At a time when cooped-up Americans are looking for entertainment and
hoping for a windfall more than ever, scratch-off lottery ticket sales
have skyrocketed.Get more news about
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It’s a rare bright spot for state budgets, since most states’ tax
revenue has dropped and spending is up because of the coronavirus.
For example, in Oklahoma, total lottery sales were just over $7.7
million for the week ending April 25, up about 75% compared with the
same time last year, driven almost entirely by scratch-offs. That
included nearly $5.9 million in scratch-off sales, up from $2.5 million
last year.
“The numbers are extraordinary,” said Jay Finks, marketing director for
the Oklahoma Lottery. He attributed the surge to the introduction in
December of a new $20 scratch-off ticket, the expansion in February of
lottery sales into 7-Eleven stores, and a “demand for gaming because …
people are looking for things to do. People can’t gamble on sports,
can’t watch sports, can’t go to casinos, can’t go to movies.”
“I think you are seeing the discretionary income go to what’s available,” he said in a phone interview.
At the same time, the multistate Mega Millions and Powerball games are
seeing significant drops in players and jackpots. People are not getting
out of the house as much and when they do, they are reluctant to take
the time to pick numbers and hand cash to attendants.
With fewer players, the jackpots diminish — a vicious cycle since lower
jackpots usually mean less interest, and even fewer players. That has
made total state lottery revenue decline in most states.But scratch-off
tickets, with their more immediate gratification, have brought states
good luck.
Lottery sales in Texas for the week ending May 2 totaled $146 million,
one of the highest weekly sales totals since January 2016, when a
Powerball jackpot of over $1.6 billion led to a nationwide frenzy that
lifted all states’ sales. The May 2 total was driven by the highest-ever
sales of scratch-off tickets, a 24% increase over last year. Draw game
sales were down 3.5% from the same week last year.
Gary Grief, the state lottery’s executive director, said pent-up demand
for entertainment and casino closures in surrounding states have
contributed to the increase in scratch-off ticket sales in late April
and early May.
Lottery critics say the uptick in April sales coincided with Americans’
receipt of federal stimulus payments of $1,200 and argue that states
shouldn’t be cashing in on aid to people in need.
“People play state lotteries when they are financially desperate,” said
Les Bernal, national director for Stop Predatory Gambling, an
anti-lottery organization. “We have 30 million people who are
unemployed.”
The U.S. Labor Department reported last week that more than 33 million
Americans have filed for initial jobless claims since the coronavirus
pandemic tore up the economy.Bernal’s organization sent a letter to
governors of the 45 states with a lottery, calling on them to shut the
games down during the pandemic.
“Federal tax dollars are being sent to American families in order to put
food on the table, make rent or mortgage payments, or provide for other
daily necessities — not to subsidize state lotteries,” the group said
in the letter.
But no state has shut down its lottery. On the contrary, Grief in Texas
said the lottery is striving to boost scratch-off sales even more.
“As these sales provide critically needed revenue for public schools and
veterans’ services in Texas, the agency is doing all we can to ensure
our retailers are provided with the necessary support and scratch ticket
inventory to continue this trend,” he said in his email.
To be sure, lottery revenue makes up a small part of state budgets, most
of the time less than 2%. In West Virginia, the state that derives the
greatest percentage of its revenue from lotteries, the lottery brought
in about 3% of state revenue.
But every dollar is proving significant as states face budget shortfalls
caused by the pandemic. Each state dedicates lottery revenue
differently, though many reserve the money for education or
infrastructure.
Powerball and Mega Millions ticket sales have declined so much that the
two games are reducing their jackpots for the first time in memory. The
new jackpots will be determined by game sales and interest rates.
Powerball and Mega Millions tickets are $2 a play. Tickets for both
games are sold in 45 states and the District of Columbia, and winning
numbers are drawn twice a week.
“More states and cities have asked their residents to stay at home,
which has affected normal consumer behaviors and Powerball game sales,”
Gregg Mineo, Powerball Product Group chairman and Maine Lottery
director, said in an April 2 statement. “In response to the public
health crisis, interest rates have declined.”
But the fact that many people are buying scratch-off lottery tickets
during an economic downturn is not surprising, academic experts say.
“When we feel a loss, we become much more willing to take a risk to
regain what we had,” said Cornell University business professor David
Just, who completed a study on lottery purchases earlier this year.
Scratch-off tickets, he said, give the buyer “more immediacy. It’s much
more of a reinforcer, and gives you a jolt right away and that leads you
toward habit formation.”
The Wall