At a time when cooped-up Americans are looking for entertainment and hoping for a windfall more than ever, scratch-off lottery ticket sales have skyrocketed.
It’s a rare bright spot for state budgets, since most states’ tax revenue has dropped and spending is up because of the coronavirus.
For example, in Oklahoma, total lottery sales were just over $7.7 million for the week ending April 25, up about 75% compared with the same time last year, driven almost entirely by scratch-offs. That included nearly $5.9 million in scratch-off sales, up from $2.5 million last year.
At the same time, the multistate Mega Millions and Powerball games are seeing significant drops in players and jackpots. People are not getting out of the house as much and when they do, they are reluctant to take the time to pick numbers and hand cash to attendants.
With fewer players, the jackpots diminish — a vicious cycle since lower jackpots usually mean less interest, and even fewer players. That has made total state lottery revenue decline in most states.
(https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2020/05/13/scratch-off-lottery-sales-soar)
I hate state lotteries and do not feel that government should be playing any role in sponsoring or operating them.
Money being sucked from those who can least afford to lose it. $10, $20, $40+ a week!
Over and over and over again.
Then those folks not having enough money to cover the essentials of life.
And turning to the government for support.
What an incredibly stupid circular reference we have created.
Grace & Peace & Love to you all -
Matt