ialottery blog

It's Time To Go Electronic: We’re Asking To Modernize Iowa’s Lottery

Like any other business these days, the future looks more electronic for the Iowa Lottery, and we think it involves sales of our products on personal consumer electronic devices (smart phones, tablets, PCs, etc.).
 
That is the outcome from a “future-looking” discussion we had with the Iowa Lottery Board this week about how the Iowa Lottery can best position itself to continue providing the proceeds that people count on from us for state causes.

Today’s quickly evolving consumer behavior stands to have a huge impact on the Iowa Lottery as we move ahead. For that reason, we’ve filed legislation for the upcoming 2019 session that we believe will allow the lottery to modernize its operations.

Current state law already would allow the lottery to sell its lotto games online, but we have not yet taken that step. Our proposed legislation would allow the sale of any of our products on personal consumer electronic devices. We believe that for its ongoing success, the lottery must enter the world of e-commerce.  
 
Our proposal also would update the ways that people can pay for lottery tickets in Iowa to include cash, check, money order, debit card and prepaid gift card (all of which can already be used) as well as payments through electronic wallets or mobile applications. I will emphasize that credit is prohibited in the purchase of lottery tickets today in Iowa and that would remain the case under our proposal. The e-wallets would allow players to establish electronic accounts with the lottery and play lottery games online using money they put in those accounts.

This conversation isn’t unique to Iowa: Ten U.S. lotteries already sell products online, and the issue is under discussion in states all across the country.

The Iowa Lottery is currently in a very strong position. We’ve introduced new products in recent years like our InstaPlay games and we’ve enhanced and re-invigorated our long-term product lines to keep our games fresh. But without the ability to modernize our products, we anticipate that Iowa Lottery proceeds will only continue at their current levels for a few more years at most, and then we expect a downturn. The steep, ongoing decline in the use of cash, the ever-increasing trend toward e-commerce, and consumer demand for greater convenience all are factors.

A majority of Americans no longer regularly carry cash. And if they do, nearly half say they keep less than $20 on hand.

As consumers, we’re buying even everyday staples like groceries online. Many times, we don’t go to the store anymore. We have someone else get the items for us and then we want our order brought out to our car or delivered to our home. And a maximum two-day delivery is a normal that we demand for many online purchases.

Because the Iowa Lottery isn’t yet selling its games online, we’ve had to push back against illegal apps that are moving in. Those apps are re-selling lottery tickets through illegal means and there is no way for anyone to be certain that consumers are receiving the winnings they’re due. We’ve taken steps to shut down the apps or prevent them from doing business in Iowa, but they continue to multiply.

Our legislation takes into account these realities, giving the Iowa Lottery the ability to securely move into e-commerce while maintaining strong retailer involvement.
 
We know there are many ways that retailers can be part of any e-commerce system at the Iowa Lottery. For example, in Michigan, the lottery sells online game cards through its lottery terminals and self-service kiosks in retail locations. Customers can buy those game cards in increments from $10 up to $100 and use them to fund their e-wallets with the Michigan Lottery. The game cards can be eligible for bonuses, meaning that players can win an amount above and beyond what they purchased. The bonus system gives players an incentive to buy the game cards at retail locations and retailers in turn get a sales commission from the lottery. Twenty-five percent of online lottery players in Michigan have funded their accounts with a game card.

The statistics from other states and countries with long-term online lottery sales demonstrate that sales of traditional lottery products at retail increase along with the introduction of online sales. The added convenience creates an “omni-channel” approach to lottery sales.
  
Sophisticated age-gating and geo-gating technology is used by all U.S. lotteries that offer online gaming, ensuring that players are of the legal minimum purchasing age and that they’re physically located within the borders of that state in order to play.
 
We’re also impressed by the enhanced responsible gaming opportunities that online sales would bring. It’s nearly impossible to set any type of spending restrictions involving cash, but deposit limits are a standard feature for lotteries using electronic player accounts. And, players have the ability to set their own personal deposit limits that are even lower than those set by the lottery. Players also can electronically self-exclude themselves from playing online for a period of time or even permanently if they’re concerned about problem gambling.

The future will be here before we know it! So here at the lottery, we’re doing our best to be ready.

We’re Hiring For A Communications & Social Media Staffer

Here’s a quick hiring alert with the chance to join our staff here at the Iowa Lottery. We have an opening for a communications and social media specialist to work on our External Relations team at Iowa Lottery headquarters in Clive.

The official title of the job is an Information Specialist 1. The person in that position writes news releases, our employee newsletter, and other materials. That person also helps us produce audio and video materials, including radio spots, and posts information on behalf of the lottery to our social media accounts. The staffer also helps with promotional and media events around the state.

We’re a pretty fun bunch here at the lottery! The details about the job are on the State of Iowa Employment website, so check out the listing to learn more. The deadline to apply is Feb. 22.

 

We’re Hiring For A Drawing Staffer

 

Here’s a quick hiring alert as we head into the holiday weekend. It is the Labor Day holiday after all, so it seems appropriate to talk about jobs! 
 
The Iowa Lottery has an opening for a part-time staffer to work our lotto-game drawings. All of the details are on the State of Iowa Employment website, so check out the listing to learn more.

The deadline to apply is Sept. 13.

 

New Lotto Game Starts Sunday In Iowa: Lucky for Life!

A new lotto game debuts this weekend here in Iowa, and it comes with a twist on big lotto prizes.

Iowa sales in the Lucky for Life^® game begin Sunday. It offers 10 ways to win, including a top prize of $1,000 a day for life, and a second prize of $25,000 a year for life.

Iowa will be the 18th state to offer the Lucky for Life game, which got its start in Connecticut in 2009 before becoming a New England-wide game three years later and adding even more lotteries in the past year.

We’ve been looking for some time at game ideas that would complement Powerball® and our other lotto games and bring a different look and feel to that product category. We think Lucky for Life will be a great fit in our line-up of games.

Lucky for Life is a $2 game with drawings twice a week, at 9:38 p.m. on Mondays and Thursdays. Players choose five numbers from a pool of 48 for the white balls and 1 out of 18 numbers for the Lucky Ball. You can win the game’s top prize of $1,000 a day for life by matching all six winning numbers selected in one of it drawings. The game’s second prize – for matching the first five numbers but missing the Lucky Ball – is $25,000 a year for life. Other prize levels in the game range from $4 up to $5,000.

The game’s top two prize levels are described as “lasting as long as you do,” meaning that they’re truly for life. The minimum guaranteed payout for those two prizes is 20 years, and there is a lump-sum option for players who want that rather than lifetime annuity payments.

The odds of winning Lucky for Life’s top prize are about 1 in 30.8 million. That compares to odds of about 1 in 292.2 million of winning the Powerball jackpot; and odds of about 1 in 259 million of winning the Mega Millions® jackpot.

Big Winner & All The Latest About Powerball

 

Our first $1 million winner of 2016 is Joel Dominguez of Sioux City. Joel said he bought his easy-pick Powerball^® ticket at his local Hy-Vee and couldn’t believe he matched so many numbers. He was just one number away from winning Saturday’s $947.9 million record Powerball jackpot.

Initial estimates for tomorrow's Powerball jackpot have been raised again, with the prize currently set at a world-record $1.5 billion annuity, $930 million cash option.

Obviously sales in Iowa in recent weeks have been extremely strong and continue to follow the jackpot up.

WHAT DO SALES LOOK LIKE, EXACTLY?

Statewide lottery sales on Sunday and Monday of this week were about four times higher than they had been on each of those days the prior week.

To give some perspective to the sales figures, in fiscal year 2015, the Iowa Lottery sold a total of $52.2 million in Powerball tickets. Since the jackpot began its current run on Nov. 5, the lottery has sold nearly $25 million in Powerball tickets. That’s almost half a year’s sales in about two months. 

TOP 10 IOWA RETAILERS FOR POWERBALL SALES

Retailers are extremely busy selling Powerball tickets in the lead-up to tomorrow's drawing. Some stores are asking customers to form two lines – one for Powerball tickets and the other for all other business. Some stores are only selling easy-pick tickets, which are a faster transaction and can move customers through the line more quickly. We at the lottery appreciate the hard work of all our retailers at this busy time and are supportive of their efforts to assist their customers and manage traffic flow within their locations. We ask everyone to be patient in the next couple days -- we know it will continue to be busy. 

Here are the Top 10 Iowa retailers for Powerball sales from Jan. 3-11:

$34,937     Hy-Vee, 20 Wilson Ave. in Cedar Rapids
$32,330     Hy-Vee, 1725 Jordan Creek Pkwy. in West Des Moines
$31,919     Hy-Vee, 5050 Edgewood Road in Cedar Rapids
$31,697     Hy-Vee, 1843 Johnson Ave. N.W. in Cedar Rapids
$31,667     Big 10 Mart, 999 Middle Road in Bettendorf
$30,475     Hy-Vee, 4605 Fleur Drive in Des Moines
$29,685     Hy-Vee, 2900 Devils Glen Road in Bettendorf
$29,468     Hy-Vee, 3600 Iowa Highway 151 in Marion
$28,767     Hy-Vee, 8701 Douglas Ave. in Urbandale
$27,681     Hy-Vee 1745 Madison Ave. in Council Bluffs

That Veterans Total Keeps Climbing!

Many thanks to the Iowa Energy, which gave us the chance to be part of the team’s Military Appreciation Night this month. We got to do a center-court presentation to call attention to the grand total in lottery proceeds raised so far for the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund (IVTF)!

I'm shown here with Colonel Bob King, Executive Director of the Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs and Director of the Iowa Veterans Cemetery.  Colonel King served in the Iowa National Guard for nearly 36 years prior to his September 2004 retirement.

He got the ceremonial check showing that the lottery has raised nearly $20 million since 2008 to help Iowa veterans and their families through the IVTF. The precise total with our transfer for fiscal year 2016, which we made to the Trust Fund in late October, is $19,852,121.

Don’t Forget! Our Offices Will Be Closed For The Holidays

We know lots of people will be getting lottery tickets this holiday season in gift exchanges and as stocking stuffers, which means a lot of people will have prizes to claim in the next couple weeks!
 
Please remember for scheduling purposes that the Iowa Lottery’s offices will be closed tomorrow for the Christmas holiday and the next Friday (Jan. 1) for the New Year’s holiday.

Otherwise, we’ll be open for business as usual and look forward to meeting all our Iowa winners!

10-Year Sentence Handed Down In Hot Lotto Case

The man convicted of fraud in the long-running Hot Lotto investigation has been sentenced today to 10 years in prison. A Polk County District Court judge handed down the maximum sentence that Eddie Tipton could have received for his offenses, noting that the crime was a large breach of trust.

Tipton, of Norwalk, had worked at a lottery vendor organization that handles the day-to-day functions in several lottery games, including Hot Lotto. Among other responsibilities, the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) carries out lottery game drawings and hosts websites of many U.S. lotteries. Tipton had worked as the director of information security at MUSL, which is based in Urbandale.

Tipton's lawyer indicated today that he plans to appeal.

Today's events have been years coming, and the sentencing is a bit of closure after all this time.

Every organization will face tests throughout its history, and this case certainly was one for our lottery. It’s disconcerting that someone who’d worked at a vendor organization within the lottery industry chose to betray the trust placed in him for his own personal gain. We’re glad that the judicial system worked and we have an outcome today.

We’ve said before that this case is an important reminder to lotteries everywhere to keep monitoring and making improvements to stay ahead of those who would try to beat the system. It was the strong procedures at our lottery that caught the fraud attempt in this case and prevented this multi-million-dollar jackpot from being paid out.

We’re proud of the work that was done in this case and thank the Iowa Attorney General’s Office and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation for their dedication and professionalism in achieving this outcome.

The money from this jackpot, which totaled nearly $10.8 million in cash, was returned to the lotteries in the Hot Lotto game in proportion to the sales from each jurisdiction. The Iowa Lottery received about $1.4 million back and gave that money away in a special promotion called "Mystery Millionaire" back in 2012.

So How Is The Lottery Doing?

It’s that time of year when we report how the lottery is doing as a business. The short answer is that we’re doing well – the past year was a good one.

Sales of scratch tickets here in Iowa set a record in fiscal year 2015, which ended June 30. The lottery achieved overall annual results among the Top 4 in its 30-year history, and the purchase and move of our headquarters location also was completed on time and under budget in the past year.

Lottery sales have topped the $300 million mark for the fourth straight year and proceeds to state causes and prizes to players also were among the lottery’s best.

So what’s behind the numbers? We’ve put a lot of effort into diversifying our product mix and keeping a variety of games on the market to give customers choices. It’s our job to take care of the behind-the-scenes work so you as our players can just have fun and dream a little.

Our preliminary figures are out today. They show that lottery sales in FY 2015 totaled nearly $325 million. Proceeds to state causes totaled $74.5 million, the fourth-highest amount for the lottery since its start in 1985. Prizes to players totaled nearly $197 million, the second-highest total in the lottery’s history, and nearly a $10 million increase from the previous year.

All told, sales from our core products – lotto games, scratch games and pull-tab games – totaled $324.8 million. That’s up about 3.4 percent from the previous year. In particular, sales of scratch tickets set a record this past year at nearly $212 million. The previous record for scratch sales was $202.3 million back in FY 2013.

Another important figure for us is the support we give to local businesses in the form of sales commissions for selling the lottery’s products. We’re proud to say that the total in lottery commissions to business across the state was nearly $21 million in FY 2015.

So which locations sold the most? Here are the Top 10 retailers in Iowa for lottery sales in FY 2015:

And who won the most? The biggest prize claimed by an Iowa Lottery player in FY 15 was $2 million, while three other tickets won prizes of $1 million each:

And now for the grand totals: Since the lottery’s start 30 years ago, players have won more than $3.5 billion in prizes while the lottery has raised more than $1.6 billion for the state programs that benefit us all.

Lottery Issues Statement Following Verdict in Hot Lotto Trial

Iowa Lottery CEO Terry Rich issued the following statement today after the jury's verdict in the long-running Hot Lotto case:

“There is no doubt this has been a fascinating case. We respect the court’s work and the jury’s verdict. The facts in this case have enabled us to further enhance our layers of security to protect the integrity of lottery games, and that ultimately has been a positive. 

This case is an important reminder that lotteries have to keep monitoring and making improvements to stay ahead of those who would try to beat the system. As a society, we may never be able to stop people from trying to commit crime, but we need to have strong procedures in place to catch and prevent them when they do.

I have confidence that the games we offer today are fair. Our lottery has strong layers of security to protect lottery players, lottery games and lottery prizes. Those procedures enabled us to seek information about the winning ticket in this case and not pay the prize until basic questions could be answered – and they never were.

There was no prize paid in this instance. The money from this jackpot, which totaled nearly $10.8 million in cash, was returned to the lotteries in the Hot Lotto game in proportion to the sales from each jurisdiction. The Iowa Lottery received about $1.4 million back and gave the money away in a special summer promotion called ‘Mystery Millionaire’ back in 2012. Fifteen players ended up winning prizes in that promotion.

The details in this case are important for anyone who has ever played a lottery game, the good causes benefitted by lotteries, and the billions of dollars at stake. There obviously were indications that something was amiss with this particular prize claim. This case has provided our lottery with an opportunity to better pinpoint potential security risks and update our procedures to protect against them.”

Don't Fall For Lottery Scams!

We can’t say this enough: Don’t fall for lottery scams!

We’ve received several inquiries this week from players asking if an email stating they won some Mega Millions prize money is legitimate. Guess what? These emails are fake, and are most likely a scam. Don’t fall for it!

Remember, in order to win a lottery prize you must first purchase a ticket from a licensed retail location in Iowa – you can’t win if you don’t play! And secondly, the lottery won’t contact you if you win a Mega Millions prize (or any other prize from a winning lottery ticket). It’s your responsibility as a player to sign your winning ticket and present it to a lottery retailer or lottery office to claim your prize.

The only time the Iowa Lottery will contact you is if you win a prize in one of our promotional drawings, like the first 30 Somethings drawings we conducted Thursday.

The best thing that any of us can do is to remain vigilant against scams and NEVER share our personally identifying information such as Social Security numbers or bank account information.

If you’re ever in doubt about information that supposedly came from a legitimate lottery, feel free to call us at 515.725.7900 and ask to speak with someone in our Security Division. It’s always better to be safe than sorry!

We’re Turning 30 – And Celebrating With A New Game & Promotion

Time really does fly! The Iowa Lottery is turning 30 this year, so I’m using today’s blog entry to take a look back and see what how it’s all added up.

Legislation authorizing a lottery in Iowa was signed into law on April 18, 1985, and Iowa Lottery sales began with a kick-off celebration on Aug. 22, 1985, at the Iowa State Fair. But did you know that the push for a lottery in our state goes back a lot further than that?

It was in 1972, the same year that we put Iowa in the win column for President Richard Nixon’s re-election campaign, that Iowans voted by greater than a 2-to-1 margin to amend the state Constitution to repeal a lottery prohibition.   

Through the years, the lottery has created life-changing moments for prize winners, provided valuable help in the form of sales commissions to the thousands of Iowa businesses that sell lottery tickets, and raised significant proceeds for the state causes that benefit all Iowans.

There’s been an interesting constant that entire time: An instant-scratch game was the first product offered by the Iowa Lottery back in 1985, and scratch tickets are still our top-selling product today. In fiscal year 2014, scratch tickets accounted for 60 percent of lottery sales, lotto games made up 35 percent of sales, and pull-tab games were 5 percent of annual sales.

To celebrate our 30th birthday, today we’re launching the “30 Somethings” game. It’s a $5 scratch game tied to a promotion by the same name. Understanding today’s emphasis on “green” products, tickets in the 30 Somethings game are printed on paper stock made from 60 percent recycled fibers (35 percent post-consumer). You’ll notice the tickets’ unique look and feel – they’re a lot like brown sack paper used for things like grocery bags or lunch sacks.

Nonwinning tickets in the 30 Somethings game can be entered in a Play It Again promotion offering a total of 91 prizes, including a grand prize of $30,000. The promotion just started at noon today and concludes with a grand-prize drawing on Aug. 3.

Here is a look by the numbers at 30 years of lottery history in Iowa (figures current through March 31, 2015, unless otherwise noted):

• $6.3 billion   Total Iowa Lottery sales

• $3.4 billion   Total prizes won by Iowa Lottery players

• $1.6 billion   Total lottery proceeds to Iowa causes

• $474.7 million Total lottery sales commissions paid to Iowa businesses that sell lottery tickets

• $241 million   Largest lottery prize won in Iowa to date. The Shipping 20, a group of co-workers from the Quaker Oats plant in Cedar Rapids, claimed that Powerball® jackpot on June 20, 2012.

• 6.4 million  Number of lottery tickets sold during the lottery’s first week of sales

• 2,391 Number of retail locations in Iowa that sell lottery tickets (current as of April 30, 2015)

• 1,570 Number of Iowa Lottery tickets that have won prizes of $100,000 or more (through April 2015)

• 127  Number of Iowa Lottery tickets that have won prizes of $1 million or more (through April 2015)

• 900  Number of instant-scratch games sold in Iowa from 1985 through present

• 237   Number of pull-tab games sold in Iowa from the product’s introduction in 1987 through present

• 19 Number of lotto games sold in Iowa from the product’s introduction in 1986 through present   

• 9 Number of Hot Lotto® jackpots won by Iowa Lottery players to date

• 8 Number of Powerball jackpots won by Iowa Lottery players to date

We’re Now On Instagram & Pinterest!

We know you like to connect with us in the places you already go, so now there are two new ways you can do that: The Iowa Lottery has joined Instagram and Pinterest.

We’ve been involved in social media for eight years, proving that time really does fly! We jumped in when we started producing our own videos back in 2007 – and that counts as a couple millennia ago in the fast-changing world of social media!

But through it all, we’ve continued to gain new likes, followers and contacts, so we think (we hope) that means you like what we’re doing.

So now, in addition to our blog, Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and YouTube pages, you can find us on Instagram and Pinterest. We’re iowalottery (lowercase) on Instagram and IowaLottery (uppercase) on Pinterest.

Look for some changes coming in our monthly social media contests that we think will allow even more people to get in on the fun by entering them.

Two more ways we can say: See you there!

FTC Warning About Scams

I’ve posted warning after warning through the years here on the blog about scammers who want nothing more than to separate you from your hard-earned money. The scammers have used the names of lottery games, lottery officials and even lottery winners to try to get you to believe them.

Now there’s a new warning about scams, and this time, the reminder comes from the Federal Trade Commission. If you get a letter saying that you won a sweepstakes and the FTC has investigated the situation to help you claim the prize, guess what? It’s fake. Don’t fall for it!

When you have a moment, visit the Player Security section on our website where we keep all sorts of reminders about how to protect yourself against fraud.

National News Coverage Of Hot Lotto Case

"CBS This Morning" took at look today at the Hot Lotto investigation from here in Iowa.

http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/lottery-security-head-accused-of-scam-to-claim-16-5-million-prize/

Trial Continued Until July in Hot Lotto Case

The trial that was scheduled to begin today in Polk County District Court has been continued until July for the central Iowa man charged in the investigation into the Hot Lotto jackpot won in December 2010 in Des Moines only to see the claim later withdrawn. 

At the lottery, we need to respect the trial process and allow the court to do its work, so we’re not in a position to discuss the facts that will be litigated in this case.

But as we’ve emphasized before, there are extensive security procedures involved in lottery drawings, and this case demonstrates why we have to continually sharpen our skills and oversight.

There will always be someone trying to beat the system. The lottery industry has and will continue to update its security procedures as we identify vulnerabilities to protect against them. We’ve introduced additional layers of security and even more separation of duties at our lottery because of what we’ve learned in this case, and that’s ultimately been a positive outcome.

We also urged that the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL), the vendor organization for which Eddie Tipton worked, put additional security procedures in place and that has occurred, with more underway.

The equipment and software used in the Hot Lotto drawings today has been replaced since the time that Eddie Tipton was employed at MUSL. The new equipment and software has been tested and certified by an independent gaming laboratory and forensically examined for malicious software, with no concerns identified. The security cameras, other physical security restrictions and procedures at MUSL also have been replaced and updated.      

We have confidence that the games we offer today are fair. Our lottery has strong layers of security in place to protect lottery players, lottery games and lottery prizes. Those procedures enabled us to seek information about the winning ticket in this case and not pay the prize until basic questions could be answered – and they never were.

We’ve repeatedly said that this is an ongoing investigation, and we have more information about this case today than we did in the past. We have worked side-by-side with law enforcement throughout this investigation and are eager for the outcome of the trial.

An Easy Way To Get The Latest Drawing Results!

We just debuted a new, easier-to-read layout for the emails we send out that provide the latest results in all our lotto drawings. You can sign up to receive this service so the drawing results from your favorite game come right to your inbox – in a new, streamlined look!

Click here to see how to sign up. It’s easy to do – you just send us an email requesting to be added to the list. Winning numbers will be emailed to you daily in Powerball^®, Mega Millions^®, Hot Lotto^®, All or Nothing™, Pick 3 and Pick 4!

Good luck and thanks for playing.

Proposal Signed Into Law To Stabilize Proceeds To IVTF

We’re gratified to announce some important upcoming changes in the help that the Iowa Lottery provides for the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund.

A proposal from the lottery has been signed into law by Gov. Terry Branstad. The legislation will stabilize the proceeds that the lottery raises each year to help our state’s veterans and their families through the IVTF. Senate File 323 will take effect July 1 and will mean changes in the line-up of games that the lottery offers in retail locations – changes designed to ensure a stable, ongoing source of revenues for the IVTF.

The proposal was approved March 9 in the Iowa Senate and March 10 in the Iowa House before being signed into law Tuesday.

You’ve likely heard me reference before that the lottery has raised proceeds for the IVTF since 2008. I’m proud to report that through February of this year, we’ve provided a total of more than $17 million to this worthy cause.

Under current law, the proceeds from the sale of two scratch games and two pull-tab games each year are dedicated to the Veterans Trust Fund. But annual proceeds to the IVTF have been on the decline for the past few years. In FY 2014, for the first time since the lottery started raising money for the cause, we didn’t reach our publicly stated goal of providing between $2 million and $3 million for the IVTF. (The annual total from the lottery for the Trust Fund in FY 2014 was $1.8 million.) There’s one main reason for the recent decline.

While overall lottery sales and proceeds in recent years have been strong and repeatedly exceeded budget projections, the lottery is seeing a long-term decline in the sale of its pull-tab games. Right now, pull-tabs are closely tied to the lottery’s efforts to help the Veterans Trust Fund, making up 50 percent of the games dedicated to the cause. A continued decline in pull-tab sales would negatively impact the lottery’s ability to support the IVTF.

To stabilize ongoing proceeds to the Veterans Trust Fund, the legislation we introduced will eliminate the requirement for a certain number of lottery games each year dedicated to the cause and instead allocate $2.5 million in lottery proceeds annually to the IVTF. That amount is the midway point of the lottery’s publicly stated goal for the project and also is the yearly average of the total we’ve raised so far.

Under current law, the majority of lottery proceeds are dedicated each year to the state General Fund, where they help pay for the variety of programs that receive funding through it; with a smaller portion of lottery proceeds dedicated to the Veterans Trust Fund. That will continue to be the case with the change in law on July 1 – it’s just that the method by which the lottery raises money for the IVTF will be changed to $2.5 million in lottery proceeds being dedicated to the cause each year.

As of July 1, a portion of the proceeds from the sale of all lottery games will be dedicated to the Veterans Trust Fund. The set of games we introduced in January that provide 100 percent of their proceeds to the IVTF will be the last in that series that we’ll release.

We’ll of course continue to spread the word about the Veterans Trust Fund and the help it provides to Iowa veterans and their families. And we’ll also offer patriotic-themed games over time – we did that even before the lottery started helping the IVTF and those games have always been popular.

Another Arrest In Hot Lotto Investigation

Another arrest has been made in the long-running investigation into the Hot Lotto jackpot won in December 2010 in Des Moines only to see the claim later withdrawn.

The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation released the latest details today, noting that a Texas man has been charged with two counts of fraud in the case. Robert C. Rhodes II of Sugar Land, Texas, was arrested last night and jailed on a $500,000 cash-only bond.

Court records in the case indicate a connection between Rhodes and the Iowa man charged in the case back in January.   

We’re gratified to see the continued developments in the investigation and know that law enforcement’s thorough review is getting us closer to the answers in one of the strangest stories in the history of lotteries.

Giant Four-Leaf Clovers Coming to Lottery HQ

St. Patrick’s Day seems like the perfect time to announce the art project that will soon have a home at our new headquarters in Clive. 

The Iowa Lottery’s purchase and renovation of its headquarters location at 13001 University Ave. in Clive meets the requirements of the Art in State Buildings Program, which was enacted by state lawmakers in 1979 to ensure that fine arts are a part of eligible state building construction projects. State law specifies that one half of one percent of the total cost of an eligible state building project will be used to include fine arts in the project.

The lottery has been working with the Iowa Arts Council on our Art in State Buildings project and we’re excited to announce that the concept we’ve selected involves giant, over-sized four-leaf clovers!    

Des Moines artists Dennis Reynolds and TJ Moberg presented the idea for pop-art sized steel clovers that will be painted green. The proposal is for groupings of clovers to be installed on the grounds outside the lottery building, as you can see in the representations here.

As soon as we saw the concept, one word came to mind: Luck! We think the oversized metal clovers will provide a light-hearted, whimsical representation of lottery luck, while also creating eye-catching artwork that can be enjoyed by those in the area. In their presentation, Reynolds and Moberg described the clovers as being large enough to be seen by those driving by on University Avenue, one of the major streets in the area.

The freezing, icy winter Iowa just had definitely was not conducive to installing exterior artwork, but now that it’s warming up, things can move ahead. We hope to have the clovers installed in the spring-fall timeframe this year.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day and good LUCK playing the lottery!

Important Reminder This Month - And All Year Long

 

You’ll see public service announcements starting this weekend and airing the rest of this month about the help available here in Iowa for problem gambling. We produced the PSAs with the Iowa Department of Public Health to highlight that March is National Problem Gambling Awareness Month.   

The goal of the awareness effort is to educate the general public and health care professionals about the warning signs of problem gambling and raise awareness of the issue. The theme of this year’s campaign is “Have the conversation.”

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, know that help is available in our state through the Iowa Gambling Treatment Program. Please call 1-800-BETSOFF or visit www.1800betsoff.org if you’re looking for more information. The hotline is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

We’ve received tremendous support from television stations, cable systems and radio stations across the state that have agreed to run the new PSA at no cost. Billboard companies also are running PSA messages on their screens. It’s our hope that this combined effort will provide the right information at the right time to someone in need.

Video Announcing Arrest In Hot Lotto Case

Here is video of the announcement that fraud charges have been filed in the strange story of the Hot Lotto® jackpot won in December 2010 in Des Moines and claimed a year later, only to have that claim later withdrawn.

We May Be Moving To A New HQ Location

The lottery’s headquarters may be moving to a new location in the Des Moines metro area later this year. Here’s the 411:

We’ve been studying the situation since late 2012, when our long-range planning uncovered some major maintenance issues at our current HQ building in Des Moines. Our sales average about $1 million a day, so if they’re disrupted by an emergency at our headquarters, the losses could add up quickly. We’ve been doing our best to manage the risks involved for our business and make the best financial decisions for the state and the lottery.

Over the past year, we consulted with a number of building and maintenance specialists and then ultimately conducted some detailed analysis with the state’s property experts -- the General Services Enterprise Real Estate Team at the Iowa Department of Administrative Services.

DAS and the lottery looked at three different options for our headquarters: rehabbing the current building at 2323 Grand Ave. in Des Moines; constructing a new building; and moving to an existing building in the Des Moines metro area. The option that appears to provide the lowest operational risk for the lottery and the best financial option for the state is for the lottery to move to a different existing building in the metro area.

The DAS team identified more than 20 potential properties and several of them were toured. Ultimately, an offer was made this month on the commercial building at 13001 University Ave. in Clive. The property had once been listed at more than $7 million, but after aggressive negotiations, we agreed to a purchase price of $5.35 million.

Sometimes even the lottery gets lucky. Several factors came together in this situation to bring a premier property into the realm of consideration for our HQ project.

The Clive office building currently is empty and it’s owned by a group of banks. It provides easy access to visitors from I-80/35 and I-235; it’s energy efficient with modern HVAC and lighting; and it’s practically turnkey in terms of our ability to relocate the lottery’s headquarters there quickly.

It's true that the Clive building is nice. The Iowa Lottery and the State of Iowa have a rare opportunity to buy a quality asset at a deeply discounted price that would provide long-lasting value.

UPDATE: The DAS Real Estate Team presented a proposal to purchase the property to the Iowa Lottery Board during its meeting today in Des Moines. The Board voted unanimously to approve the purchase, so the project next will go to the Iowa Executive Council (the governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, secretary of agriculture and state auditor). Executive Council approval also is required before the project can proceed. And if that approval is given, the lottery also will provide an official notification about the project to the legislative Government Oversight Committees.     

The DAS Real Estate Team will present information about the property to the Iowa Lottery Board during its meeting today in Des Moines. The Board is expected to vote on the property purchase and if it’s approved, the project also would need to be approved by the Iowa Executive Council (the governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, secretary of agriculture and state auditor). The lottery also would provide an official notification about the project to the legislative Government Oversight Committees.

The proposal is for lottery to close on the property sometime around April 1, paying $3 million of the purchase price in the current fiscal year. We anticipate paying the remaining $2.35 million and short-term interest in FY 2015 within six months of the closing. But we do have the option to pay the entire purchase price in FY 2014 if our revenues allow for that.

So what would happen to our current HQ building if we move? The Lottery would work with the DAS Real Estate Team to sell it. The property is in a good location with access to Grand Avenue and Ingersoll Avenue – both major thoroughfares in the Des Moines area. A new owner could refurbish the property while it was unoccupied, avoiding the operational difficulties that the lottery has as the business currently operating there.

If the purchase of the Clive property is approved and the due diligence on the project is successfully completed, it appears that the proposal would allow the lottery to be under budget, have the lowest operational risk and provide an on-time execution. Those are big positives.

Our decision comes after a careful, open process. We wouldn’t consider this proposal if we didn’t think it was the best financial decision for Iowa.

That Quartet in Our Ads Is From Eastern Iowa

Those guys in the snazzy silver jackets in our latest lottery commercials? They're a real barbershop quartet, and they're from eastern Iowa.

Since the ads for our Family of Games tickets began airing last week, we’ve been getting questions from folks wondering who the men are in the spots. They’re the SwitchBack quartet, and all four members of the group are from eastern Iowa.

SwitchBack's members are (left to right in the picture above): Lee Thomsen from Marion, Erik Sherard from Cedar Rapids, John Hayden from Blairstown, and in front, holding a lottery ticket, is Terry Blessing from Iowa City.

All four have collegiate singing experience, three are members of the Harmony Hawks Barbershop Chorus in Cedar Rapids, and two are music educators in school districts in Linn and Benton counties.

The group was formed in late fall 2012 when Hayden, Thomsen and Sherard needed a substitute to complete their quartet. Blessing joined the group, the other men switched parts to accommodate the new voice and that’s how the name "SwitchBack" was born. Thomsen says SwitchBack is a reference to switching around their parts in the group.

SwitchBack was chosen for the lottery commercials by a selection committee that reviewed video and audio files of quartets from across the state. The lottery spots are the group’s first commercial appearance. Hayden told us they now can officially call themselves studio recording artists!

Thomsen, 31, sings bass in the lottery production. He’s a music teacher at Starry Elementary School in the Marion Independent School District and is an assistant director of the Harmony Hawks. Sherard, also 31, is the baritone voice in the lottery ads. Hayden, 43, sings lead in the lottery's production. He teaches choral music in the Benton Community School District and directs the Harmony Hawks Barbershop Chorus. And Blessing, 30, sings tenor in the lottery spots.

The lottery's new Make My Day™, Make My Week™, Make My Month™ and Make My Year™ scratch games hit the market last Monday, the same day that the SwitchBack commercials started airing across the state. The group of tickets has a similar look, feel and gameplay, but the price point and top prize increase with the length of time indicated in the games’ names. For example, you can win up to $5,000 playing the $1 Make My Day game, but you can win up to $100,000 playing the $10 Make My Year game.

Officials Discuss New Leads In Hot Lotto Investigation

News has spread just about everywhere this week that there are new developments in the investigation into that multi-million-dollar Hot Lotto® jackpot here in Des Moines that ultimately was forfeited last year.

It's definitely a case that continues to fascinate, as evidenced by the news coverage you'll see here, here and here, to point out just a few.

The updates in the case are coming from the Iowa Attorney General's Office and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. Those are the entities that launched the criminal investigation after those who’d initially claimed the jackpot later walked away from it.

Here at the lottery, we remain in contact with those conducting the investigation and continue to believe that we did the right thing. We believe we acted appropriately to protect the security and integrity of the Iowa Lottery and the millions of dollars at stake in our games.

Just where will this story that's been building since December 2010 ultimately lead? Only time will tell!

‘Tail Gator’ Offers Primo Football Packages

A new lottery promotion that just kicked off today offers you the chance to go in style to an Iowa, Iowa State or Northern Iowa home football game this fall.

The $1 “Tail Gator” instant-scratch game is making its debut today and along with it, we’re offering a new promotion by that same name. Iowa Lottery VIP Club members can enter nonwinning Tail Gator tickets for a chance to win one of nine ultimate fan packages to college football games Nov. 23 in Iowa. Three fan packages will be up for grabs to each of these games that day: Kansas-Iowa St. in Ames; Michigan-Iowa in Iowa City; and W. Illinois-N. Iowa in Cedar Falls.

Each package is valued at more than $500 and includes four premium seats at the game, a parking pass, pregame hospitality, food, team merchandise, spending cash and more. Hey, we know that Iowans love college football and our Tail Gator winners will have a great time supporting their favorite team with friends at the game.

Tickets in the Tail Gator game should definitely catch your eye, as you can see from the picture here! They feature artwork of a colorful alligator all decked out in football gear, playing on the gridiron. You have the chance to win a cash prize of up to $2,000 on each ticket. And if you don’t win an instant prize, you can use nonwinning tickets as entries in the Tail Gator promotion on the lottery website.

With each entry, you can choose whether you’d like to win a Tail Gator Football Fan Experience at Iowa State University, The University of Iowa or The University of Northern Iowa.

You can enter the promotion through noon on Nov. 4. To enter, you’ll need to join or already be a member of the lottery’s free VIP Club. On the lottery website, you’ll key in the entry code and ticket number from a nonwinning Tail Gator ticket.

We’ll hold the promotion’s drawings on Nov. 6 and winners’ information will be posted on the lottery’s website. Winners also will receive an email from the lottery at the address included in their VIP Club profile.
 
A few requirements to keep in mind:
•    You can only enter the promotion on the lottery’s website. Hand-delivered tickets or entries that are mailed in will not be accepted.
•    You can use each ticket only once as an eligible entry.
•    And, while you can enter multiple times, you can win only one prize package in the promotion.

You Can Help Welcome Olympic Athletes to Iowa!

Some huge names in the world of track and field are on their way to Iowa and you’re invited to help welcome them here – and get a shot at prizes and giveaways in the process!

The folks at the Greater Des Moines Convention and Visitors Bureau asked us to help spread the word about the huge track event that’s on the way to Iowa’s capitol city. And hey, we’re all about prizes and winners here at the lottery, so we’re glad to help.

The 2013 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships will be June 19-23 at Drake Stadium in Des Moines.

The community’s support is needed to position Iowa as a contender for the 2020 U.S. Track and Field Olympic Trials. We’re all invited to help fill the stands to welcome Olympic gold medalists and world and American record holders to our state.

Some of the athletes who will be in Des Moines include Olympic Gold Medalist Allyson Felix, who won the 200-meter dash at the 2012 London Olympics; three-time Gold Medalist Sanya Richards-Ross, who was part of the gold-medal 4x400 meter relay at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, and the 2012 Olympics in London; Gold Medalist Jenn Suhr, who won the women’s pole vault in London, and Gold Medalist Aries Merritt, who won the 110-meter hurdles in London.

Attendees are encouraged to sit in sections D-I, which are in line with national TV camera angles (NBC Sports, Universal and ESPN2 will be covering the event). Anyone sitting in those sections will be eligible for prizes and giveaways!

2013 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships
June 19-23, 2013 | Drake Stadium
Purchase Tickets:
• All-Session: $80 Reserved/$60 General Admission
• Wednesday, June 19 & Thursday, June 20: $15 Reserved/$10 General Admission
• Friday, June 21 through Sunday, June 23:  $25 Reserved/$20 General Admission

Purchase tickets here – and let’s show the world that Des Moines is Track Central USA!

It's OK To Let Someone Go In Line Ahead Of You…

The coverage out of Florida about the 84-year-old woman who just claimed that record $590.5 million Powerball® jackpot includes an interesting twist to the story: Another customer let the woman go in line ahead of her. And a lot of people seem to be assuming that the elderly woman ended up with a winning ticket that would have gone to the other customer, but for circumstances.  But that’s not necessarily the case. Read on to learn more.

When 84-year-old Gloria C. Mackenzie of Zephyrhills, Fla., claimed her giant prize yesterday, the announcement from Florida Lottery officials included the detail that another lottery player was kind enough to let Mackenzie go ahead of them in line.

The online world has exploded today with references to “the Powerball winner who cut in line.” So the question is: Would the next person in line definitely have received the same winning combination of numbers that Mackenzie purchased? Not necessarily.

I’ve blogged here before about the fact that there isn’t a central computer that controls the Powerball game. The plays in Powerball are generated by the terminal at your local store. That’s one of the reasons there can be (and have been) multiple winners in one drawing. Duplicate plays are a key feature of Powerball’s design.

I double-checked with our I.T. folks this morning about the way our lotto terminals work here in Iowa. Each time a play is made, the terminal generates a random play. And because we’re dealing with random statistics, it is computationally impossible to predict the combination of numbers that will come up next.

Mackenzie bought a single easy-pick play for $2. But would the person in line behind her have received that same winning combination on their ticket if they had bought that ticket? The odds of that happening are similar to as the odds of winning the Powerball jackpot: about 1 in 175.2 million.

There’s a well-known 1978 study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology about people’s likelihood to let others go ahead of them in line to use a copier. The study found that in some instances, more than 90 percent of the people let others go ahead of them.

Here in the Midwest, we’re known for being nice. And I’m here to say it’s OK to let the little old lady go ahead of you in line. If Lady Luck means for you to win the lottery, it will happen.

So Cute: The Goslings Have Arrived!

Mother Goose has hit the jackpot! Her reward has arrived after her dedication to her eggs during this month’s freak snowstorm.

As of today, the pair of geese whose nest is behind our Mason City office are the proud parents of four adorable little goslings! Here are some shots that our Mason City staff took today through the window of our office there. Everybody say “Awwwwww…”

What a difference a few weeks makes! You’ll remember our blog entries from May 2 and May 3, when the adult geese were literally buried in snow as they protected their nest from the cold. Our pictures of their snowbound plight made them celebrities worldwide, with folks across the country and as far away as Argentina seeing coverage about them. Things have returned to normal spring weather this week, just in time for the goslings’ arrival.

Four little balls of fluff are starting to explore the world, as you’ll see here!

Mother Goose Is Back In the Sunshine!

We don’t want you to think we’re turning the lottery’s blog into Mother Goose Central, but the staffers in our Mason City office have been getting a lot of calls today from folks wondering how our new friend is doing. The quick answer: What a difference a few days and some sunshine make!

Mother and Father Goose and their nest of eggs all appear to have come through last week’s snowstorm just fine. Nearly all of the snow has already melted (that’s the good thing about late-season snowstorms) and with today’s sunny weather, things are looking a lot more like spring for our goose family.

And it turns out that Mother Goose did make national news last week. Click here to see ABC News coverage about her as she stayed on her nest in the snow. We think our goose family has hit the publicity jackpot! (Sorry, I couldn’t resist a Powerball reference there. Do you have YOUR ticket for Wednesday’s estimated $222 million jackpot drawing?)

We’ll provide more Mother Goose updates as hatching day gets closer for our goose family. The experts tell us we should see goslings late this month.