“Leading this important state agency is a tremendous honor and I know how essential the Lottery is to our State and its economy,” said Carey. “I am happy to be working with our staff, vendors and retailers to keep it one of the best and strongest performing lotteries in the country.”
James Carey Sworn In As Executive Director of New Jersey Lottery
TRENTON (Feb. 5, 2020) – James A. Carey, Jr. was sworn in today to serve as the Executive Director of the New Jersey State Lottery. Carey has been serving as the Acting Executive Director since being appointed on July 23, 2018 by Governor Phil Murphy to take over leadership of the Division of State Lottery and was subsequently confirmed by the New Jersey State Senate on January 9, 2020.
“Leading this important state agency is a tremendous honor and I know how essential the Lottery is to our State and its economy,” said Carey. “I am happy to be working with our staff, vendors and retailers to keep it one of the best and strongest performing lotteries in the country.”
During his term as Acting Executive Director of the Lottery, the New Jersey Lottery has seen recordbreaking sales and its highest ever contribution to the State in fiscal year 2019. Carey also helped renegotiate the terms of the contract with Northstar New Jersey Lottery Group, which controls the New Jersey Lottery’s sales and marketing operations, a move that is projected to save the State roughly $100 million over the remaining life of the contract.
Prior to joining the Lottery, Carey was a Deputy Attorney General and the Section Chief of the Banking and Insurance Section at the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety. In that capacity, he served as primary legal counsel to the Department of Banking and Insurance and managed all litigation involving the Department. He also served as a prosecutor in the Division of Criminal Justice. From 2005 to 2010, he worked in the Governor’s Office of Legal Counsel and went on to serve as the Director of the Authorities Unit during the Corzine administration. In that position, he was responsible for overseeing the operations of the various independent authorities, including the New Jersey Lottery, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the Turnpike Authority, and the Economic Development Authority. Carey is a graduate of Seton Hall Law School, where he was an editor on the Law Review, and the University of South Carolina, where he majored in Business Administration.
The New Jersey Lottery began operating in 1970 and today is one of the top revenue producing lotteries in the country, with sales now topping $3 billion. Through a 30-year contribution agreement that was enacted in 2017, Lottery proceeds support the State’s obligations for education and institutions by bolstering the public employee pension systems for teachers, police and fire personnel who work at State institutions and other public employees.
###