I did answer "LESS" in the poll. My comments were not meant to criticize the pollster.
Having already been through this in my home state (they didn't tell us about the switch until after the fact), I was compelled to point out that spending NO money on the games makes a stronger statement, and is much more effective, than spending less. The lotteries will never hear us if we keep handing them our money. Even if we spend less, we're still playing, and we're still buying tickets, so the lotteries correctly believe everything will be all right if they stay their present course. If you want the lottery to return to mechanical draw machines, then STOP BUYING THEIR TICKETS! Learn to play poker. Enter sweepstakes and contests. Spend your lottery dollars in another state that clings to the ancient technology (they HATE that). Flip coins with your neighbor. Do whatever you have to do to break yourself of the habit of handing your money to people who truly believe you're the most gullible, moronic saps on the planet (my apologies to morons everywhere).
Without players, there can be no lottery. Imagine, as I do, a day in the not-too-distant future. A day when your state lottery hasn't sold a single ticket for ANY game, not even scratch-offs. Big deal. Cancel the drawings, since there's no prize pool. It's only one day; a simple anomaly that couldn't possibly repeat itself in a thousand years. But they don't sell any tickets the next day either. Not one single dollar has been deposited in their coffers in two days. No profit and, more importantly, no operating capital, which means no payroll, no contract payments and no money to keep the lights on. The Hoosier Lottery grosses around two and a half million dollars a day ($850 million/365), so that would be roughly five million bucks WE'VE taken from THEM.
It's fun to think about such a scenario, but I'm no idiot; I fully realize this will never happen. Most people can't overcome the fear that the number they were going to play will hit if they don't buy a ticket. I suggested in another thread that the time for us to pull together as a lobby has arrived, but no further comments on the subject have appeared in my inbox.
Even so, I can say this with absolute certainty: Your state lottery doesn't care what you want, and they never will, as long as you continue to give them your approval and support by buying their products. This membership has the ability to bring about the changes we've been discussing for the past few years. We have the power and the sheer strength of our numbers to force RNG states to revert to mechanical drawings. What we sorely lack, however, is the willingness and discipline to follow through as a cohesive unit to achieve our common objectives. As I write this, 88 people have responded to this poll; 88 members out of 50,000. Gee whiz, with that kind of overwhelming participation, I can't imagine why RNG's are becoming more popular with state lottery commissions.
Instead of buying tickets, why not just send a check to your local school district every month? This way, you'll save yourself the frustration of checking tickets that are off by one digit every day, and some kid might actually learn something in public school.