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Lack of slot revenue at tracks taking toll on Churchill Downs

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Ill. plans to sell online lottery tickets not sitting well with everybody February 20, 2012 10:38 AM by Staff & Wire Reports
A Justice Department opinion easing its approach to online gambling, and specifically focusing on states such as Illinois that had approved laws permitting its state lottery to sell lottery tickets online, doesn’t please everybody.
 
J.D.’s announcement was greeted warmly by Illinois Lottery officials who said they planned to take advantage of the Internet opportunity as early as late March.
 
Conventional lottery ticket sellers weren’t happy.
 
Individual store owners expressed their opposition. So did the Illinois Association of Convenience Stores and the Illinois Retail Merchants Association. The obvious argument was that the sale of lottery tickets at the customary outlets has become a significant part of their business. Online sales would cut into their sales since individuals could buy their tickets online.
 
The two organizations also suggested that selling lottery tickets online could increase underage gambling while endangering some 7,000 jobs at convenience stores.
 
It has also been suggested that the lottery plan may not have considered all regulatory ramifications and that officials should delay the onset of online sales until the plan has been given further study. 
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