The Massachusetts Lottery was established in 1971, following the legalization of gambling by the Massachusetts General Court, the legislature of the Commonwealth. The Lottery is administered by a commission of five members, who include the Treasurer and Receiver-General (who serves as chairperson); the Secretary of the Massachusetts Department of Public Safety; and the Comptroller, who serve on an ex officio basis. The Governor appoints the other two members.
The Lottery is unusual in withholding 5 percent on prizes over $600, instead of only over $5,000 (the Federal level.) The withholding on prizes of at least $5,000 is 30 percent.
The Lottery had come under criticism for not offering a cash option for many of its annuitized games. In 2004, then-94-year-old Massachusetts resident Louise Outing sparked controversy after she failed to win a lawsuit to have her $5.4 million Megabucks jackpot prize paid as a lump sum. (Outing died in 2006.) In May 2009, Megabucks was replaced by Megabucks Doubler, which has a cash option; beginning in June 2009, winners of annuity prizes in scratch games, including lifetime payouts, were allowed to receive a lump sum. However, there is no cash option in the New England-wide Lucky for Life, which is an expanded version of a Connecticut game; its drawings remain in Hartford.
In Megabucks Doubler, every 10th ticket is eligible for a doubled non-jackpot prize. The payout percentage in this game is 55%.
Famous quotes containing the word lottery:
“The recent attempt to secure a charter from the State of North Dakota for a lottery company, the pending effort to obtain from the State of Louisiana a renewal of the charter of the Louisiana State Lottery, and the establishment of one or more lottery companies at Mexican towns near our border, have served the good purpose of calling public attention to an evil of vast proportions.”
—Benjamin Harrison (1833–1901)