FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          CR
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 1997                        (202) 616-2765
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888
                                 
     JUSTICE DEPARTMENT REACHES AGREEMENT WITH STATE LOTTERY 
    COMMISSION UNDER THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA)

     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The state of Oregon will not allow
businesses to sell lottery tickets unless a vendor provides
access to lottery services for wheelchair users under an
agreement reached today between the state and the Justice
Department.

     Under the agreement, Oregon has enacted an Administrative
Rule which requires retailers that provide lottery services,
including grocery stores, convenience stores and gas stations, to
remove barriers of access for patrons who use wheelchairs.  The
agreement applies to more than 3,000 vendors who carry the Video
Poker, Keno, Megabucks and Scratch Off games.

     Today's agreement is the Department's first under the
Americans with Disabilities Act involving a state lottery agency.

     "We commend Oregon for its comprehensive approach to making
the lottery program accessible to people with disabilities," said
Isabelle Katz Pinzler, Acting Assistant Attorney General for
Civil Rights.

     Under the agreement, the state's Lottery Commission will:

*    require lottery retailers to provide access to wheelchair
     users who want to use lottery related services;

*    require retailers to remove barriers or create alternative
     methods to access;

*    require all retailers to remove barriers by July 5, 1998;
     and,

*    create a procedure for dealing with complaints about
     accessibility of lottery services.

     The Department began its inquiry into the Oregon Lottery
system after receiving a complaint from an individual with a
disability who claimed he could not purchase lottery tickets
because the local vendor was inaccessible.

     Today's agreement was reached under Title II of the ADA
which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in
public services. Title III of the law also requires that
businesses provide access to people with disabilities. 

     Those who are interested in finding out more about the ADA
can access 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
(TTY).
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