Indiana Lotteries

Voters approved the lottery through a referendum in November 1988. The Indiana Lottery Act was signed into law by Gov. Evan Bayh in May 1989. The first lottery ticket, Hoosier Millionaire, was sold in October 1989. Hoosier Lottery offers draw games, such as Powerball with Power Play, Mega Millions with Megaplier, Hoosier Lotto and Cash 5; and over 50 scratch-off instant games.

The Indiana Lottery Act established the State Lottery Commission of Indiana as an advisor and to oversee the operation of the Hoosier Lottery. The Commission comprises five governor-appointed members, of which at most three members may be affiliated with the same political party.

In February 2007, a bill that would privatize the Hoosier Lottery was approved by a Senate committee. The money from the sale would be used to fund scholarships for the university. In March 2007, Gov. Daniels put the bill on hold, saying he wanted a yearlong, statewide conversation on how best to spend the money the lease could yield. In November 2007, the governor announced his decision to defer the bill for another year.

In September 2008, the House approved privatizing the lottery. The U.S. Department of Justice contended that any attempt to privatize the lottery would be in violation of federal law. However, Lottery officials awarded GTECH Corporation the 15-year contract over contender Scientific Games in October that same year. GTECH's contract makes the company responsible for the Lottery's day-to-day management operations and requires it to increase Lottery revenue by an average of an additional $100 million each year for the first five years. On 1 April 2013, GTECH expanded the hours that retailer outlets may remain open to sell lottery tickets. Traditionally, the terminals retailers used to sell lottery tickets were shut down by the Lottery between 11:30 p.m. and 4:30 a.m. However, retailer terminals shut down at 2 a.m. and were back on at 3:30 a.m.