Mississippi lawmakers voted last year to create a lottery to generate money for transportation.

JACKSON, Miss. —

The new Mississippi Lottery could start selling tickets during the final half of 2019, according to Gerard Gibert, one of five board members of the Mississippi Lottery Corporation.

Gibert told The Associated Press Monday the board in recent weeks has hired the Balch & Bingham law firm, which has offices in Mississippi and other states.

He said the board will soon start the process of choosing banking services and hiring a president to run the day-to-day business of the corporation.

Mississippi lawmakers voted last year to create a lottery to generate money for transportation.

Gibert says the Mississippi Lottery will have to apply to become part of multi-state games that offer big-dollar prizes, including Powerball.

https://www.wdsu.com/article/mississippi-lottery-could-start-selling-tickets-in-late-2019/26860291