State audit gives "good" rating to Missouri Lottery Commission

(From State Auditor Nicole Galloway)

Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway issued an audit report on the Missouri State Lottery Commission. The report, which received a rating of "good," identifies several areas of concern, including two areas that were cited in a prior audit report, issued two years ago: advertising/sponsorships and contracts.

The Lottery has not developed written policies and procedures for investing in sponsorships, and has incurred expenses greater than the amount of benefits for some community events, which was noted in a previous report. The report recommends the Missouri State Lottery conduct further analysis to determine the appropriate amount of advertising to optimize sales and profits. Lottery officials have indicated increases in the advertising budget would result in higher funding for education, however, these changes do not appear to have had a direct impact on the amount of funding generated for education.

Also noted in a previous report, the Lottery continues to enter into long-term contracts and to amend these contracts instead of periodically soliciting competitive bids and proposals. As a result of the long-term contracts, the best providers might not have an opportunity to bid on some services.

Prior to this report, the most recent audit of the Missouri State Lottery was issued in November 2012 with a performance rating of "good." The full report can be found here.