Multi State Lottery Slowdown?
Last Updated: Thursday 15th January 2015, 14:53
Sales of tickets for multi-state lottery games in the USA are slowing down in some states, according to retailers. Despite the fact that the Mega Millions jackpot current stands at $146 million and the Powerball jackpot has reached the $30 million mark, some players aren’t buying tickets as often as they did in previous years.
The economic downturn is the main reason for the decline in sales in states such as New Jersey. Commentators are saying that players are becoming more selective about the games they play because money is tighter than usual. So, whilst a $146 million Mega Millions jackpot would have been more than enough to get players excited this time last year, many of today’s more frugally minded players are waiting for the jackpot to hit the $200 million mark before getting involved.
However, the story is different in some other states, where ticket sales are actually on the increase. The explanation here is that another group of players are viewing landing a lottery jackpot as a remotely possible solution to the current economic crisis.
Of course, short-term fluctuations in lottery sales figures are par for the course no matter where you are in the world, and we will only know if the worldwide recession is seriously affecting lottery ticket sales when we have data for a year or more.
There is a lot of gloom and doom on the news lately, and wherever you turn it is hard to avoid pundits talking about financial meltdowns and depressions. The good thing to remember is that financial cycles are in fact cycles, and that sooner or later we always emerge from a down cycle with a renewed sense of optimism and hope.
Although some people might be spending less on lottery tickets than they did a few months ago, one thing is certain – somebody will eventually win those Mega Millions and Powerball jackpots, and when they do they will never have to worry about money again. It’s facts like that that ensure lottery games will always be around, come rain or shine.
