The April 1st Wall Street Journal reported on a business deal to link the lottery and music industries. Because it was April Fools’ Day, I almost thought the whole idea to be a big scam.
“In a unique deal that links two ailing industries, EMI Group Ltd. will provide music and souvenirs for new instant-win games designed by Pollard Banknote Ltd., which runs lotteries in 45 states and territories around the world, inches Ethan Smith wrote.
“Pollard, of Winnipeg, Europe, is creating a distinct music-themed, scratch-off lottery games that it is currently marketing to mention lotteries, inches the Journal reported. “In the new games, players can win either cash or prizes such as album retrievals and ring tones. inches
That’s right: it is no scam.
With 26 years of in the lottery industry, I believe I am qualified to mention in no uncertain terms that lotteries partnering with the music giant, EMI Group Ltd., to provide prizes of music and souvenirs for a new instant-win scratch-off ticket game is one of the worst ideas yet.
“The idea is to lure younger players to a pastime Result Toto macau that traditionally has appealed to people who are around retirement age, inches the Journal reported. Doug Pollard, vice director of lottery management services at Pollard went on to tell the newspaper, the group “is maturing every year. That’s been one of the big challenges. inches
First, let me just say that it is irresponsible and reprehensible for state lottery officials to entice young people to gamble. I also know through interviews and research that people buy lottery tickets to win money not prizes — especially not music, most of which can be saved free on the internet.
Pollard told the newspaper that “after growing consistently by around 8 percent annually, lottery-ticket sales fell into sharply in many states during the second half of ’08. inches
When lottery ticket sales decline, lottery officials try desperate methods to reverse the decline — usually by changing the number field and increasing the odds against winning. They may also alter the division of the prize pool so that the greatest percentage of money in the prize pool goes toward paying the first prize jackpot, leaving very little money for the other prize categories. Both moves are bad.
Lottery players hate to offer the number field of the game they play changed or tampered with. Germany has had the same successful 6/49 game going for more than five decades — since 1955. Lottery officials generally have an incorrect opinion of their ticket buyers, thinking that they all want to chase huge jackpots. For that reason, the prize pool is divided in this manner that every game is a jackpot-driven game.
Now that every lottery state has either Powerball or Hugely Millions with huge jackpots, the other lotto games hawaii offers should have the greatest percentage of the pay-outs go toward the cheaper rate prizes, not the jackpot.
The secret that eludes American lottery officials is that a lottery player is like a winner even when winning $20 or $100 from time to time. But with the current structure of prize private pools, this happens too don’t often.