Multi-State Lottery Association
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The Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) is an American
non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
, government-benefit association owned and operated by agreement of its 34 member
lotteries A lottery is a form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find some degree of ...
. MUSL was created to facilitate the operation of multi-jurisdictional lottery games, most notably
Powerball Powerball is an American lottery game offered by 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. It is coordinated by the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL). From its inaugural drawing on April 19, 1992, unti ...
. MUSL was formed in December 1987, by seven U.S. lotteries. Its first game was launched in February 1988, ''
Lotto America Lotto America is an American multi-state lottery game that began in 2017. It is operated by the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL). It takes its name from the original Lotto America, offered from 1988 to 1992. Lotto America was re-launched b ...
''. That game was changed to Powerball; its first drawing was in April 1992. Powerball was a unique game using two drums, suggested to MUSL by Steve Caputo of the
Oregon Lottery The Oregon Lottery is run by the government of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is a member of the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL). History The Oregon Lottery was authorized by Oregon Ballot Measure 5 which was passed by voters in the 1984 ...
.


Powerball/Mega Millions cross-selling

On October 13, 2009, MUSL signed an agreement with the
consortium A consortium (plural: consortia) is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations or governments (or any combination of these entities) with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for ...
of states that operated the similar
Mega Millions Mega Millions (originally known as ''The Big Game'' in 1996 and renamed, temporarily, to ''The Big Game Mega Millions'' six years later) is an American multi-jurisdictional lottery game; as of January 30, 2020, it is offered in 45 states, the Di ...
lottery, which allowed MUSL members to sell Mega Millions tickets and consortium members to sell Powerball tickets. On January 31, 2010, all but 2 of the 12 Mega Millions consortium lotteries began selling Powerball tickets. The consortium members did not join MUSL; they were licensed by MUSL to sell Powerball, and the consortium coordinates their Powerball participation with MUSL.MUSL Powerball Group Rules
January 2010 (per
Arkansas Scholarship Lottery The Arkansas Scholarship Lottery is run by the government of Arkansas. History On November 4, 2008, Arkansas voters approved a ballot question legalizing the sale of lottery tickets there. The Arkansas Scholarship Lottery Act establishes a Commi ...
)
Likewise, MUSL members may offer Mega Millions through a special MUSL product group that coordinates with the Mega Millions consortium.MUSL Mega Millions Product Group Rules
December 2009 (per
Arkansas Scholarship Lottery The Arkansas Scholarship Lottery is run by the government of Arkansas. History On November 4, 2008, Arkansas voters approved a ballot question legalizing the sale of lottery tickets there. The Arkansas Scholarship Lottery Act establishes a Commi ...
)
Before the agreement, the only places that sold both Mega Millions and Powerball tickets were retailers that sat on state lines and offered multiple lotteries; one retailer on
U.S. Route 62 U.S. Route 62 or U.S. Highway 62 (US 62) runs from the Mexican border at El Paso, Texas, to Niagara Falls, New York, near the Canadian border. It is the only east-west United States Numbered Highway that connects Mexico and Can ...
straddling
Sharon, Pennsylvania Sharon is a city in western Mercer County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city, located along the banks of the Shenango River on the state border with Ohio, is about northeast of Youngstown, about southeast of Cleveland and about northwest o ...
and
Masury, Ohio Masury is a census-designated place (CDP) in Trumbull County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,618 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Youngstown– Warren– Boardman, OH- PA Metropolitan Statistical Area. History The commu ...
sold both Mega Millions (via the
Ohio Lottery The Ohio Lottery is a state lottery run by the Ohio Lottery Commission. Its games consist of scratch tickets; Pick 3, Pick 4, Pick 5 ("numbers games"); Rolling Cash 5, Classic Lotto, Keno, Lucky for Life, Mega Millions, and Powerball. The Lotter ...
) and Powerball (via the
Pennsylvania Lottery The Pennsylvania Lottery is operated by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Lottery was created by the Pennsylvania General Assembly on August 26, 1971; two months later, Henry Kaplan was appointed as its first executive director. The Pennsylv ...
) before the agreement and continues to be the only retailer to sell tickets for both states' lotteries. As of 2016, Powerball and Mega Millions were both offered in 46 jurisdictions, including the
District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Powerball is also offered in
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
, where Mega Millions is not currently offered.


Other games

Besides Powerball, MUSL has operated the Hot Lotto and
2by2 2by2 is a lottery game offered in Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Wyoming. It is drawn nightly at the Iowa headquarters of the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL). Kansas and Nebraska started the game in 2002; North Dakota joined in 2006, ...
draw games, and the
Monopoly Millionaires' Club Monopoly Millionaires' Club (MMC) was a series of 16 Scratchcard, scratchcard games that differed by its participating lotteries; its players could become eligible to be flown to Las Vegas to take part in an episode of the ''Monopoly Millionaire ...
scratch-game series, including the MMC television game show; the game show aired its final episode in April 2016. (Wild Card held its final drawing on February 24, 2016). Since MUSL games are multi-jurisdictional, these games need
unanimous Unanimity is agreement by all people in a given situation. Groups may consider unanimous decisions as a sign of social, political or procedural agreement, solidarity, and unity. Unanimity may be assumed explicitly after a unanimous vote or impl ...
approval before one is changed. In other words, game changes for Mega Millions (46 members) or 2by2 (three members) must be approved by all lotteries offering that game before a new format is implemented. Game changes often are made in hopes of increasing a game's membership. MUSL has retired several games, including 2by2, Ca$hola (video lottery), Daily Millions,
Lotto*America Lotto America is an American multi-state lottery game that began in 2017. It is operated by the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL). It takes its name from the original Lotto America, offered from 1988 to 1992. Lotto America was re-launched by ...
, Rolldown, and the Powerball
scratchcard A scratchcard (also called a scratch off, scratch ticket, scratcher, scratchum, scratch-it, scratch game, scratch-and-win, instant game, instant lottery, scratchie, lot scrots, or scritchies) is a card designed for competitions, often made of ...
game; the latter was tied to a weekly television game show produced for two years in
Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...
called ''Powerball: The Game Show'' (hosted by
Bob Eubanks Robert Leland Eubanks (born January 8, 1938) is an American disc jockey, television personality and game show host, best known for hosting the game show ''The Newlywed Game'' on and off since 1966. He also hosted the successful revamp version of ...
); then for two years from the Venetian Hotel in
Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
, called ''Powerball Instant Millionaire'' (hosted by
Todd Newton James Todd Newton (born May 5, 1970) is an American entertainment reporter, game show host, and author. Career Newton started his entertainment career at age sixteen as a disc jockey for Kincaid Entertainment in St. Louis. Later, the compan ...
. 2by2 was played in a similar fashion as Daily Millions was, but with a smaller top prize. (The Hot Lotto game will be retired on October 28, 2017, with a new version of Lotto*America replacing it on November 12.) In September 2007, MUSL launched
Midwest Millions Midwest Millions is a scratchcard game that debuted on September 7, 2007, in Iowa and Kansas, administered by the Multi-State Lottery Association. It originally became available in Kansas at the State Fair in Hutchinson and then throughout Kansas o ...
, a scratch ticket game, in
Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...
and
Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
; it was the country's first multi-jurisdictional scratch game since the ''Powerball'' television game shows. Midwest Millions returned in 2008 and 2009. Ca$hola was retired on May 15, 2011, when its 37th jackpot was won. A replacement multi-jurisdictional video lottery game, ''
MegaHits MegaHits was a video lottery terminal (VLT) multiple-progressive jackpot game that began on July 15, 2011, and ended on July 31, 2018. MegaHits replaced Cashola, which was offered from July 2006 to May 15, 2011. Cashola was offered at lottery-run ...
'', began on July 15, 2011 in Delaware, Rhode Island, and West Virginia, the three lotteries which offered Ca$hola; MegaHits has since been added in Maryland and Ohio.


Services

MUSL provides a variety of services for lotteries, including game design, management of game finances, production and up-linking of drawings, the development of common minimum
information technology Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information technology system (I ...
and security standards and inspections of lottery vendor sites; the building of a quantum-based
Random number generator Random number generation is a process by which, often by means of a random number generator (RNG), a sequence of numbers or symbols that cannot be reasonably predicted better than by random chance is generated. This means that the particular out ...
(RNG), coordination of common promotions and advertisements, coordination of public relations, and emergency back-drawing sites for lottery games. MUSL also hosts the Powerball website and the websites for more than a dozen U.S. lotteries. The Powerball website averages over 350,000
pageviews In web analytics and website management, a pageview or page view, abbreviated in business to PV and occasionally called page impression, is a request to load a single HTML file ( web page) of an Internet site. On the World Wide Web, a page request ...
per day (over 10.5 million monthly.) MUSL provides these services to the lotteries at no cost. MUSL earns its income from non-game sources such as earnings on its accounts, bond swaps, and licensing of its trademarks. MUSL owns the patents and trademarks involved in its operations, holding them for the benefit of its members. MUSL's former director is Chuck Strutt, who was the association's first employee in 1987. Strutt directly responded to players and writes MUSL's unusual FAQ, which elicits strong responses from readers who may find it humorous or insulting. MUSL games operate under the same core game rules in each jurisdiction; however, each lottery is free to vary rules pertaining to such things as purchase age, the claim period, and some validation processes.


Hot Lotto fraud scandal

In December 2010, a jackpot-winning ticket for the Hot Lotto jackpot was purchased near MUSL headquarters. However, the ticket was not claimed until just before the Iowa Lottery's one-year deadline. At that time, an attorney from New York state attempted to claim the jackpot on behalf of a
Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...
trust Trust often refers to: * Trust (social science), confidence in or dependence on a person or quality It may also refer to: Business and law * Trust law, a body of law under which one person holds property for the benefit of another * Trust (bus ...
. The trust later decided not to pursue the claim, to avoid revealing the purchaser's identity. In January 2015, Edward Tipton, MUSL's Director of Information Security, was arrested. Authorities determined that he was the purchaser by reviewing a convenience store's video footage. In March 2015, a second man, Robert Rhodes, from Texas, was arrested in connection to the fraud. Tipton was convicted in July 2015 of two counts of fraud and sentenced to 10 years in prison. He posted $10,000 bond and was released pending appeal. Authorities suspected that Tipton rigged drawings in at least four states, and as a result of their investigation he was charged in October 2015 for crimes in 2005 and 2007. Eddie Tipton was sentenced to 25 years in an Iowa court in 2017 for gaming multiple lotteries by installing a
rootkit A rootkit is a collection of computer software, typically malicious, designed to enable access to a computer or an area of its software that is not otherwise allowed (for example, to an unauthorized user) and often masks its existence or the exis ...
in the computer running the RNG used by MUSL for the drawings. The rootkit changed the behavior of the RNG, allowing Tipton to predict the numbers that would be drawn. The MUSL gaming software had been approved by Gaming Laboratories International.


Members

MUSL's membership consists of 38
lotteries A lottery is a form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find some degree of ...
(including those of the
District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands) which offered Powerball prior to the January 31, 2010 beginning of
cross-selling Cross-selling is a sales technique involving the selling of an additional product or service to an existing customer. In practice, businesses define cross-selling in many different ways. Elements that might influence the definition might includ ...
with the 12 lotteries operating
Mega Millions Mega Millions (originally known as ''The Big Game'' in 1996 and renamed, temporarily, to ''The Big Game Mega Millions'' six years later) is an American multi-jurisdictional lottery game; as of January 30, 2020, it is offered in 45 states, the Di ...
. Mississippi became the 35th state to join in 2019, with ticket sales planned for 2020. The 38 MUSL members,
alphabetically Alphabetical order is a system whereby character strings are placed in order based on the position of the characters in the conventional ordering of an alphabet. It is one of the methods of collation. In mathematics, a lexicographical order is t ...
(and when joined):


References


External links

* {{U.S. lotteries Lotteries in the United States