comparable populations and much larger geographic distribution and see that explanation doesn't work. Of course without sales figures there is no way to determine buying patterns but the fact remains if you live outside of Marion county your chances of winning anything in the Hoosier Lottery are slim to none. In fact almost 1/3 of the counties in Indiana (albeit the smallest and least populous in the state) have never had a top tier winner in any Hoosier Lottery game! The Hoosier Lottery has been in existance for almost 18 years. Marion County averages 2 Hoosier Lotto winners a year and in some cases all the top tier prizes in scratch off games have gone to residents of Marion County. Don't take my word for it. Go to the Hoosier Lottery's web site and check it out for yourself.
Distribution of wining tickets is suppossed to ramdom. And of course draw games know no geopraphic boundries. But since we know the Hoosier Lottery has fixed games in the past one has to look at this data and wonder.
I could go on but what's the point? The fact remains while an argument could be made for any state lottery the fact is The Hoosier Lottery is by far the worst in the country and perhaps the worst in the world.
<>Jim
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