N.J. mom-and-pop lottery retailers worried about competition

I disagree. I think if they are set up in stores like Walmart and they are convienently located, that they would sell a good amount of tickets to those regular players.

Since Delprete's store sells groceries and deli food along with lottery tickets, any loss from ticket sales wouldn't hurt him as much as a retailer whose main products include lottery tickets. Still, he cites the location of his store as a prime factor.

I don't know any retailer here whose main products include lottery tickets.  They'd go out of business in a hurry, since, last I heard, the retailers here only get 5 cents per ticket they sell.

THe whole idea here of being a lottery ticket outlet is to attract people that come in and buy other thins with the lottery.  But with the price of gas now where it is, fewer and fewer people are making "impulse purchases".  When it costs them 80-100 bucks to fill their SUV tank, they have to drop buying impulse items. And things they need they shop elsewhere for, always looking for a sale.

There are several places in the big cities that specialize in lottery products.  It may not seem like much, but a 5% margin is pretty good, especially in the grocery business.  They do much better on big ticket items like meat, but things like can goods have even smaller margins. 

Consider this- the retailer earns a dollar for selling one $20 ticket.  In a C-store, a lottery product might offer the best return on shelf space in the store. 

If Wal Mart put lottery terminals in most of the checkout lines with the usual jackpot and scratch-off ads, it would be hard for an occasional player to miss them. But part of their marketing is to put smaller products where people have access to them while they are waiting in line. We have some huge super markets with lots of traffic that only have one lottery terminal at the service desk. The Wal Marts near me cash paychecks where people return and exchange merchandise and that's where they would probably put a lottery terminal.

You mentioned something about more tickets sales, but as a regular player I would have no reason to buy more tickets because stores like Wal Mart sold them; especially on Thursday and Friday when there is a long line of people cashing paychecks. I believe the reason my state lottery has terminals in 8 stores within a mile of my home is because of the extra play from occasional players. And if Wal Mart wanted to sell lottery ticket, they would already be doing that and it would have to be easy access to the occasional player if the reason is increased ticket sales.

The other day when I was buying lottery tickets, the guy in line behind me was holding money so I asked if he was buying gas and told him go in front of me. He handed the clerk $80 for a fill-up and didn't come back for change. The price of oil hit another record high today and if something doesn't happen, lots of businesses will be hurting.

Very true.

That's why convenience store owners would give their left arm to have a big winner in their store.  Players will flock there, and will do so loyally for years.  And the more people who go there, the better the chance of a repeat win.  All the while, the commissions add up to big numbers -- with NO OVERHEAD.

I tend to support the same.  The problem, as some one mentioned in ,the state of Oklahoma, is that Mom & Pop cannot support anything larger then $5 and $10 winnings.  Then they immediately revert to checks; which can take a month, or more, to receive. YOU must pay cash, so they immediately have the money in the drawer, but YOU must also wait until their accountant gets around to writing the monthly checks.  How more Government can you get?  Going to Mom & Pop, to buy a ticker, is convenient. Going to a major outlet, to collect, would also be a convenience. When I lived in NJ, I did it all time.  If I have to pay cash to play, I want cash when I win!  Jackpots don't effect the oayout from either Mom & Pop, nor Wally-Mart.

What do you mean think Oklahoma?  Retail commission is higher than Missouri's, do you mean because of sales?