Rollo Redburn has retired from his position as Lottery Commission Director of the Oklahoma Lottery after his final day on the job on Friday last week.
Redburn was instrumental in vouching for and establishing the state’s lottery, as he played an essential role in pushing for the approval of the organization in 2005. Before he was appointed the lottery’s second Director in 2012 following Jim Scroggins’ departure, he was in the agency as Director of Administration.
Redburn said: “Technically, Governor [Brad] Henry and Scott Meacham [former state treasurer and Henry’s Secretary of Finance and Revenue] asked me to get it running five months before Jim got there.”
Redburn began his career as a budget analyst trainee before working his way up to Deputy Director of State Finance at the Oklahoma Office of State Finance over the course of 29 years.
During his time with the lottery, he also made sure more money went toward education. Initially, state legislation required that 35% of the lottery’s profits are allocated to education. Redburn’s administration successfully helped pass legislation that removed this requirement. This led to larger prizes, which in turn attracted more players, and more funds for education.
The lottery now generates about $65m a year for education as a result of his push for new legislation.
He also advocated for the lottery to join multi-state lottery organizations to allow the sale of Powerball and Mega Millions tickets in the state, and convinced store chain 7-Eleven to partner with the lottery as an official retailer this year, adding on 108 locations to the lottery’s retailer network.
According to Redburn, the lottery could consider expanding its sales by allowing players to buy lottery tickets on their phones. He said that players could also be incentivized by a points reward system when purchasing lottery merchandise.
Redburn leaves behind a state agency that David Ostrowe, Oklahoma’s Secretary of Digital Transformation and Administration, says is the most efficient in that it spends much less on administration and overhead than others.
Ostrowe said: “They are hyper-focused on funding education to the most amount every year. The team understands that. That all starts with Rollo. He will be missed.”
Deputy Director Jay Finks will succeed Redburn as Director, who has also been with the lottery since its inception. Finks began his career in the lottery’s marketing department, serving as the Marketing Manager, Marketing Director and Director of Marketing and Administration before his appointment to Deputy Director in January 2019.