Online Lottery Could Be Coming To A State Near You

Several states — including Illinois and New York — are now pushing forward with plans to offer lotteries on the Internet. That's in the aftermath of an opinion from the Justice Department, which reverses a long-standing policy and says states are free to conduct online gambling within their borders.

The lottery issue came to the forefront when the two states, which were both moving forward with Internet lottery plans, asked the Justice Department for clarification. The answer came two days before Christmas when federal authorities said the 1961 Wire Act — long considered a provision prohibiting all Internet gambling — only prohibits betting on sports.

"What that means is states are now free to do just about anything they want," says gambling analyst and Whittier law professor I. Nelson Rose. Rose says the Justice Department opinion was a Christmas present from the Obama administration to cash-strapped states, which will be able to raise hundreds of millions of dollars.

"There's more than 44 lotteries in this country. They are all looking at 'Let's go online immediately if we can.' They are all looking at their state statutes," Rose says.

http://www.npr.org/2012/01/24/145647048/online-lottery-could-be-coming-to-a-state-near-you

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i kinda had issue with sttes going lottery and promising money to education, where it didnt go.