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Economic slide isn’t cutting into sales of lottery tickets
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Even during a time when consumer spending is decreasing and unemployment is on the rise, discretionary spending on the lottery is increasing in Maryland. – Arianne Starnes/Examiner For cash-strapped Marylanders, life-altering financial help might be just a scratch away — or so they believe. Despite plummeting sales figures at retail stores, budget-conscious consumers don’t seem to be slowing down on the purchase of lottery tickets. “They’re desperate,” said Ted Provenza, a financial planner with the Owings Mills-based Provenza Group. “A number of people think their retirement plan is winning the lottery. When those numbers are dangled out in front of them, it gives them hope. You can buy a lottery ticket for a buck. But a gallon of milk costs you four.” From December to March, the Maryland State Lottery reported sales of $578.8 million, up $15 million, or 2.7 percent, from the year before. During fiscal 2007, sales totaled $1.577 billion, the 10th straight record-setting year for the lottery and up from $1.56 billion in fiscal 2006. But retail sales during the winter were down from the previous year. Retail sales not including restaurants were down 7.9 percent in December from 2006, according to Maryland Retailers Association President Tom Saquella. January sales, factoring out the increase in state sales tax, were down 1.8 percent from the year before, said David Roose, director of the Bureau of Revenue Estimates. “I guess I’m a little surprised at that,” Saquella said of the lottery data. “We think our sales are down because of the cost of electricity, the cost of gas, tax increases. All that cuts into disposable income. The lottery, I’d think that’s disposable income.” Lottery officials attributed the continued sales growth to their ongoing introduction of new games. “Do I think [sales] have any direct correlation with the economy? No,” said State Lottery Agency spokeswoman Carole Everett. “Our goal is always to come up with new and exciting products. I think we constantly go up in sales because of all the things we’re doing.” In March 2007, the Mega Millions jackpot reached a record $390 million, according to Everett. The stakes haven’t been as high since then, but Provenza said Marylanders would continue to try their luck with the lottery, despite talk of an economic recession. “I think they’ll stop driving their car before they stop finding a buck to play the lottery,” he said. “When someone does win, their name is splashed all over the place. It’s changed their life, and who wouldn’t want their life changed like that? But the people who really succeed put together a plan ... and find a logical way to grow their money.” acahall@baltimoreexaminer.com acannarsa@baltimoreexaminer.com |
