Is state budget crisis Illinois’ loss or Wisconsin’s gain?

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Illinois residents will no longer be able to buy Mega Millions and Powerball lottery tickets within state borders. The Illinois Lottery ticket sales got suspended since Friday due to the General Assembly’s failure to introduce a balanced budget. Along with this, recent big winners above $25,000 will not receive their prizes anytime soon.

What is the issue?

Mega Millions and Powerball are the multi-state lottery games. And, the association requires that each participating states have sufficient budget to pay out big jackpot prizes. Illinois is currently facing $14 billion in unpaid bills. So, paying large cash prizes is next to impossible. Winners who have claimed more than $25,000 will experience delays in their payment.

Illinois Lottery Acting Director Greg Smith said, “Players should be confident knowing Illinois Lottery has the money to pay these winning claims.” He later said the General Assembly needs to approve a balanced budget which includes Lottery funding. It is very crucial to ensure all payments occur.

The Powerball suspension came into effect at 9 p.m. CT on June 28 while the Mega Millions suspension got implemented on June 30 at 9:45 p.m. CT.

Is suspension the right thing?

While this suspension has occurred due to state’s budget crisis, it can affect the primary source of state’s revenue. According to a WGN report, two lottery games have helped generate $92 billion revenue for Illinois public schools. With this move, the state will have to look for another source of income.

Other lottery games such as Scratch-offs, etc. are still being sold in-state and one can claim their winning under $25,000.

Wisconsin has experienced a remarkable rise in its ticket sales since last weekend. Gas Station workers along Illinois and Wisconsin border have reported “sizeable increase in lottery sales.” According to them, there is a notable increase in lottery games ticket sales over the past few weeks and is expected to go higher over next weekend.