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Florida Lotto Adds a New Twist

Florida has come up with a new game to lure players into spending more money to win the almighty prize. It may sound tempting, but it is yet another way to take more money out of your pocket and into theirs. For people that are addicted to gambling it will appear to be a great way to increase your winnings and for only a dollar or two more, why not. Yet it will be interesting to see the statistics after a year. How many winning tickets were the ‘bonus’ tickets versus the normal old fashioned way.

Here is the release by the Florida Lottery

FLORIDA LOTTERY ADDS ‘ALOTTA’ LOTTO CHOICES

TALLAHASSEE – The Florida Lottery is adding more choices to its flagship game, FLORIDA LOTTO, offering players three levels of jackpots to choose from! The Lottery is planning to launch the new jackpot options on March 2, 2008, though plans are not yet finalized.

FLORIDA LOTTO players may continue to play the game as they always have, at $1 for a chance to win the base jackpot, which starts at $3 million and increases with rollovers if no one matches the six-out-of-six winning numbers. For $2, players will have the opportunity to win the base jackpot plus an additional $10 million; and for $3, they can win the base jackpot plus an additional $25 million.*

“FLORIDA LOTTO is a jackpot-driven game, meaning that more people play as jackpots increase. This sentiment is mirrored in the feedback that we receive from our players, who seem to enjoy the opportunity to play for increasingly higher jackpots,” said Florida Lottery Secretary Leo DiBenigno. “The changes we’re introducing will offer our players increased jackpots and more choices, while preserving the game so many love.”

The odds of winning a prize in the enhanced FLORIDA LOTTO game will remain the same; however, a new FLORIDA LOTTO playslip will be necessary to play the game. New playslips will be available at retailers statewide starting March 2, 2008. In the coming weeks, the Florida Web site at flalottery.com will provide additional information on the new game, including an online tutorial.

One of the Lottery’s first On-line games, FLORIDA LOTTO was originally introduced in April 1988 as a once-a-week, multimillion-dollar jackpot game. Minor changes to the game¿s prize structure were made in 1993, followed by its first major overhaul in 1999 that included adding a second draw per week, changing the number matrix from 49 to 53, and substantially increasing the game’s lower-tier prizes.

After 1,465 draws and more than 16 billion tickets sold, FLORIDA LOTTO is still the most popular game offered by the Florida Lottery and one of the strongest lotto games in the nation. During fiscal year 2006-07, the game generated $736 million in sales and $294 million in transfers to the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund (EETF). Though it has performed relatively well through the years, FLORIDA LOTTO is showing signs of slowing sales growth.

As part of its business model, the Lottery constantly analyzes its games to offer a product mix that will generate the best return for the State. The changes to FLORIDA LOTTO are expected to generate an increase in ticket sales of approximately 25 to 35 percent and more than $100 million for education during the next 15 months.

“FLORIDA LOTTO has always been, and continues to be, an important part of our strategy to continue to generate as much money as possible for education,” added Secretary DiBenigno. “As the Florida Lottery turns 20 this year, we’ve taken a stronger look at ways to continue to meet our statutory mandate.”

Since 1988, the Florida Lottery has contributed more than $18 billion to the EETF, benefiting Florida students and schools, as well as fully funding more than one million annual Bright Futures scholarships. By a two-to-one margin, Florida voters in 1986 approved a constitutional amendment authorizing the state to operate a lottery for the purpose of generating significant additional moneys for education.

* Estimated prize to a single winner, paid over 30 years.

Lottery offers an out for problem gamblers

Looks like the State of Illinois is trying to help. The only problem I see is that you have to opt in for it and if you are addicted to gambling, this may be difficult.

 

October 16, 2007

By Christopher Wills

SPRINGFIELD – Compulsive gamblers are getting a new tool meant to help them avoid the temptation of buying Illinois lottery tickets.

Lottery officials today launched a “self-exclusion” program that lets problem gamblers place themselves on a list of people who aren’t allowed to collect major prizes. They can still buy tickets and collect prizes of up to $600, but the huge jackpots will be off limits.

“We’re trying to limit the incentives,” lottery spokeswoman Katie Ridgway said.

Illinois’ program is based on one in Iowa, Ridgway said. Only seven people have signed up for the Iowa exclusion list in nearly two years.

The new policy a good first step but the lottery should also limit its marketing, particularly to minorities and the poor, said Anita Bedell, executive director of Illinois Church Action on Alcohol and Addiction Problems.

“It’s in every community. It’s so accessible and so available,” Bedell said. “The goal of the lottery is to make money. The only way they can make money is on the losses of people.”

Illinois casinos have had a similar program for years. About 5,000 people have voluntarily barred themselves from the casinos.

Ridgway said there’s no way to estimate how many people might sign up for the lottery exclusion list, but 600 callers to a gambling hot line listed the lottery as their favorite or second-favorite way to gamble last year.

Mary Neubauer, spokeswoman for the Iowa lottery, said officials there are satisfied with the relatively small number of people on the exclusion list. Only 3 percent to 5 percent of compulsive gamblers seeking treatment from the state list the lottery as their main form of wagering, she said.

“If we even help one person, it’s been worth it,” Neubauer said.

To sign up in Illinois, a compulsive gambler must send in a notarized form. The lottery would also take the person off any marketing lists it uses.

The Illinois lottery had sales of nearly $2 billion in fiscal 2006, generating $671 million in profits for schools.

The Associated Press

Do you think the lotteries in all of the States should have the opt out policy as an option?

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