In the Matter of the Complaint Against

 The Respondent: MR. W. WESSEL Kreishausstr.
 9 P.O. Box 3033 D-4900

 and

 THE WESSEL LOTTERY Kreishausstr.
 9 P.O. Box 3033 D-4900
 at Herford, Federal Republic of Germany

 P.S. Docket No. 16/79;  

 07/07/83

 Cohen, James A.  

 APPEARANCE FOR COMPLAINANT:
 JamesF. McMullin, Esq.
 Consumer Protection Division
 Law Department
 United States Postal Service
 Washington, DC 20260-1100

 APPEARANCE FOR RESPONDENT:
 Mr. W. Wessel Postfach
 804 KreishausstraBe
 9 D-4900 Herford
 Federal Republic of Germany

On April 7, 1983, a Complaint was filed alleging that Respondent is engaged in conducting a lottery gift enterprise within the meaning of 39 U.S.C. § 3005. On April 18, 1983, Tentative Decision and Order No. 83-64 was issued which concluded that in accordance with 39 C.F.R. § 952.7(b) the Order authorized by 39 U.S.C. § 3005(a) should be issued against Respondent. Accompanying the Tentative Decision and Order was a notice which advised Respondent that unless it presented good cause for dismissing the Complaint, the Tentative Decision and Order would become final.

By letter dated May 18, 1983, Respondent filed its opposition to the allegations of the Complaint. In its letter Respondent contends that it has not acted improperly because its solicitation for lottery tickets which is the subject of the Complaint was sent to the recipient at his request based on his reading of "a report with no incentive for ticket sales" which appeared in Newsweek magazine. It also contends that its ticket application forms clearly state they are "VALID ONLY WHERE LEGAL," because Respondent does not know the legal status of its enterprise in all of the fifty states of this country.

Neither of these contentions serves as good cause for dismissing the Complaint. Even if the recipient of Respondent's solicitation requested additional information after reading a report which does not solicit remittances, under United States law, Respondent may not reply by sending a solicitation for the sale of lottery tickets through the United States mail without being in violation of 39 U.S.C. § 3005. Moreover, the notice which Respondent places on its solicitations does not absolve it from coverage of the statute which applies to Respondent's sale of lottery tickets in all fifty states.

Accordingly, it is concluded that Respondent is engaged in a lottery enterprise in violation of 39 U.S.C. § 3005. Therefore, in accordance with 39 C.F.R. § 952.7(b), Tentative Decision and Order No. 83-64 is now the Final Decision and Order of the Postal Service.