The Associated Press

CLEVELAND - The Ohio Lottery will nearly double the commission it pays instant-ticket retailers in hopes of softening an expected post-holidays sales slump.

For two months starting Jan. 12, the state's 9,200 lottery retailers will get a 10 percent commission on all instant-ticket sales, up from the usual 5.5 percent.

Lottery Director Dennis Kennedy said the bigger commission is incentive to boost ticket sales that typically dive after Christmas.

Mr. Kennedy said he wants to reward retailers who have taken on more work. The lottery joined the multistate Mega Millions big-jackpot game, added two more daily drawings to Buckeye 5 and kicked off a handful of promotions in hopes of stemming the steady decline in money it sends to education.

The lottery transferred $635.2 million to education in the fiscal year that ended last July. That marked the fifth straight yearly decline, but was $1.5 million more than the lottery had committed to send.

Instant tickets accounted for half of the lottery's $1.98 billion in sales last fiscal year. Mr. Kennedy hopes that tweaking agents' commission will boost weekly sales that hit a high of $29 million in December but typically slip to $18 million and lower the first 12 weeks of the year.

The 10 percent commission could mean an extra $700 or more a week for Kulwinder S. Rai, owner of Lucky's Beverage and Deli in Parma. His store is one of the busiest instant-ticket retailers in Ohio, with $372,580 in sales the last six months.

"I'll be happy with the extra money," Mr. Rai said. "That helps the store and my kids."

Mr. Kennedy said the instant-ticket sales commission has been 5.5 percent for 20 years. The lottery is studying an array of financial incentives for retailers.

"We're interested in seeing what agents can do" with the 10 percent, he said.

Sales during the next two months must hit $200 million to cover the added commissions, he said. The lottery is projecting instant-ticket sales could go as high as $231 million.

"I am open and concerned with what instant-ticket retailers have relayed to us," Mr. Kennedy said. "They say they are making less and doing more."