Indiana lottery not spooked after Illinois fires contractor
Hoosier Lottery spokeswoman Courtney Arango said Indiana is committed to keeping its contract with private operator Gtech Indiana.
Hoosier Lottery spokeswoman Courtney Arango said Indiana is committed to keeping its contract with private operator Gtech Indiana.
The Hoosier Lottery and other participating states questioned the future of the money-losing game after Texas decided Dec. 11 to end participation. Sales were not high enough to cover jackpots.
The Hoosier Lottery is evaluating its next move on the Monopoly Millionaires' Club—a new, so-far money-losing game—in the wake of a decision by Texas to end its participation.
New Jersey was the third state after Illinois and Indiana to bet that outside marketing and sales experts could tap hidden lottery riches. The state uses the same private manager as Indiana.
Sales of the Monopoly Millionaires’ Club have been too low to cover weekly jackpot drawings since the game launched in October in Indiana and 22 other states.
The Hoosier Lottery's top official said she is "pleased" with a private manager's performance, even though the firm fell short of its income target during the first full fiscal year of its 15-year contract with the state.
The manager, Northstar Lottery Group LLC, is 80-percent owned by Rhode Island-based Gtech Corp., the parent company of Gtech Indiana, which manages the Hoosier Lottery.
Under its aggressive sales strategy for the next fiscal year, the Hoosier Lottery’s operator will add games including Monopoly Millionaires’ Club and Bingo To Go.
Gtech Indiana says it can generate unprecedented growth by focusing on the basics. Rather than trying to add new types of games or turning to Internet gambling, the company plans a slightly different mix of games and a whole lot more opportunities for Hoosiers to buy them.
Gtech Indiana will have to sell a lot of scratch-off games and other tickets in May and June if wants to avoid making a shortfall payment to the state.
Luke Bosso, a Republican, and Debra Kunce, a Democrat, will join the five-member board.
The Hoosier Lottery is running about 17 percent behind projections for surplus revenue in July and August under manager Gtech Indiana, a subsidiary of a firm that also has missed its forecasts for the Illinois lottery.
An official in Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard's administration has been named the new executive director of the Hoosier Lottery.
A confidential settlement has ended a lawsuit brought by seven hairstylists against a former co-worker over a $9.5 million Hoosier Lotto jackpot.
The state lottery expects to pull in $945 million for the fiscal year ending June 30. Meanwhile, lottery operator GTECH Indiana plans to start televising Powerball and Mega Millions drawings this summer.
The casino bill approved by the House last week would grant less than a fifth of the tax breaks first proposed in the Senate. It also doesn't permit live table games at the racinos in Anderson and Shelbyville.
The private operator of the Hoosier Lottery is expanding the hours that convenience stores and other outlets can sell lottery tickets, a change that allows those sales to continue late into the night.
The private operator of the Hoosier Lottery faces a $20 million penalty in Illinois because it fell nearly $66 million short of the profits it promised that state.
Seven of the winner’s co-workers at an Indianapolis salon say the $9.5 million ticket for the Feb. 16 drawing was part of an office lottery pool.
Seven hairstylists who are fighting for a share of a $9.5 million lottery prize bought by a co-worker testified Wednesday that they had all agreed to share any winnings from tickets purchased at the same time as those for an office pool.