– The US Economy Is So Bad… Even Lottery Sales Are Collapsing (ZeroHedge, Jan 14, 2015):
For what appears to be the first time on record, Powerball Lottery Sales declined year-over-year. As the following slides show, lottery sales declined 19% in FY14 vs FY13 and even more stunningly reflective of a nation whose disposable income (and hope) is in such short supply, sales in the first half of FY15 are down 40% from the first of FY14. As LaFleurs concludes, this will make it very challenging for most Lotteries to manage their budgets…
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I think they are becoming too expensive and complicated. I looked at a few the other day, and was amazed to see their prices, anywhere from a dollar for a few numbers to ten dollars a ticket. The games played on the tickets were not clear……I walked away baffled, and without buying one. All of them were at least $3.00…..there were only two that could be had for one dollar.
The odds of winning are so low, anyone that can count can figure it out. About a decade ago, a friend gave me a bunch of lottery tickets for my birthday, the scratch off types that I always liked. I guess I won a few dollars, and bought some more. But, I kept a record of purchases and wins vs loss. At the end of 4 weeks, my losses exceeded 38%. I stopped buying, and have not bought one since.
Lottery tickets are too complicated and expensive. When the average wage is $12-16 an hour, a ten dollar lottery ticket won’t get many buyers. Also, the games are too complicated.
This economic disaster just wasn’t even a thought for the planners of the post war boom.
http://www.alt-market.com/articles/2468-us-suburbs-as-poverty-traps-so-the-american-dream-fizzles