Lottery Sales Increase With Slot Machines

Some were concerned that with slot machines coming into the state of Pennsylvania that the lottery would suffer because of it. Most lotto dealers were not concerned about the effects of the slot machines – but others felt that the residents of the state would choose between the slot machines and lotto, and that lotto would lose.

Turns out they had nothing to be worried about – as lottery ticket sales are actually up, even though slot machines are up and running in PA. The state checked to see how lottery sales had fared from the time last year when the slot machines were not here, and this year when they were, and found that lotto sales were up 8% from the same time period last year.

So far this year, lotto sales are up 2.2%, which means either people are gambling more – at both lotto and the slot machines – or people just decided to start buying more lotto tickets. Either way, the negative effect that many thought slot machines would have on the state lottery did not happen. In Michigan and Illinois, it was found that the slot machines diminished the amount of lottery sales, but that does not seem to be the case here.

Part of it could be that all of the slot machine parlors are required to sell lottery tickets, so those going to play the slots are seeing the lotto tickets – whereas they might not have made a special trip to buy one. With the state bringing in 61,000 slot machines, experts say that the trend probably won’t continue, and that the lotto could see a drop in sales over time. However, they say that it shouldn’t be that large of a drop.

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