New York's Lottery Games Lose Players to Multistate Games

But shed no tears for New York's Lotto or Sweet Million games: Combined, they generated $175 million in sales and $80 million in profits last year.

July 21, 2011

ALBANY - New York??s Lotto game and its Sweet Million spinoff have suffered a dramatic drop in sales as players have been lured by the large jackpots of multistate lottery games, the Poughkeepsie Journal reports.

In the first six months of this year, sales in New York of Mega Millions and Powerball lottery game tickets jumped 21 percent and 14 percent respectively compared to the same period in 2010, according to the state Lottery Division (sales are up $60 million for the two games).

By comparison, sales for New York??s Lotto and Sweet Million were down $11.5 million, or 15 percent, and $5.4 million, or 21 percent, respectively.

"I think players over time have come to realize that the winning experience isn't as rich in Lotto as it is in Mega (Millions), Powerball or any of other draw games," said Lottery Director Gordon Medenica.

Medenica added that while Lotto and Sweet Million sales are off, they still generate $175 million in sales and $80 million in profits each year.

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