Reading Room Document

Scope of Exemption Under Federal Lottery Statutes for Lotteries Conducted by a State Acting Under the Authority of State Law

The federal lottery statute exemption for lotteries "conducted by a State" requires that the state exercise actual control over all significant business decisions made by the lottery enterprise and retain all but a de minimis share of the equity interest in the profits and losses of the business, as well as the rights to the trademarks and other unique intellectual property or essential assets of the state's lottery. It is permissible under the exemption for a state to contract with private firms to provide goods and services necessary to enable the state to conduct its lottery, including management services, as discussed in the opinion. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at www.justice.gov/file/482191/download.

October 16, 2008