The first lottery tickets could be in gas stations across Mississippi before the end of the year and possibly as soon as October, according to members of the new Mississippi Lottery Corp.

While scratch-off tickets will be available first, national Powerball and Mega Millions will come not long after, said Sen. Phlip Moran, R-Kiln, who authored the lottery bill in the Mississippi Legislature.

Officials with those games — where winning numbers are drawn a couple of times a week— will see how Mississippi Lottery is functioning, he said, before allowing it to join the other 44 states where the games are played.

After years of voting down a lottery, the Mississippi Legislature approved it in special session in August 2018.

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