Maryland residents receive first shots of new COVID-19 vaccine

The Maryland Department of Health suggests residents use the state’s COVID Vaccination Site Searcher to find the new booster nearby.

Weekly drive-through deals hope in Frederick

The organizer estimates that during the two years they operated the drive, they provided 300 to 450 families a week’s worth of groceries every Monday.

Most approve of legalized sports wagering, but concerns over college games remain

A Povich Center-CDCE-Post survey of 1,503 people found less support for betting on college sports compared to betting on professional sports.

Mega Billions: The great lottery wealth transfer

Using an analysis of cellphone location data, this nationwide investigation of state lotteries found that stores that sell tickets are disproportionately clustered in lower income communities in nearly every state and that their customers come from those neighborhoods. This pattern, coupled with predatory advertising practices and powerful state lobbying efforts, is driving a multibillion-dollar wealth transfer from low-income U.S. communities to powerful multinational companies, the collaboration between the Howard Center and Boston University found.

The Lottery on Your Block

A first-of-its-kind, nationwide investigation of state lotteries by the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism found that stores that sell tickets are disproportionately clustered in lower-income communities in every state.

Stores cash customers’ checks, then sell them lottery tickets

At All Checks Cashed in Everett, Massachusetts, a red neon sign beckons customers to cash their checks, pay utilities and try their luck with scores of lottery tickets.

About “Mega Billions: The great lottery wealth transfer”

In the popular imagination, the lottery is a harmless amusement in which people spend a few dollars on a Powerball ticket when the jackpot gets big. Data journalists and reporters from the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at the University…

State lotteries transfer wealth out of needy communities

WARREN, Mich. — While the growing expansion of casinos and state-sanctioned sports betting steal the spotlight, state lotteries have nearly doubled in size over the past two decades, driving a multibillion-dollar wealth transfer from low-income U.S. communities to powerful multinational…

State lottery advertising tells players half of the story

State lotteries spend more than a half-billion dollars a year on pervasive marketing campaigns designed to persuade people to play often, spend more and overlook the long odds of winning.

Scientific Games’ lottery playbook succeeded, then spread

The growth of the lottery business nationwide was inspired in large part by the lobbying innovations of a single multinational gambling company, Scientific Games Holdings LP.