US Lottery accounting questioned
Billions unaccounted for in New York's lottery
The accounting methods used
in New York’s
lottery are being questioned after it emerged that billions of dollars are
being kept off the books.
The state Lottery Division does not publicly report free wagers on its video
games awarded to gamblers as prizes. The figures are also excluded from annual
reports and audited financial statements, the Journal News reports.
Nearly $11.9bn had been designated as ‘credits played’ between January 2004
and January 2007, while more than $10.9bn worth of ‘credits won’ had been
distributed as prizes.
Before video gambling was introduced, the Lottery Division’s annual revenue
and expense statements listed the total of ticket sales.
After the introduction of video of games in 2004 at racetracks, the Lottery
stopped reporting ticket sales and reported ‘lottery revenue, net.’
A spokeswoman said the Lottery reported only a portion of the wagers on the
video machines because that figure was used to determine distribution of the
revenues.
‘The Lottery reports video gaming revenue at the point of net machine income
since it is the remaining revenue after prizes are paid and the basis upon which
aid to education is calculated,’ said Jennifer Mauer, who has since left the
Lottery.
Further reading:
Lottery
accounting method questioned
Lottery
keeps billions off the books