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…"
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