Oregon lottery sales averaged $249 per resident last year

Dec 29, 2004, 8:18 am (Post a comment)

Oregon Lottery

From video-poker machines at bars and restaurants to ticket sales at convenience markets and grocery stores, Jackson County residents spent $42.2 million on the Oregon Lottery in the fiscal year that ended in June.

Thats as if every man, woman and child in the county spent about $222 on Lottery games last year, slightly less than the state average.

Of course, not everyone plays. Roughly a quarter of the countys population isnt even old enough to gamble. However, per capita spending sales divided by total population is an industry standard for tracking sales, Oregon Lottery spokesman Chuck Baumann said.

Statewide, he said, per capita Lottery spending totaled $249 during fiscal 2004, up slightly from $239 the previous year.

Based on 2003 sales, Oregon ranked 12th for per capita lottery spending nationwide, according to the most recent information posted by the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries.

Rhode Island led the associations list with per capita spending of roughly $1,195. Montana had the lowest per capita spending of just $37.70. The national average was about $175 per person in states and territories with lotteries, the association reported.

In Oregon, total Lottery sales have climbed 15 percent in the past five years, from $770.8 million in fiscal 2000 to $890.7 million in fiscal 2004. In the same period, Lottery sales in Jackson County have grown nearly 22 percent, from $34.7 million to $42.2 million. U.S. Census figures show the percentage of Oregons population living in Jackson County has grown only slightly since 2000, so people are spending more and more on the Lottery in the Rogue Valley.

The largest percentage of Lottery sales, both statewide and in Jackson County, comes from video poker. Last year, Jackson County residents bet nearly $25 million at the machines.

They also spent almost $7 million on Scratch-it tickets, $4.8 million on Keno, $2.5 million on Megabucks, and $2 million on Powerball, Oregon Lottery sales records show. Rounding out the final $901,345 in Lottery sales were Sports Action, $443,862; Win for Life, $262,062; Breakopens, $109,350; Scoreboard, $57,292; and Pick 4, $28,779.

Mail Tribune

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