Governor Proposes Lottery Privatization

Governor Daniels has proposed franchising the Hoosier Lottery to a private contractor to fund a new anti-“brain drain” scholarship program. The plan calls for the contractor to make a large up-front payment, an annual payment that’s approximately what the state currently earns from the lottery, and a payment that's a percentage of the contractor’s revenue. Part of the up-front payment would go into a permanent endowment. The endowment would fund forgivable scholarships for outstanding students who agree to work in Indiana for at least three years after they graduate from college. Daniels says the deal would continue to fund programs currently paid for by lottery proceeds, including police, fire and teacher pensions, local motor vehicle excise tax replacement and state and local capital projects.