High gas prices may be cutting into lottery sales

Comment #9

lchoro — Thu, 22 Sep 2005 20:47:41 GMT

Another thought. Nearly all of the top 10 stores in the Virginia Lottery are located near the North Carolina border. The passage of the lottery in that state may be giving cross-border gamblers pause unless they have regular business that requires they travel to Virginia.

Comment #8

Todd — Thu, 22 Sep 2005 14:30:39 GMT

Orangeman,A harsh way to say it, but .Stay safe.

Comment #7

orangeman — Thu, 22 Sep 2005 14:22:12 GMT

This is an insteresting thread. Many lower income lottery players are hip pocket bankers. They have no credit cards or checking accounts. When they run out of cash, they have no other purchasing power. In this case it is a true zero sum game. Hip pocket bankers must often choose between milk, gas or lottery tickets. When push comes to shove, a hungry child or an empty gas tank trump a long-shot at lottery millions.The real question is how many lottery players are hip pocket bankers. Statist... [ More ]

Comment #6

dvdiva — Thu, 22 Sep 2005 04:01:21 GMT

I said this a while ago. Nice for someone to understand basic economics. This is like saying Katrina and Rita aren't going to also have a negative impact on lottery sales on a national level.

Comment #5

BabyJC — Thu, 22 Sep 2005 01:23:06 GMT

It's good to hear that people are being more responsible and using their money for necessities like expensive gas instead of gambling.

Comment #4

emilyg — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 23:17:35 GMT

Comment #3

Littleoldlady — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 23:10:19 GMT

I believe that high gas sales do effect everything even lottery ticket sales..Many people are not spending anything for extras because they don't know what is going to happen..also, many folks donated to the hurricane relief..now we have Rita..

Comment #2

Drivedabizness — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 22:44:10 GMT

These pay at the pump and now high gas prices theories have been around for a while. I'm not at all convinced that there is any merit to them. Good lotteries (in terms of sales performance) continue to drive double-digit growth in instant ticket sales. Their states have pay-at-the-pump and high gas prices too. I think this is more of a convenient excuse in case sales fall short for those responsible for delivering higher sales.

Comment #1

CASH Only — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 21:53:32 GMT

I believe his claim. I've been making fewer trips to Connecticut because of the higher gas prices.

High gas prices may be cutting into lottery sales

Lottery Post — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 20:23:48 GMT

The evidence is far from conclusive, but some people in the business think high gasoline prices have cut into lottery sales in New Hampshire.Rick Wisler, executive director of the state Lottery Commission, is among them, at least with respect to instant tickets. He reasons that with prices so high, many drivers are using credit or debit cards to pay for gasoline. That means they don't have cash in hand, which depresses impulse purchases such as instant lottery tickets. We believe, although there... [ More ]