Lotteries in the United States
Lotteries in the United States are run by individual jurisdictions. Most states have amended or re-written their constitutions to allow for a legal lottery. (Although not states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands each operate a lottery.)
In the U.S., the existence of lotteries is subject to the laws of each jurisdiction; there is no national lottery.
History
Private lotteries were legal in the United States in the early 1800s.[1] In fact, a number of US patents were granted on new types of lottery. In today's vernacular, these would be considered business method patents.
Before the advent of state-sponsored lotteries, many illegal lotteries thrived; for example, see Numbers game and Peter H. Matthews. The first modern state lottery in the U.S. was established in New Hampshire in 1964; today, lotteries are established in 42 states, the District of Columbia, and the Virgin Islands.
The first modern interstate lottery in the U.S. was formed in 1985 and linked three of the New England states. In 1988, the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) was formed with Oregon, Iowa, Kansas, Rhode Island, West Virginia, Missouri, and the District of Columbia as its charter members; it is best known for its "Powerball" drawing, which is designed to build up very large jackpots. Another interstate lottery, The Big Game (now called Mega Millions), was formed in 1996 by the states of Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, and Virginia as its charter members. These states were joined by New Jersey (1999), New York and Ohio (May 2002), Washington (September 2002), Texas (2003), and California (2005) for a total of 12 members. [4]
Instant lottery tickets, also known as scratch cards, were introduced in the 1970s and have since become a major source of state lottery revenue. Some states have introduced keno and video lottery terminals (slot machines in all but name).
Other interstate lotteries include: Cashola, Hot Lotto, and Wild Card 2, three of MUSL's other games.
With the advent of the Internet it became possible for people to play lottery-style games on-line, many times for free (the cost of the ticket being supplemented by merely seeing, say, a pop-up ad). Two of the many websites which offer free games (after registration) include iwinweekly.com and the larger iWon.com, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of IAC Search & Media. GTech Corporation, in the United States, administers 70% of the worldwide online and instant lottery business, according to its website. With online gaming rules generally prohibitive, "lottery" games face less scrutiny. This is leading to the increase in web sites offering lottery ticket purchasing services, charging premiums on base lottery prices. The legality of such services falls into question across many jurisdictions, especially throughout the United States, as the gambling laws related to lottery play generally have not kept pace with the spread of technology.
Presently, many lotteries in the US donate large portions of their proceeds to the public education system. However, these funds frequently replace instead of supplement conventional funding, resulting in no additional money for education.
Chart
| State | Lottery? | Number of Interstate Games |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | No | – |
| Alaska | No | – |
| Arizona | Yes | 1 |
| Arkansas | No | – |
| California | Yes | 1 |
| Colorado | Yes | 1 |
| Connecticut | Yes | 1 |
| Delaware | Yes | 3 |
| District of Columbia | Yes | 2 |
| Florida | Yes | 0** |
| Georgia | Yes | 2 |
| Hawaii | No | – |
| Idaho | Yes | 3 |
| Illinois | Yes | 1* |
| Indiana | Yes | 1 |
| Iowa | Yes | 3* |
| Kansas | Yes | 4 |
| Kentucky | Yes | 2 |
| Louisiana | Yes | 1 |
| Maine | Yes | 5 |
| Maryland | Yes | 1 |
| Massachusetts | Yes | 1 |
| Michigan | Yes | 1 |
| Minnesota | Yes | 2 |
| Mississippi | No | – |
| Missouri | Yes | 1 |
| Montana | Yes | 3 |
| Nebraska | Yes | 2 |
| Nevada | No | – |
| New Hampshire | Yes | 6 |
| New Jersey | Yes | 1 |
| New Mexico | Yes | 2 |
| New York | Yes | 1 |
| North Carolina | Yes | 1 |
| North Dakota | Yes | 4 |
| Ohio | Yes | 1 |
| Oklahoma | Yes | 2 |
| Oregon | Yes | 1 |
| Pennsylvania | Yes | 1 |
| Puerto Rico | Yes | 0 |
| Rhode Island | Yes | 2 |
| South Carolina | Yes | 1 |
| South Dakota | Yes | 3 |
| Tennessee | Yes | 1 |
| Texas | Yes | 1 |
| Utah | No | – |
| Vermont | Yes | 5 |
| Virgin Islands | Yes | 1 |
| Virginia | Yes | 2 |
| Washington | Yes | 1 |
| West Virginia | Yes | 3 |
| Wisconsin | Yes | 1 |
| Wyoming | No | – |
NOTE: Illinois draws pick-3 and pick-4 numbers that are also used to determine winners for the pick-3 and pick-4 games played in neighboring Iowa.
Florida announced on July 2, 2008 it will offer Powerball beginning in January 2009.
The above list includes the Midwest Millions instant scratch game available in Iowa and Kansas.
States and associated Interstate Lotteries
Interstate lotteries are also referred to as multistate lotteries or multistate games. Of the 42 states that have lotteries, only Florida is not a member of a multistate game, even though state statute 24.105(18)[1] specifically allows the legislature or governor to direct the lottery department to participate if it is in the best interest of the Florida Lottery.
Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida (January 2009), Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Virgin Islands, West Virginia, Wisconsin
Delaware, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, West Virginia, District of Columbia
(video lottery) Delaware, Rhode Island, West Virginia
(scratch game) Iowa, Kansas
Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota
Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota
California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas, Virginia, Washington state
Tri-State Lottery
Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont
Win for Life
Georgia, Kentucky, Virginia
References
- ^ "Florida Statute 24.05 - State Lotteries". Retrieved 2007-08-22."24.05(18) Powers and duties of department.--The department shall: (18) Have the authority to enter into agreements with other states for the operation and promotion of a multistate lottery if such agreements are in the best interest of the state lottery. The authority conferred by this subsection is not effective until 1 year after the first day of lottery ticket sales."
See also
- Bearer instrument
- GTech Corporation United States company which administrates the majority of lotteries in the United States and worldwide
- Lottery jackpot records
- Lottery
- Scratch cards
- Sweepstakes