The Pennsylvania Lottery, responding to sales of interstate games Powerball and Mega Millions that were down a combined $156.7 million in sales or July through November compared to the previous year, is taking the two interstate games online. Players 18 and older will be able to uses computers or smartphones to bet on the interstate games.
“Selling lottery online is a big part of our effort to appeal to new customers and meet our players where they already are—which is online,” Lottery Executive Director Drew Svitko said in a press release. “This is an important step that will help us continue generating funds to benefit older Pennsylvanians.”
The press release did not reveal any other details explaining the decision, but a financial statement obtained from the Lottery Bureau by the PennBets news site showed that lottery revenue from July through November 2019 was down nearly 14 percent from the prior year.
Traditional game sales in the first five months of the fiscal year dropped by more than $100 million, from $1.84 billion to $1.74 billion, and that was all attributable to the two popular interstate drawings.
Powerball sales were down from $108.3 million to $42.2 million, and the Mega Millions game plunged from $145.3 million to $42.2 million.
While both games always have twice-weekly drawings, their sales jump when there are no big winners for many weeks. The publicity generated as jackpots reach many hundreds of millions of dollars adds to still more sales.
