The Wyoming Lottery Corporation, branded as WyoLotto, is a lottery based in Cheyenne, Wyoming that began its operations on July 1, 2013. The Wyoming Lottery Corporation is governed by a nine-member board of directors, with each member selected by the Wyoming Governor, Matt Mead. Jon Clontz, former Oregon State Lottery COO was selected to be the Wyoming Lottery's first CEO.
On March 13, 2013, Wyoming Governor Matt Mead authorized the creation of a state lottery, and entered into agreements with other U.S. lotteries for multi-state games. The law specifically prohibits scratchcards, instant win games, and video lottery terminals, joining the North Dakota Lottery as the only U.S. jurisdictions to prohibit scratchcards. Initially, the lottery bill had a validity period until 2019. The re-authorization clause has since been removed. In February, 2019, The Wyoming Lottery Corporation was awarded the Public Gaming Research Institute (PGRI) SHARP Award for financial excellence.
Operations began on August 24, 2014, with 400 retailers authorized to sell lottery tickets. [1] [2]
The lottery law authorizes distribution of the first $6 million in annual revenue to cities and counties, and the remaining amount goes to schools. Given that 51 percent of national lottery revenue is derived from instant tickets, some people regard the decision to disallow scratchcards as severely restricting the potential revenue generated by the lottery. However, Matt Mead justified the law by claiming that this would reduce the amount of out-of-state spending by Wyoming residents. The Colorado Lottery estimated that $1.26 million in annual revenue was generated by Wyoming residents purchasing tickets in Colorado. [3] Conversely, the Wyoming Lottery is expected to attract revenue from Utah, specifically the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, as much of Utah population centers are closer to Wyoming than either Colorado or Idaho. [4] Wyoming's first two lottery games were Mega Millions and Powerball, both available on the first day of sales. Wyoming, unlike North Dakota, allows in-state games; Wyoming added Cowboy Draw in 2015. Cowboy Draw is a pick-five-from-45 game, with drawings twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays. Tickets are $5 with two lines per ticket, and jackpots start at $250,000. The Lottery joined Lucky for Life in 2016. Then the lottery joined 2by2 in March 2021.
Lottery bills had been rejected on numerous occasions in Wyoming since the 1980s. [5] The legislation was modeled after the Georgia Lottery such that the board of directors answers to the governor, but is not a direct agency; and after the North Dakota Lottery in its solicitation of multi-state lotteries, organization, and the state's low population. [6] As with most U.S. lotteries, the minimum age to purchase a ticket is 18. The Wyoming Lottery created the Problem Gambling Council, which includes designated employees of the Wyoming Department of Health and other organizations. Wyoming became the 44th state (plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands) to create a lottery.
A lottery is a form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find some degree of regulation of lottery by governments. The most common regulation is prohibition of sale to minors, and vendors must be licensed to sell lottery tickets. Although lotteries were common in the United States and some other countries during the 19th century, by the beginning of the 20th century, most forms of gambling, including lotteries and sweepstakes, were illegal in the U.S. and most of Europe as well as many other countries. This remained so until well after World War II. In the 1960s, casinos and lotteries began to re-appear throughout the world as a means for governments to raise revenue without raising taxes.
In the United States, lotteries are run by 48 jurisdictions: 45 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
A scratchcard is a card designed for competitions, often made of thin cardstock or plastic to conceal PINs, where one or more areas contain concealed information which can be revealed by scratching off an opaque covering.
The Minnesota State Lottery, or Minnesota Lottery, is a government agency that operates lotteries in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The state’s lottery system was established in 1988 through a successful voter referendum that amended the state’s constitution. Lottery revenue is paid out towards prizes, administrative expenses, and retailers, and the remaining proceeds are split between environmental conservation funds and the state's general fund. The Minnesota Lottery participates in the Multi-State Lottery Association and several other multi-jurisdiction games. In-house draws include Pick 3, Gopher 5, and North 5, among many other games and offerings.
In the United States, gambling is subject to a variety of legal restrictions. In 2008, gambling activities generated gross revenues of $92.27 billion in the United States.
The Oregon Lottery is run by the government of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is a member of the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL).
The Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) is an American non-profit, government-benefit association owned and operated by agreement of its 34-member lotteries. MUSL was created to facilitate the operation of multi-jurisdictional lottery games, most notably Powerball.
The Kansas Lottery is a government organization run by the government of Kansas. It is a charter member of the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL). The mission of the lottery is to produce the maximum revenue for Kansas while insuring the integrity of its games.
The Louisiana Lottery Corporation (LLC) is a government-run lottery that is used to generate revenue without increasing taxes. The proceeds of the Lottery go to the Minimum Foundation Program that funds public education in Louisiana. The daily activities involved with running the cooperation are handled by the president of the Louisiana Lottery Cooperation. The president is under the supervision of the Lottery's nine-member governing board of directors.
Washington's Lottery is the lottery system for the U.S. state of Washington, run by the state government. Its games include Mega Millions, Powerball, Keno, Lotto, Hit 5, Match 4, Pick 3, and scratch games.
The National Lottery is the state-franchised national lottery established in 1994 in the United Kingdom. It is regulated by the Gambling Commission, and is currently operated by Camelot Group, to which the licence was granted in 1994, 2001 and again in 2007, but will be operated by Allwyn Entertainment Ltd from 2024.
Gambling in Oregon relates to the laws, regulations, and authorized forms of gambling.
Gambling in Pennsylvania includes casino gambling, the Pennsylvania Lottery, horse racing, bingo, and small games of chance conducted by nonprofit organizations and taverns under limited circumstances. Although casino gaming has been legal for less than two decades, Pennsylvania is second only to Nevada in commercial casino revenues.
Gambling in New Jersey includes casino gambling in Atlantic City, the New Jersey Lottery, horse racing, off-track betting, charity gambling, amusement games, and social gambling. New Jersey's gambling laws are among the least restrictive in the United States. In 2013, the state began to allow in-state online gambling. Five years later, the state won a lawsuit that dismantled Nevada's monopoly on legal sports betting.
A lottery is a form of gambling which involves selling numbered tickets and giving prizes to the holders of numbers drawn at random. Lotteries are outlawed by some governments, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing their own national (state) lottery. It is common to find some degree of regulation by governments, like allowing or prohibiting online sales of tickets.
Monopoly Millionaires' Club (MMC) was a series of 16 scratchcard games that differed by its participating lotteries; its players could become eligible to be flown to Las Vegas to take part in an episode of the Monopoly Millionaires′ Club game show
Legal forms of gambling in the U.S. state of California include cardrooms, Indian casinos, the California State Lottery, parimutuel wagering on horse racing, and charitable gaming. Commercial casino-style gaming is prohibited.
The Mississippi State Lottery is a lottery authorized by the Alyce G. Clarke Mississippi Lottery Law in 2018. It is administered by the Mississippi Lottery Corporation. The corporation expected to begin scratch off sales by December 1, 2019, with sales of draw game tickets in 2020. However, this was bought forward to November 25th as announced by Mississippi Lottery Corporation. On August 2, 2019, the Mississippi Lottery Corporation announced its acceptance into the Multi-State Lottery Association, with sales of Mega Millions and Powerball beginning on January 30, 2020.
Legal forms of gambling in the U.S. state of New Hampshire include the New Hampshire Lottery, sports betting, parimutuel wagering, and charitable gaming. The state's Gaming Regulatory Oversight Authority (GROA) is part of the New Hampshire Lottery Commission, which also maintains an Investigative & Compliance Division.