Department of Justice Seal


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                            CR
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 1997                                    (202) 616-2765
                                                            TDD (202) 514-1888
 

NEW HAMPSHIRE LOTTERY AGREES TO PROVIDE ACCESS FOR DISABLED

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The New Hampshire Sweepstakes Commission has agreed to revamp the state's lottery program to ensure that the program, including the sale of tickets, is accessible to persons with disabilities, the Department of Justice announced today.

The settlement resolves a complaint filed under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that alleged that persons with mobility impairments couldn't buy lottery tickets because many of the 1,300 outlets where the tickets are sold were inaccessible for them.

"This agreement will open many doors across New Hampshire for people with mobility impairments," said Isabelle Katz Pinzler, Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. "It will ensure that the state's lottery program, when viewed in its entirety, is accessible to individuals with disabilities."

Pinzler said the commission, in agreeing to meet the ADA's compliance standards, will:

  • Survey and publish a list of all New Hampshire lottery sites accessible to persons with disabilities.
  • Evaluate the accessibility of the entire lottery program to determine the convenience of the accessible location of retailers who sell tickets, their dispersal within geographic regions, the ratio of accessible to inaccessible sites in each town and county and the rate of use of those retailers.
  • Develop and implement interim and permanent modifications to make the program accessible.
  • Develop and implement a plan to accomplish any structural changes needed to make the lottery program accessible.

Following the completion of these activities, the state will conduct a biennial survey of lottery retailers to ensure accessibility to the program.

The state and the Department also will provide information to all lottery retailers explaining their responsibilities under the law. The Department will review and approve the commission's actions.

Title II of the ADA requires that all programs and activities of state and local governments be accessible to individuals with disabilities. For those facilities that existed on the ADA's effective date, the act doesn't require that every building be accessible, but that the program, when viewed in its entirety, be accessible.

The ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, public services and public accommodations. More information about the ADA is available from the Department's ADA home page on the World Wide Web at http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahoml.htm or call the ADA Information Line at (800) 514-0301 (voice) or (800) 514-0383 (TDD).

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