MORIARTY CALLS ON LOTTERY TO SCRATCH PRIZE-EMPTY INSTANT-WIN GAMES

MORIARTY CALLS ON LOTTERY TO SCRATCH
PRIZE-EMPTY INSTANT-WIN GAMES

(WASHINGTON TWP.) - Assemblyman Paul Moriarty, vice-chairman of the Assembly Consumer Affairs Committee, today called on the state Lottery Commission to pull instant "scratch-off" games off the market once the top prizes have been awarded.

In a letter to William Jourdain, executive director of the New Jersey Lottery Commission, Moriarty blasted the agency's practice of continuing sales of lottery games in which the public stands no chance of realizing the advertised jackpots.

Moriarty's letter stems from news reports that 14 of the Lottery's 79 instant games remain on-sale despite the top prizes having been long-since awarded. One game, "$1,000,000 Explosion," remains on-sale at $20 per ticket despite the top prize having already been claimed.

"The New Jersey Lottery has a responsibility to consumers to ensure a system that is fair and honest," wrote Moriarty (D-Gloucester). "Operating conditions that allow games to remain on-sale despite there being no opportunity for players to realize the advertised winnings are unacceptable. Such sales are in the least deceitful and at worst tantamount to theft by deception."

Moriarty noted that the Lottery Commission's own mission statement purports its goal of providing games "built upon honesty, integrity, and customer satisfaction."

--A copy of Moriarty's letter to Lottery Commission Executive Director Jourdain is attached.--

July 1, 2008

Mr. William T. Jourdain
Executive Director
New Jersey Lottery Commission
PO Box 041
Trenton, NJ 08625-0041

Dear Mr. Jourdain,

Recent news accounts which report the continued sale of 14 instant lottery games in which advertised prizes are no longer available are disconcerting. As Vice Chairman of the Assembly Consumer Affairs Committee and a member of the Assembly Tourism and Gaming Committee, this situation raises serious concern about the integrity of the games operated by the New Jersey Lottery.

The New Jersey Lottery has a responsibility to consumers to ensure a system that is fair and honest. In fact, the commission's mission statement clearly states the goal of gaming "built upon honesty, integrity, and customer satisfaction." Operating conditions that allow games to remain on-sale despite there being no opportunity for players to realize the advertised winnings are unacceptable. Such sales are in the least deceitful and at worst tantamount to theft by deception. In either case, it is wholly unacceptable for a state-operated commission.

I respectfully request the New Jersey Lottery immediately upgrade its procedures for lottery games in which the prizes have been exhausted. Other states - including Pennsylvania, Delaware, and California - protect consumers by removing lottery games from the marketplace once top prizes have been awarded; New Jersey should do the same.

I appreciate your immediate attention to this matter.

Sincerely,
Paul D. Moriarty
Assemblyman, 4th Legislative District