Arizonans pursuing quick riches bought a record $366.6 million in Lottery tickets in the year that ended June 30, a nearly 14 percent gain over the previous 12 months.
From those sales, a record $107.8 million was distributed to eight state funds that aid everything from parks to mass transportation and abused children.
Arizona's percentage increase was the highest among Western states with similar gambling environments, according to Lottery officials. Lottery sales in California, which also has Indian casinos and horse tracks, increased 6.6 percent, New Mexico sales rose 7.9 percent and Colorado sales increased 2.5 percent, according to a Lottery report.
Arizona's Lottery director attributed the sales gains to several factors: three Powerball jackpots exceeding $200 million, each of which increased sales; better advertising; stronger sales of higher-priced scratch tickets, including $10 cards; better game and ticket distribution across the state; and new sales-growth mind-set among Lottery staff members.
That drive to increase sales is paying off, said Katie Pushor, executive director.
"We've got plenty of room to grow," Pushor said Tuesday, noting Arizona per capita sales are still low relative to other states.
In fiscal 2003, Arizona's sales averaged $58 per person. Colorado weighed in at $86; Idaho, $72; Indiana, $107; and Kentucky, $164.
The Lottery is one of the three major forms of legal gambling in the state, the other two being Indian casinos and horse and dog racing. Lottery sales have risen even as Indian casinos expand their games under Proposition 202, passed two years ago.
Steve Hart, a Phoenix lawyer and former director of the state Department of Gaming, said studies done before Proposition 202 indicated "huge pent-up demand" for casino gambling in Arizona. But even with casino game expansions, there won't be enough slot machines to satisfy all the demand, he said.
"So it doesn't surprise me that you see pent-up demand spilling over" to Lottery and other forms of gambling, Hart said.
Pushor believes that Lottery and casino customers and their motivations are sufficiently different that each category has room to grow.
Bobbe McGinley, clinical director of Addictions Counseling Treatment in Phoenix and Glendale, isn't seeing a correlation between higher Lottery sales and people addicted to the games.
"I'm just not seeing more along those lines, even though the advertising appears to be pretty predominant," McGinley said.
She is, however, seeing more people with gambling problems related to gambling in casinos and online. She believes the increases aren't necessarily from more gambling products, but more awareness that treatment is available.
Ken Travous, director of the state Parks Department, is happy to see that increased Lottery play translated to $20 million split between the Parks and Fish and Game departments.
State Parks uses about 60 percent of the money for matching grants for city and county parks and 40 percent for its own capital development and land acquisitions, he said.
"That's the only thing we've had to improve our parks system over the past 10 years," Travous said of annual Heritage Fund revenues from the Lottery.
Lottery sales last fiscal year split almost evenly between scratch-off tickets and online games, roughly $183.3 million each. Online games include Powerball and The Pick. Powerball sales exceeded $132 million.
On Monday, the Lottery is introducing Extra, an add-on feature to The Pick, to try to boost sales of the game.
For an additional $1 per play, Extra gives players the chance to win a prize instantly. The chance to win on the spot is in addition to the chance to win in the next Pick drawing, the Lottery said in a written statement.
The Lottery will continue to introduce new games, such as the highly successful "Slingo," and to offer higher-priced tickets, which are becoming increasingly important in the product mix, a Lottery report said.
The state's 525 Circle K stores posted the highest sales last year, at $101.1 million, or 27.6 percent, of total sales. The next-largest retailer was Fry's, at $33.2 million, or 9 percent.
Despite a hike in the minimum age from 18 to 21.
that and the fact that the pick will stay at the starting level for 6 drawings without a jackpot winner.
At least Hot Lotto has a minimum rollover of $50,000.