Friday, March 10, 2006

Attorney General Mike Cox announced today that he has demanded that PowerPick Player's Club of Michigan, L.L.C., a Grand Rapids based subsidiary of PowerPick America, L.L.C., stop selling subscriptions to lottery-ticket pools for Michigan Lottery games because the business violates state law.

"Illegal gambling is just that: illegal," said Cox. "My office will continue to pursue those who try to violate the public trust to line their own pocketbooks."

In his cease and desist letter sent to PowerPick Players Club of Michigan (PowerPick), Cox demanded that PowerPick immediately stop selling or reselling Michigan Lottery tickets or shares and providing Michigan Lottery tickets or shares as bonuses to its customers. Cox has also demanded that PowerPick inactivate the Michigan portion of its website.

Unlike legal lottery clubs, PowerPick profits from selling shares of lottery pools. Michigan's Lottery Act prohibits selling Michigan Lottery tickets or shares at a higher price than that set by the Commissioner of the Bureau of State Lottery. It also prohibits anyone other than a licensed lottery sales agent from selling Michigan Lottery tickets or shares.

According to PowerPick's website, only a portion of the money the business collects from its customers goes toward purchasing Michigan Lottery tickets. The rest goes to company profit and overhead. PowerPick is not a licensed lottery sales agent.

PowerPick also violates provisions of Michigan's Penal Code that prohibit private businesses from promoting a lottery for money, setting up or aiding in setting up a lottery, selling pools, accepting bets, and publishing information concerning making bets or selling pools.