CLEVELAND, April 13 (UPI) -- U.S. consumers in many states are spending less on lottery tickets, a sign there is less pocket change to use for gambling, a national lottery spokesman said.
"The economy probably has affected lottery sales the way its affected all discretionary spending," David Gale of the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries told USA Today.
In California, lottery ticket sales fell 5 percent in 2008. Quarterly sales for Indiana's Hoosier Lottery fell 10 percent compared to a year ago, while sales in Iowa have fallen 4 percent over the last three quarters due to "a double whammy" of rising unemployment and floods, spokeswoman Mary Neubauer said.
Lottery sales also dropped in Kansas during the last week in March compared to a year ago, in part because 50 convenience stores have closed their businesses, USA Today said.
Overall, the industry is a $60 billion-a-year business that contributes $18 billion a year to state budgets, the newspaper said.
Several states are trying new methods to boost sales. In Kansas, the state is recruiting new vendors to make up for those it has lost. In Florida, nearly 8 million discount coupons were mailed to residents, USA Today said.
