Hoosier Lottery Head Focuses On Integrity

As reported by the Indiana Journal Gazette: "The Hoosier Lottery has run into some rough times lately – whether it is sagging profits or employees leaking the location of a winning ticket.

"But the new head of the quasi-governmental agency is focused on running things more efficiently with an emphasis on integrity.

"…'It is our absolute focus,' said Esther Schneider – a 40-year-old native of Las Vegas. 'We have a moral obligation to make sure our games are fair.'

"When she arrived, Schneider said there was a lot of 'loosey-goosey' activity, including rules that were ignored.

"…In addition to integrity, Schneider has identified a number of efficiencies and savings. The biggest likely came from staff cuts, including a statistician, director of administration, prize payment manager and others for a savings of $500,000.

"…Last year, the lottery returned $199 million to state coffers and this year that amount is expected to drop to about $190 million, she said.

"Schneider attributes that loss to low Powerball payouts. She said when the jackpots for the multistate lottery drawing are high, Hoosiers buy tickets and buy Hoosier Lotto tickets. But when Powerball is down they don't buy at all – or they head across state lines to surrounding states with the similar multistate game Mega Millions…"