Salem, Oregon – The Oregon Lottery is getting ready to put in place a number of new measures to fight fraud, make supervision stricter, and keep players’ information private. The Oregon Lottery Commission recently reviewed the proposed adjustments, which were made after new laws were passed. They are anticipated to go into effect in September.
One of the main reasons for the changes is to put an end to behaviors that are seen as unfair, like selling tickets to people in other countries and giving them discounts on lottery tickets. Lottery discounting lets other people buy winning tickets, cash them in for full value, and keep the difference, which sometimes helps winners avoid paying taxes and other legal obligations like unpaid child support. At the same time, it has been said that foreign companies have used Oregon’s system to buy a lot of tickets, which is against the law for people from other countries to do.
Last year, The Oregonian did an investigation that brought the matter to light. They found that one Australian business had bought more than $6.2 million worth of tickets through a Beaverton bar since 2018. The results raised concerns not only about losing money but also about breaking agreements with national lottery groups. This may put Oregon’s ability to provide big games like Powerball and Mega Millions at risk. Last year, those games brought in over $150 million in income.
To address these risks, one of the new rules would prohibit Oregon retailers from working with online courier services that sell tickets to international customers. The change might cause a big drop in revenue, between $33 million and $55 million a year, but it is seen as an essential step to protect the integrity of the state’s lottery operation. The cut to Oregon’s economic development budget could be anywhere from $11 million to $19 million.
The new rules also affect anyone who buy a lot of tickets. For both Scratch-It games and draw game combinations, the suggested limit is 50,000 tickets per individual or group. This step is meant to stop individuals from trying to cheat the system or get an unfair advantage.
Player privacy is also receiving attention. A new rule would let winners stay anonymous, which would keep them safe from potential harassment. This would also make it harder for the public to get information that used to make it possible to report in detail on high-volume winners and corporate redemption trends.
Lastly, the Oregon Lottery wants to put certain rules on the courier businesses that are now operating without any rules. If the new rules go into effect, stores would have to check the age and location of their consumers and follow stricter rules for keeping data private.
The public has until the end of the month to submit feedback on the changes. A final vote on the proposed rules is expected in the fall, potentially reshaping how the Oregon Lottery operates for years to come.
