The New Mexico Lottery now uses email to send weekly billing statements
to lottery retailers, discontinuing paper statements.
Electronic billing will save the lottery an estimated $23,000 a year in postage,
stationery and personnel expenses. Retailers will receive information faster
in a format that can be exported easily and more accurately into electronic accounting
systems and business records. The lottery’s move to electronic billing comes
two weeks before U.S. postage rates increase to 42 cents for first-class mail.
On Mondays, lottery retailers will receive electronic statements detailing their
sales of drawing and Scratcher games, prize payments, and commissions earned for
selling tickets and cashing prize-winning tickets during the previous week.
Statements will also detail any bonuses paid for selling winning tickets for specific
top prizes, such as a Powerball jackpot.
Lottery CEO Tom Romero said email is now the preferred communications tool for most
lottery retailers.
“Electronic billing will help the lottery and our retailers reduce administrative
costs, increase efficiency and maximize revenues for the
Legislative Lottery Scholarship program,” Romero said. “I applaud
the retailers for helping the lottery advance its mission.”
All net revenues from the sale of lottery games benefit the
Legislative Lottery Scholarship program, which provides tuition assistance
for New Mexico residents attending the state’s 25 public colleges and universities.
Since its inception in 1996, the lottery has raised $347 million for public education
and more than 48,000 students have attended college on Legislative Lottery Scholarships.
Lottery games are sold at 1,100 retail locations statewide. Lottery retailers
can retrieve weekly statements from their in-store lottery terminals. In 2009,
the lottery plans to enhance the electronic billing process so that retailers can
retrieve weekly statements from a secure lottery website.
Information on the New Mexico Lottery and Legislative Lottery Scholarships is available
at www.nmlottery.com.
