COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Ohio Lottery announced Monday that the state will join The Big Game multistate lottery.

"We are pleased and excited to offer our customers the chance to play The Big Game in Ohio," Ohio Lottery Director Dennis Kennedy said. "Ohio players currently play multistate games in bordering states. Having the ability to present The Big Game to our players will help keep Ohio dollars here."

Another factor behind the decision is that the state expects to stabilize declining lottery profits and help shrink a $1.5 billion state budget deficit.

The announcement came three days after an anti-gambling coalition asked a court to stop the state from expanding the Ohio Lottery to include a multistate game.

The coalition made the request Thursday in Franklin County Common Pleas Court, where it also has filed a lawsuit to throw out authorization for expanding the lottery.

The lawsuit argues that the Ohio Constitution permits only a lottery run exclusively by Ohio with no involvement by other states.

The state has until Feb. 21 to respond to the request for a preliminary injunction against the expansion and probably will oppose it, according to the Ohio attorney general's office.

Those filing the lawsuit include the Ohio Roundtable, a conservative think tank in suburban Cleveland; the Roundtable's president, David Zanotti; the United Methodist Church; and the Ohio Methodist Church's gambling task force director, John Edgar.

Opponents of the expansion say they plan a $50,000 to $100,000 ad campaign this year urging elimination of all state-sponsored gambling.

Gov. Bob Taft has said that the multistate lottery is needed to stabilize profits, which have declined for several years. By law, all lottery profits go to education, where they make up about 6 percent of the Department of Education's budget.

During the first half of the fiscal year, ending in December, the lottery had earned $296.9 million, down from $319 million over the same period a year ago and $348 million in 1999.

In fiscal 2001, lottery profits fell for the fourth straight year and sales dropped 10 percent despite the addition of a new game.

The state estimates it can raise about $41 million a year by joining a multistate lottery. Ohio hopes the larger jackpots that the lotteries can offer will increase lottery sales.

The seven Big Game states are Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey and Virginia. New York has also requested membership.

Ohio players could participate in The Big Game by late May or early June, Kennedy said.

The Ohio Lottery will continue to offer its Super Lotto Plus game to players although some minor modifications to the existing game may be necessary once The Big Game is available for sale.

Kennedy said that he expects that The Big Game will generate an estimated $41 million in additional profit for Ohio schools.

The Big Game organizers are evaluating possible game changes that may implemented with the addition of New York and Ohio.

Currently, players participating in The Big Game pick six numbers from two separate pools: five numbers from a pool of 50 and one number from a pool of 36.

The Big Game wagers currently cost $1 per play and the jackpot prize is won when a player correctly selects all six numbers chosen in drawings that are held every Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m.