Mass. Lottery officials concerned about big revenue dip

Comment #6

JAP69 — Sat, 20 Jan 2007 16:07:29 GMT

I also think that lower tier prizes are horrible for scratchers and jackpot games. That could also discourage playing.

Comment #5

CASH Only — Sat, 20 Jan 2007 15:37:25 GMT

It sounds like the lack of a cash option in MA Megabucks and in many of its scratch games finally is catching up to MA. While only NY has higher sales, MA actually needs to look at other states' cash/annuity policies.

I beg to differ with dvdiva that MM has the lowest prize/odds of any large jackpot game. The overall odds of winning in MM is 1:40, and its smallest prize is $2. NY has a game with overall odds (per $1) of 1:46, and its smallest prize is one dollar.

Comment #4

dvdiva — Sat, 20 Jan 2007 06:27:56 GMT

Wow, Megamillions has the worst odds and the lowest prize/odds of any large jackpot game. Must be some rocket scientists working there. You can tell they never worked in a small business. They would have figured out the difference right away. Maybe they should check out Powerball's sales as a comparison.

Comment #3

tg636 — Sat, 20 Jan 2007 05:26:16 GMT

I'm from MA. I have a Mega Millions season ticket on my desk in front of me, but that's all the MA lottery gets from me every year now. With increased train fare, increased property taxes, high gas prices, etc. I want to be in the game, but I don't want to spend more than $100 a year. The state has to realize that the lottery is an entertainment item that can and will be dropped when money gets tight. If they increase train fare $50 a month, people have to cut down somewhere else. I personally... [ More ]

Comment #2

CA LotteryGuy — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 18:31:07 GMT

One of the most interesting parts of this article was the following: The steepest decline was in Mega Millions sales, which were off nearly 48 percent.

(Note: The timeframe under discussion is the first five months of the state s fiscal year, which would be July through November.)

Looking back at the size of jackpots:

2005 $315 million

$250 million

$170 million (last 7 draws for this run

Comment #1

Litebets27 — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 17:59:43 GMT

Maybe they should add pick 3.

litebets

Mass. Lottery officials concerned about big revenue dip

Lottery Post — Fri, 19 Jan 2007 17:36:00 GMT

The highly successful Massachusetts State Lottery experienced a $71 million decline in revenues in the first five months of the fiscal year, according to figures filed with the governor's office, sparking concern among municipal officials.

Most lottery money is funneled back to the state's communities.

The lottery right now is extraordinarily important to cities and towns, said Geoffrey Beckwith, executive director of the Massachusetts Municipal Association. We're hoping that the lott... [ More ]