Michigan
AG Wants End to Lotto Pools
Attorney General Mike Cox announced
today that he has demanded that PowerPick Player's
Club of Michigan, L.L.C., a Grand Rapids based
subsidiary of PowerPick America, L.L.C., stop
selling subscriptions to lottery-ticket pools
for Michigan Lottery games because the business
violates state law.
"Illegal
gambling is just that: illegal," said Cox.
"My office will continue to pursue those
who try to violate the public trust to line
their own pocketbooks."
In
his cease and desist letter sent to PowerPick
Players Club of Michigan (PowerPick), Cox demanded
that PowerPick immediately stop selling or reselling
Michigan Lottery tickets or shares and providing
Michigan Lottery tickets or shares as bonuses
to its customers. Cox has also demanded that
PowerPick inactivate the Michigan portion of
its website.
Unlike
legal lottery clubs, PowerPick profits from
selling shares of lottery pools. Michigan's
Lottery Act prohibits selling Michigan Lottery
tickets or shares at a higher price than that
set by the Commissioner of the Bureau of State
Lottery. It also prohibits anyone other than
a licensed lottery sales agent from selling
Michigan Lottery tickets or shares.
According
to PowerPick's website, only a portion of the
money the business collects from its customers
goes toward purchasing Michigan Lottery tickets.
The rest goes to company profit and overhead.
PowerPick is not a licensed lottery sales agent.
PowerPick
also violates provisions of Michigan's Penal
Code that prohibit private businesses from promoting
a lottery for money, setting up or aiding in
setting up a lottery, selling pools, accepting
bets, and publishing information concerning
making bets or selling pools.
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