Lottery officials says change in operations leads to more money

Officials at the Iowa Lottery say a change in the way they operate is behind a surge in revenue in the last calendar year. Lottery spokesperson Mary Neubauer says the change approved by the legislature last year involved the operating budget. She says their budget was switched from being controlled by the legislature to being controlled by the five-member Iowa Lottery Board. Neubauer says in terms of being able to schedule games and make business moves, it has allowed them to do a better job of moving new products into the market. Neubauer says making quick changes is important for things like scratch tickets, as players like to have fresh new games. Scratch ticket sales were up 11 percent in the last year. Neubauer says it pays off with more money sent to the state.Neubauer says the Lottery sent nearly 52 million dollars to the state in the last calendar year — that compares to 45-and-a-half million the year before. Neubauer says they think they can maintain the increase in sales.She says it’s an example of effective change in state government that allows them to focus on running a business instead of worrying about bureaucratic issues. Scratch ticket sales for 2003 were nearly 91 million dollars, while Powerball sales were 63 million. Pull-tab tickets were third at 27-point-five million in sales.