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Oklahoma Lottery revamping after lawmakers pass legislation to increase prizesNews Story
The Oklahoma Lottery is revamping its products and marketing strategy in light of a recent law change removing the requirement that 35 percent of its profits go to education. The changes were discussed Tuesday during a meeting of the Lottery Commission. Supporters of House Bill 1837, which was signed into law by Gov. Mary Fallin, say the removal of the 35 percent requirement will increase prizes, resulting in more players and more funding for education. The change in the law means the l
Jun 21, 2017, 7:42 am - Lottery News

Lottery vending machines considered in KansasNews Story
Kansas lawmakers are mulling over the possibility of legalizing lottery vending machines as a means to fund the state's struggling mental health system. Such machines are used in 37 other lottery states. The idea, floated by Rep. Chuck Weber, R-Wichita, is expected to increase funding to mental health services by $12 million over two years. Kansas has been under extreme budget stress the past few years as it looks for new ways to fund state programs. The recession and budget cuts resulted in
May 9, 2017, 8:24 am - Lottery News

Oklahoma governor approves increased lottery payoutsNews Story
Gov. Mary Fallin signed legislation Tuesday that could lead to higher Oklahoma Lottery prize amounts and higher revenue to education. Lottery officials believe the law will spur more purchases of instant-win scratcher tickets, which in turn will boost funding for public schools, CareerTech institutions, colleges and universities. House Bill 1837 doesn't affect the multi-state lottery games like Powerball, but people who buy scratch-off tickets should see a change in July. The Oklahoma L
May 3, 2017, 3:34 pm - Lottery News

Arkansas lottery players now can buy tickets with debit cardsNews Story
Starting this summer, retailers selling tickets for the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery will be authorized to accept payment by debit cards, thanks to a new law that zipped through the Legislature in 23 days with little fanfare. Since the lottery started selling tickets on Sept. 28, 2009, the law allowed only cash to be used in transactions. Now Arkansas will join most other state lotteries by allowing debit-card use. Senate Bill 617 sponsored by Sen. Trent Garner, R-El Dorado is now Act 876
Apr 17, 2017, 11:26 am - Lottery News

Bill allowing Oklahoma Lottery to increase prizes heads to the Senate floorNews Story
A bill moving through the Oklahoma statehouse would allow the state's lottery to increase prizes in hopes of generating more dollars for schools and boost the payout to education by about $100 million over the next five years. For years, lottery officials have asked lawmakers to let them plug more dollars into prizes in hopes it would increase participation and add more money to educational coffers. And for years, lawmakers balked. But this year, faced with a huge budget hole, lawmakers
Apr 17, 2017, 11:18 am - Lottery News

House committee considers bill that would allow Texas Lottery winners to remain anonymousNews Story
Texas statute already allows winners to have 'minimal publicity' The concerns of a border resident who hopes to win the lottery someday has led to a bill now being considered by lawmakers that would allow the Texas lottery's biggest winners to remain anonymous. On Monday, the House Licensing and Administrative Procedures Committee considered House Bill 59 by state Rep. Ryan Guillen, D-Rio Grande City, which would let winners of $1 million or more remain anonymous. It would not allow winner
Apr 4, 2017, 11:47 am - Lottery News

Florida lottery tickets could soon come with warning labelNews Story
Florida lottery tickets could soon carry a big warning label if a Republican legislator gets her way. A House panel on Tuesday voted for a bill that would require all lottery tickets to say Warning: Gambling can be addictive. Rep. Jennifer Sullivan, a Mount Dora Republican who is sponsoring the bill, said lottery tickets are a government-sanctioned activity and should come with the same kind of warnings found on cigarettes. The Florida Lottery sells a wide lineup of tickets ranging in
Mar 29, 2017, 7:42 am - Lottery News

Kansas lawmakers considering lottery vending machinesNews Story
Kansas Lottery players soon might be able to buy tickets from vending machines. The House voted this week in support of the move, which the state lottery has sought for three years. Lottery spokeswoman Sally Lunsford said the measure would increase lottery revenue and cut labor costs for retailers, where ticket buyers could bypass clerks and use the self-service machines. She said 37 other states, including Missouri, Colorado and Oklahoma, use the machines. Vending machines have increas
Mar 25, 2017, 3:30 pm - Lottery News

Lottery-winner secrecy bill dies in Idaho SenateNews Story
An Idaho Senate panel has killed legislation that would have allowed lottery winners to hide their identities. The Senate State Affairs Committee on Wednesday voted 8-1 to halt the measure that would have kept the names of individuals who win $600 or more secret. While the bill would have allowed winners to give written authorization to the lottery to publicize their names, the proposal also prevented those names from being released under public records requests for six months after the pr
Mar 1, 2017, 7:27 pm - Lottery News

Tennessee bill advances to remove lottery winners from government assistanceNews Story
The Tennessee House on Monday passed a bill despite opposition from Democrats that, if it becomes law, would require the names of lottery winners to be cross checked with federal and state government assistance programs. Sponsored by Rep. Dan Howell, R-Georgetown, passed by a 73-21 near party-line vote on Monday night. The bill would make any lottery winner of prizes more than $5,000 ineligible for government assistance. Howell said federal law, which has a lower prize threshold, requires
Feb 28, 2017, 3:52 pm - Lottery News