Florida would be the first state lottery in North America to require such a prominent warning, according to lottery industry officials. Governor DeSantis says he has concerns about the bill, indicating a veto is a real possibility. Former Gov. Rick Scott rejected a similar bill in 2017. Scott cited the potential hit on school funding in his decision to reject the prior proposal. He said the warning requirement was “in direct conflict with the Lottery’s constitutional mandate to maximize revenues and reduces the educational opportunities available to Florida families.”
Camelot CEO Nigel Railton commented: “As we celebrate 25 years of The National Lottery and the massive difference it has made to UK society – with an incredible £40 billion raised for Good Causes – I’m delighted to see our hard work paying off. Sales across most of the business are up – with our ongoing investment and innovation in retail and digital continuing to yield positive results. In particular, we’ve spent much of the last 12 to 18 months getting our draw-based games back in good health – with a more balanced portfolio that now offers something for everyone – and making improvements to our Scratchcards and online Instant Win Games in terms of product design, range, merchandising and availability, which has led to record sales of those games.
“It’s a special time of year for students and their families,” said Rebecca Hargrove, Tennessee Lottery President and CEO. “Graduating from a post-secondary institution is an achievement of a lifetime, and for many it could not have been accomplished without a Lottery-funded award.
“New York’s long history of increasing earnings for New York’s public K-12 schools is a direct result of sound business planning, mature and responsible stewardship of our lottery and video lottery products, and a fundamental continuous improvement effort,” said Commission Acting Executive Director Robert Williams. The New York State Gaming Commission’s Lottery and Video Lottery operations today reinforced their collective standing as North America’s largest and most profitable Lottery businesses by becoming the first to break $10 billion in combined sales and net win for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2019. Combined, the record-breaking earnings generated $3.47 billion in Lottery Aid to Education which accounts for 13 percent of all New York State School Aid disbursed in FY2018-2019
“The Illinois Lottery is proud to support such a worthy cause with this ticket that helps honor the men and women who put their lives on the line to protect the people of Illinois,” Illinois Lottery Acting Director Harold Mays said.
State officials were not immediately clear on the decision’s fiscal fallout in Georgia, where the lottery transferred a record-setting $1.1 billion for pre-kindergarten and HOPE scholarship programs in 2018. The letter by Kemp and Carr said a ban on online lottery sales “would devastate the benefits provided to citizens in Georgia and across the nation through state lotteries.”
“Giving back is what WyoLotto set out to accomplish when it was formed in 2014,” Jon Clontz, CEO of WyoLotto, said. “The true measure of a lottery’s success is what it gives back, and we are proud to be able to give back over $1 million to the state of Wyoming this quarter,” Clontz concluded.
Total Funding for Education at More Than $4.96 Billion “These stellar results are great news for education in Tennessee,” said Rebecca Hargrove, President and CEO of the Tennessee Lottery. “The Lottery continues to achieve its goal of maximizing dollars to fund valuable education programs, which has resulted in more than 1.3 million scholarships and grants awarded since we began.”
“Much of this is attributable to the launch of our first $30 Scratch off ticket,” said Kentucky Lottery President and CEO Tom Delacenserie. “As we celebrated our 30th anniversary, we wanted to do something big to mark the occasion. Launching this new price point was a big hit with players with a first-time ever top prize of $3 million, and they really responded.”
The company quotes data from the World Lottery Association, which shows that "never in history, no company implementing the state monopoly in the gaming sphere has conducted so many new and technologically complex projects at the same time." - This is the best summary of our activities - comments CEO Olgierd Cieślik.
Massachusetts Treasurer Deborah Goldberg argues it cannot continue to generate nearly $1 billion a year for local aid unless it is allowed to compete with daily fantasy sports and other online gaming.
As state legislators work to pass a budget by the end of June, a federal ruling over lottery money could mean that the state will lose millions of dollars in funding. The U.S. Department of Justice in November reversed a 2011 legal opinion that said only interstate sports betting is in violation of the federal wire act, which now means online lottery sales are illegal. New Hampshire officials said the move could cost the state millions of dollars in school funding.
