Tuesday, July 25, 2000
Ohio Lottery losing to other states
Officials try to keep players by spicing up games
By Debra Jasper
Enquirer Columbus Bureau
Ohio's Super Lotto sales declined $28 million last fiscal year, contributing to a $10 million loss in lottery profits overall, the state Lottery Commission said.
In the Cincinnati area, Super Lotto sales are down 11 percent in the fiscal year that ended June 30. But lottery ticket sales overall have held steady, thanks to Pick-3 and Pick-4 — games which showed a $47 million boost in sales over last year.
Sales of those two games helped keep “online” lottery sales — those which involve a drawing for the winning numbers — steady in Hamilton, Clermont, Butler and Warren counties. Sales of Pick-3 and Pick-4 were $104 million this year in those counties.
“People like Pick-3 and Pick-4 because it's an everyday thing,” said Charles Mueller, assistant manager at a Fairfield Dairy Mart that sells lottery tickets. “I hear people talk about buying lottery tickets from other states because their jackpots are higher, but they still buy their Pick-3 and Pick-4 tickets here.”
State officials are reviewing ways to make lottery games more inviting, said Marie Kilbane, spokeswoman for the lottery commission.
“We're trying to do what we can, looking at our mix of games to make them more appealing,” Ms. Kilbane said.
Lottery profits, which are used in part to fund Ohio schools, dropped by 1.5 percent to $686 million — $63 million less than the record high in 1997.
The latest attempt to beef up lottery sales came this month with the unveiling of Super Lotto Plus, a new version of Super Lotto which promises players better odds of winning a prize. Lottery officials say the new game improves a player's odds of winning a prize from 1 in 856 to 1 in 451.
Ms. Kilbane said it's too soon to say if the new lotto will attract more players, but “we've been happy so far.”
The stakes are high.
The latest figures show that online sales overall dropped an estimated $25 million to $30 million from 1999 in areas bordering states with more gambling options.
Powerball, for example, is available in Kentucky, Indiana and 18 other states, with jackpots that can exceed $100 million.
The Kentucky Lottery estimates that last year $11 million of its $111 million in Powerball sales came from Ohioans.
To combat such drains on Ohio lottery sales, gambling advocates want Ohio to join a multistate lotto such as Powerball. A bill that would put Ohio in such a lotto is expected to be discussed this fall.
But even passage of that bill doesn't go far enough, according to racetrack officials, who want the Ohio Lottery Commission to allow them to install video gaming at their venues. They estimate it would generate $778 million in annual sales, translating to $233 million in an nual lottery profits.
Race track officials say the $30 million in lottery sales losses is small compared to what Ohio is losing overall to states with more gambling options.
Allan Rachles, a director with the accounting firm of Crowe, Chizek and Co., testified earlier this year before a legislative commission that Ohio gamblers in 1999 spent $267 million at casinos and racetracks in nearby states.
Of that amount, Ohio gamblers spent:
• $181 million in Lawrenceburg and Rising Sun, Ind.
ã$27 million at Mountaineer Park and Wheeling Downs race tracks in West Virginia
ã$58 million at Casino Windsor in Windsor, Ontario.
While some legislators say such competition adds pressure to expand gambling laws in Ohio, such a move faces huge opposition.
Several lawmakers, including House Speaker Jo Ann Davidson, R-Reynoldsburg, say they are re luctant to consider any pro-gambling legislation.
State Rep. Jeff Jacobson, R-Brookville, said if Ohio tries to compete with other states, it will sink to the lowest common gambling denominator.
“Trying to keep up with the Joneses means that every state would have to become as loose on gambling as the loosest state” Mr. Jacobson said. “In Ohio, we've decided that's not the kind of state we want to live in.”
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