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Massachusetts legislators looking into fairness of lottery fund distributionNews Story
Massachusetts residents have been playing the lottery for nearly 50 years, enjoying both the risk and the benefits their towns and cities see. But some legislators are worried certain communities are getting more out of the game than others. Every year, about 20% of the revenue the state lottery rakes in is distributed to the 351 towns and cities, according to the Massachusetts State Lottery's website. In 2018, the lottery returned $997 million to the state, which was the second-highest total
May 29, 2019, 8:00 am - Lottery News

World Lottery Association president urges veto of warning labelsNews Story
Florida's first lottery secretary called on Gov. Ron DeSantis to veto legislation placing warning labels on tickets. Rebecca Paul Hargrove, now president of the World Lottery Association, said Florida could set an unfortunate precedent. Should the bill (HB 629) become law, it could hurt lottery-funded programs nationwide. The instant scratch-off games have been around for over 45 years, and sales of these games continue to grow every year, Hargrove wrote in a letter to DeSantis, but more
May 20, 2019, 9:45 am - Lottery News

New York Lottery first in U.S. to crack the $10 billion mark in salesNews Story
The New York Lottery had a pretty good year. The state's traditional lottery and video lottery gaming operations became the first in the nation to top the $10 billion mark in combined sales and net win, which is the earnings after winners are paid. The New York Lottery, the largest and most profitable in the country, recorded $8.2 billion in sales for the state fiscal year that ended March 31, 2019, the New York Gaming Commission announced in a news release this week. That includes sales f
May 15, 2019, 7:54 am - Lottery News

New lottery agreement with private operator Northstar expected to save NJ up to $100MNews Story
New Jersey government officials have renegotiated a contract with the private operator of the New Jersey Lottery that is expected to save taxpayers up to $100 million over the next decade. The new agreement raises the performance targets for Northstar New Jersey, a gaming conglomerate which has struggled to meet its financial promises to the state while also reaping tens of millions of dollars each year in incentives and fees. It had promised to generate at least $1.4 billion for the state ov
May 14, 2019, 11:38 am - Lottery News

Nearly $10 million in Louisiana Lottery winnings go unclaimed every yearNews Story
An unclaimed $1 million lottery ticket sold at a gas station near North Rampart Street in August, 2018 just expired in February, but there are millions of dollars in unclaimed prizes still up for grabs. The odds of winning the Louisiana Lotto is 1-in-3.8 million, but you don't have to win the jackpot to get a hefty pay out. We've had four winners this year, and one of them is for $10,000 and no one has claimed it yet, Richard Tallo, owner of Carwash Depot in Ponchatoula, said. Tallo is
May 13, 2019, 7:51 am - Lottery News

Lottery-scamming brothers avoid asset seizures by transferring property to their motherNews Story
By Jason Clayworth Two brothers who were behind the largest lottery scam in U.S. history and owe more than $2.3 million in unpaid restitution and court fees recently transferred several properties they owned to their mother. The transfers from Eddie and Tommy Tipton have raised further questions about why four states Oklahoma, Kansas, Wisconsin and Colorado have yet to seize their properties. It has been about two years since the brothers admitted their role in a scam that hijacked lott
Apr 29, 2019, 9:50 pm - Lottery News

Mississippi lottery board adopts rules on ethics and recordsNews Story
The governing board for the upcoming Mississippi Lottery is setting rules for ethics and public records. It is also taking steps to hire bankers to provide financial services and a person to run day-to-day operations. Mississippi is one of the last states to create a lottery after legislators voted to do so in August, partly as a way to provide money to pay for roads and bridges. Republican Gov. Phil Bryant nominated the five lottery corporation board members several months ago, and th
Apr 16, 2019, 2:09 pm - Lottery News

Florida's biggest Powerball winner sues her own son after winnings squanderedNews Story
Gloria C. Mackenzie became the largest sole lottery winner in U.S. history in mid-2013 when the then 84-year-old took home about $278 million after taxes on a $590 million Powerball ticket she bought at a Zephyrhills Publix supermarket. Five years later she sued her son Scott Mackenzie, who was her caretaker and the one who had total control over millions of dollars in winnings, saying he and his investment manager each lived off the money while poorly investing the proceeds, according to her
Apr 11, 2019, 4:02 pm - Lottery News

Audit of California Lottery finds over $305,000 in improper or dubious spendingNews Story
California Lottery officials tallied more than $305,000 in improper or questionable spending over the last four years that included travel, food, gifts to employees and entertainment expenses, a state audit concluded Tuesday. Among the improper expenses, the lottery agency spent $21,666 to give staff logo-branded swag such as T-shirts, backpacks, lip balm and iPad cases, labeling the purchases learning aids and training tools, according to the audit by state Controller Betty Yee. The finan
Apr 11, 2019, 9:32 am - Lottery News

No sales tax on Mississippi lottery tickets, but winnings will still be taxedNews Story
The Mississippi Legislature is expected to pass a measure clarifying that tickets for state's soon to be rolling lottery are exempt from sales taxes. But the state tax man will still get his cut on lottery winnings in Mississippi: They will be taxed as income, at the same scaled rate of 3 percent to 5 percent as any other income. This is a blow to Jackson, where Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba had been counting on lottery ticket revenue from a 1-cent sales tax in the city tacked on to the 7-cen
Feb 28, 2019, 11:34 am - Lottery News