Players prefer instant games

Instant games account for more than 50 percent of lottery sales in Ohio.
By MARY ELLEN PELLEGRINI
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
Ohioans love to scratch and win. For each of the past three years, lottery players have consistently spent more than $1 billion on Ohio Lottery instant games.
This fiscal year, consumers have already disbursed $931.5 million while hoping to transform $2 into $25,000, win Harley Davidson motorcycles and merchandise, snag video arcade games or claim numerous other prizes available on instant game tickets.
Mardele Cohen, Ohio Lottery communications director, said the lottery projects $1.2 billion in instant game sales before the 2006 fiscal year ends June 30.
The 2005 fiscal year brought $1.22 billion in scratch-off transactions. In 2004, instant sales were $1.17 billion.
With total lottery sales of $2.16 billion for fiscal year 2005, Ohio ranked ninth in total gross sales for lotteries nationwide. Fifty-six percent of all Ohio Lottery sales come from instant games, Cohen said.
Mahoning County residents contributed $38 million to Ohio's instant game sales in 2005. In Trumbull County, consumers added $30.1 million to the total. Both numbers represent a slight decrease from 2004 figures. Columbiana County players spent $10.4 million in 2005, a slight increase from 2004 sales.
The lottery distributes between 48 and 52 instant games to its agents each year. Prize pay-outs for instant games in Ohio vary from 55 percent to 75 percent. "The higher the ticket cost, the better the odds [of winning] are," Cohen said.
Match 3 Tripler, a $1 game, has a 61 percent pay-out. Doubling Star Cashword, a $2 game, returns 63 percent. The 200 Million Dollar Cash Spectacular, a $10 game, disperses 75 percent in prizes.
Seasonal vs. ongoing
Those pay-outs include a second-chance component for some games and eligibility for a top prize drawing for $5, $10 or $20 tickets such as Win For Life, Ohio Millionaire and Cash Bonanza.
Though the average life of instant games, especially the seasonal offerings, is 20 weeks, the Ohio Lottery's base games are ongoing. One of those, Cash Explosion Double Play, has been offered continuously since January 1987. The odds of winning a Cash Explosion "Entry" ticket are one in 100, according to the Ohio Lottery Web site.
The number of prizes to be awarded and odds of winning are listed on the back of each ticket. However, if you're hoping for a top prize on Bingo Mania IV, Texas Hold 'Em, Wild 7's or any other instant game, you may want to go online at www.ohiolottery.com before going to the retailer.
Both the Ohio and Pennsylvania lotteries detail information regarding unclaimed prizes on their respective Web sites. The Web sites, which are updated weekly, list the prizes and number remaining for each instant game.
"We try to give consumers as much information as possible so people are comfortable buying Ohio Lottery products," Cohen said. Elizabeth Brassell, spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Lottery, said, "We rely on our Web site, [www.palottery.state.pa.us] to deliver current information."
In Pennsylvania, where scratch-offs also are popular, 49 percent of total lottery sales came from instant games. Instant game sales for fiscal year 2005 were $1.3 billion, Brassell said. Scratch-off sales increased 12 percent over 2004 amounts.
Total lottery sales for 2005 were $2.64 billion. Those numbers reveal a 30-percent increase in Pennsylvania Lottery sales over the past three years. Fifty-eight percent of that money was returned to players in prizes.
In Pennsylvania
Pay-outs for Pennsylvania instant games average 68 percent, and pay-outs for the state's numbers games -- Match 6 Lotto, Power Ball, Cash 5, Big 4, Daily Number -- average 48 percent, said Brassell.
Currently there are 45 to 55 instant games on Pennsylvania retailers' shelves. The lottery there introduces two to five new instant games each month. New games typically go on sale Tuesdays.
Both Ohio and Pennsylvania lotteries receive proposals for new instant games from Scientific Games, a vendor that services several state lotteries. Consequently the same game may be offered in both states. However, "each ticket has to be redeemed in the state where it's bought," Cohen said.
In Pennsylvania, a game's end sale date is determined by seasonality, performance and claiming of the last top prize.
Because players have one year after purchasing a winning ticket to claim prizes, games may be sold even though no top prize tickets remain. Brassell said once the winner of the last top prize steps forward, retailers are instructed to pull that game from shelves.
Ongoing games like Pennsylvania's $2 Win for Life, its most popular instant game, are issued in batches. When the last one or two top prizes remain, the game is reordered.