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Minnesota Senate Votes, Again, To End Online Lottery Games

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Lottery's days of selling instant-win tickets on the Internet, at gas pumps and through ATMs could be numbered.

The Senate voted 56-8 Thursday to end games that the lottery launched last year without explicit legislative approval, prompting cries of overreach. A similar bill passed the Legislature by wide margins in 2014, but Gov. Mark Dayton vetoed it.

Dayton isn't saying if he'll block this year's bill, but leading lawmakers aren't ruling out an override attempt if he does.

Lottery officials would have 130 days to wind down the games. But those officials warn that vendors could seek legal millions in damages for pulling out of contracts.

Senators defeated an amendment to give the lottery until its contracts expire in 2018 to suspend virtual ticket sales.

(© Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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