Lottery

Lottery sales are finally being impacted by the economy.   Following a surge in sales as people scrambled to try to pay bills, lottery sales are now falling because people are out of money and have given up all hope.  

Most states are now reporting 5-10% declines in ticket sales and an increased number of potholes.  Are you still playing the lottery despite the lackluster economy because you have higher odds of winning with less players?

Lottery Industry

We’re hearing it everywhere,  Lottery sales are finally starting to fall into a rut as the economy’s deathgrip tightens on players.  New York has bucked the trend, mainly because of the 12% increase in Video Lotto revenue.   On average, most states are posting a 2% decline in lottery sales but New York is posting a 3% increase because of slot-machine like lottery machines the state deployed at raceracks and other gambling facilities.

Over the past 8 months, the New York Lottery has generated  approximately $709mil (vs $636mil same period last year) from it’s 8 video parlors.   A large amount of this gameplay can be contributed to less people travelling to Atlantic City and other gambling Mecas do to the tightening economy.   The same folks that used to load up the car and drive 6 hours to go to a casino now just drive down the street to pull the Lottery Slot Machine Lever, keeping the money inside the state.

Last year, the New York Lottery generated $2.6 billion.   This amount accounted for 13% of the NY School Systems operating budgets.

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Delaware Lottery officials commented that sales trends for this year’s new years even raffle were “sluggish”.   Tickets cost $10.00 and can be purchased until 3pm on Dec 31,2008.   The top prize is $250,000 cash.

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20% of players contribute 82% of lottery revenue in the USA — disproportionately are low-income, minority men who have less than a college education. That has fueled a vociferous anti-lottery movement. “It really is government undercutting what government’s role should be,” which is encouraging people in financial straits to be responsible with their money, says Tom Grey of the National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling.

About one-half of American adults spend $45 billion annually on some 35,000 lottery games in 40 states, plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

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The Florida Lottery is busy with behind-the-scenes preparations for Powerball. Tickets go on sale in Florida on January 4th. The first drawing is January 7th.

Lottery spokeswoman Jackie Barreiros says computers are getting software downloads so they’ll be able to sell the tickets and workers will be putting up Powerball billboards in the coming weeks.

When Florida joins the game, Powerball will include 30 states, Washington, D.C., and the Virgin Islands.

Barreiros says Florida’s preparations are right on track so far. She says the state is trying to get the word out about how the game works and how you win.

Jackpots currently start at $15 million, but that will be increased to $20 million when Florida players start buying tickets in January.

Barreiros says the Lottery Department expects Lotto sales to drop off when Powerball begins, but the agency is confident players will come back to Lotto. She says workers will be pulling down Lotto billboards and replacing them with Powerball signs, but that doesn’t mean Lotto is going away.

Each Powerball ticket will cost $1. You’ll have an option to pay an extra $1 to multiply the non-jackpot winnings.

The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 146 million. Good luck!

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The audit of the Kentucky Lottery showed that the lottery brought in $778.2 million — up about 4.6 percent from the previous year — but its profits were down about 2.7 percent.

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According to the Maryland Lottery, instant scratch-off sales are up almost $45 million from this time last year, and overall lottery sales are up by almost $10 million during the first 10 months of this year.

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As times get tough financially for states, New Hampshire is looking to Wal-Mart as a possible way to help boost its lottery revenue.

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That’s right folks.  Lotto sales are exploding as it is quickly becoming the only legal chance people have to get enough $ to keep the bank from taking their house!  Beat the bank with your lucky penny and a $5.00 bill!

Now seriously folks.. be careful!  Lotto is not an investment!  If you do win, please pay our hosting bill.

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