Lottery Audited Heavily and Often

Question: Your earlier column about the California Lottery was excellent, but a great number of Lottery players (since the beginning) are starting to harbor some suspicions concerning the handling of the monies taken in and disbursed by Lottery officials. Does anybody audit their activities and is there a regularly published report? If so, where and how can we get a copy of it? If there is no published information, would you take this on as a project? I think the public is entitled to detailed knowledge of their activities.

L.K.

Answer: If auditors were termites, the California Lottery building in Sacramento would be under a perpetual extermination tent.

“Boy, are we ever audited!” is the reaction of Joanne McNabb, the Lottery’s communications manager. “You wouldn’t believe it.” The curious structure of any state’s lottery makes it a natural for far more auditing than a comparable private business would require or, for that matter, tolerate.

“While it’s like a private business in many ways, since it is selling a product,” McNabb says, “it’s also a public entity, so there’s a real need for extra-thorough auditing.” The Lottery has its own independent auditing department, which periodically moves in without warning and audits the books of all units handling the Lottery.

On top of this, McNabb said, the State Controller’s office maintains a permanent staff of 16 auditors “right here in our building, and the Lottery pays all of the salaries and other expenses involved in the activity.”

Furthermore, auditing the entire operation on a quarterly and annual basis is the national accountancy firm of Peat Marwick Main & Co.

“And,” McNabb says, “of course, anyone who wants a copy of the latest statement can get one from us at any time.”

Just write to: Public Affairs Office, California State Lottery, 600 N. 10th St., Sacramento 95814. You can expedite this by including a magazine-size manila envelope.