LOUISVILLE - Kentucky lottery sales dropped nearly four percent in the first half of the current fiscal year, a result of lingering high unemployment and a shortage of large jackpots, the Courier-Journal reports.

Kentucky Lottery Corp. president and CEO Arch Gleason characterized the decline as "not inconsequential at all," explaining that statewide unemployment of 10 percent is hindering discretionary spending.

Ticket sales are below estimates included in the fiscal-year budget, which has prompted lottery officials to reduce its predicted annual dividend for the state treasury from $205.4 million to $196.4 million.

Lottery sales for the first six months of the fiscal year totaled $375 million, $14.9 million less than the same period last year and $16.7 million less than budgeted. Sales for the full fiscal year have been revised to an estimated $759.6 million, compared to $797 million that was budgeted and $772.5 million for fiscal year 2010.

Howard Kline, the lottery??s senior vice president of finance and administration said the lack of a sustained Powerball run and large jackpots also attributed to the sales decline. Powerball sales are projected to fall $25.9 million to $73.3 million this fiscal year.

Whereas Powerball jackpots last year reached payouts between $128 million and $260 million seven times, this year, the Powerball jackpot reached a high of $128.6 million. "Players like big jackpots, and when they aren??t there, sales suffer," Kline said.

As for the shortfall, Gleason said the lottery is looking at ways to strengthen the return it brings for the state.

"While economic factors in our state are making the situation difficult, we??re working hard to turn this around. We have embarked on a revenue growth project utilizing teams of employees to look at best practices of our own and those of other U.S. lotteries to improve sales in the short and long term," Gleason said.