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The US Economy Is So Bad... Even Lottery Sales Are Collapsing
For what appears to be the first time on record, Powerball Lottery Sales declined year-over-year. As the following slides show, lottery sales declined 19% in FY14 vs FY13 and even more stunningly reflective of a nation whose disposable income (and hope) is in such short supply, sales in the first half of FY15 are down 40% from the first of FY14. As LaFleurs concludes, this will make it very challenging for most Lotteries to manage their budgets...
Lottery Sales are plunging...
and the first half of 2015 looks even worse...
And it's widespread...
And FY15 looks like a disaster...
But apart from that... The US economy is recovering!!!
h/t Nick Colas at ConvergEx
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It's not just the US...
The UK National Lottery has had its worst six months of sales since its launch in 1994, operator Camelot reported today.
Revenue from the various Lottery games slumped to almost £2.3 billion in the period to September 28, down 5.2% on the same time last year.
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Who needs the lottery when you can just BTFD?
Sounds like the lottery market needs a liquidity injection.
POWERBUST!!! -ted
I guess the fruit is a bit too over-ripe for Goldman to launch the Powerball IPO...
Mandatory lottery tickets!!! Include it in state taxes!!!
Ideally you would pay in once a year and get issued an EBT-like card with a monthly credit so you can choose when to play. Naturally, it would be illegal to sell or barter for real goods.
Of course, you can choose not to play, but you still have to pay. It's only fair!
Then if you can't show proof of lottery purchases the IRS will fine you. The good news is you can now buy them at the federal exchanges UUuuuummmm, look under ACA.
Certainly looting and pillaging are soon to follow
Do those numbers include the lottery tickets "liberated" at Ferguson?
Lottery is actually an insurance policy.
It's retirement planning for the poor.
Probably similar odds to the stock market, taken over a lifetime.
Non story.
Why stop there, add some punishment. Draw an extra set of numbers so some special losers have to pay fines. (Borges, "The Lottery in Babylon")
Wonder how Yellen will mark lottery tickets as an asset on their balance sheet?
I'd love to know what their mark-to-market valuation calculation sessions for those assets are like, do they just ingest lots of bourbon, fantasize about additional wealth, and call it a day?
Can we rehypothecate the wining ticket? YOU BET YOUR ASS WE CAN.
Redeemable in Chinese copper?
I wonder how Vegas is doing.
Your answer:
Caesars Largest Unit to File Own Chapter 11 BankruptcyI believe the expression is "Not so well."
Buy BBBY
They should just tax high income earners and create lotto ticket subsidies so the poor can afford to buy tickets. #AffordableLottoAct
Fuck the goobermint's biz in gambling
A tax on the poor and the stupid.
Would appear they are not so stupid anymore.
John D equated oil with God because it wasn't worth anything back in his day.
"You got into the oil business you prayed."
When Lotterys started, the economy was in pretty good shape, and most Amercians never had the chance to gamble at the local level, and it was also considered a moral weakness in a lot of areas, so it started off slow..."its for the Children"! sales pitch got a lot of people to put aside their moral beliefs as an excuse...then came scratchoffs, now I see people pissing away 50-100 dollars sitting out in their cars scratching furiously away at the Quickymart, taking the 'winning' tickets back inside, and trading them in for more...
Then a few Indian casinos popped up within a 50 mile radius, furthur wringing out the weak hands, then the economy took a shit...so people started selling at the 'cash for gold' places to get their gambling money...then Craigslist came on the scene, and people started selling all sorts of shit to get money to gamble with, except nobody had any disposable income anymore...All the money that USED to be spent at Garage Sales, small shops and restaurants etc...and thats how I lost my ass on my Beanie Baby investment...
"Who needs the lottery when money is FREE (thanks to ZIRP)" - fixed it for you!
hugs,
Jamie Dimon
Does Warren Buffet play the lottery? Hell no — he's filthy rich.
Lottery sales are collapsing, therefore the American people must be filthy rich.
/sarc
I think people are starting to realize that the lottery, like elections, interest rates, the stock market, etc. are ALL FIXED!
Expect more casino closures as well. Not a bad thing. Legal meth.
Ceasars CH11 - http://www.wsj.com/articles/caesars-largest-unit-to-file-own-chapter-11-...
The sooner the circuses are no longer available, the sooner the revolution starts...me hopes. Nah, tax-subsidized colleseums for the football, baseball, hockey, basketball will keep the plebes entertained and inline. God I had this gladiator watching society.
So wait, if less people are buying lottery tickets then I have a greater chance of winning - J6P
Cash in your PM's and go for it...... sure thing.
J6P doesn't have metals, other than empty beer cans.
When you stock the extra fridge with six packs, do you call that investing in aluminum?
I call nobody. The beer lasts longer that way. Call me selfish.
..
What!?!?!?
Out here in the Great Land of Other People's Money and Rainbows of Free Shit
Our Local Trader Joe's has a button on the credit card machine says "EBT Cash"
Yes, people here can transmute EBT dollars into Uncle Sam Dead Presidents at Trader Joe's
Transmutation. Making Lead into Gold, Making EBT into Cash
Another day in Cockaigne
.
There goes hope.
When people stop believing they'll win the lottery you're not far from total chaos.
It's not about believing. It's about tapped out.
Actually, Its believing you are tapped out...
You've got schmucks spending $50 a week on Lotto when they're making minimum wage.... when a bigger schmuck spending $100 a week wins then the others think 'I'm not spending enough' They know how to 'sell the dream'.
Problem is that with the cost of food going up and wages going down people don't HAVE any 'disposable income' left....
The slots at places like Yonkers Raceway in NY are full of seniors losing their social security checks... - and they think MORE casinos are going to help?
Last time I checked, the price of a Powerball and MegaMillions ticket had doubled. So had the number or permutations.
I played the Ohio Lottery in 1984 when I was 17 and hit 4 out of 6 numbers.
I had to have my mom go pick up the winnings since 17 year olds arent allowed to gamble their earnings in the State casino.
Of course, Dad made me give him 20% off the top to pay the taxes he had to report.
I bought my first AGE with some of that money. The rest was wasted and so was I.
Surely with governmental guaranteees Obama can find a financial institution willing to to finance these tick... err... investments.
The Feds call that tapering.
Some folks got most of the money, not much left for everybody else.
Lottery sales down? Now we know why the pols wanna let in more illegals.
You know it's bad when even taxes on ignorance are going down .
At least the lottery is a voluntary tax, with some possible (albeit very small probability) benefit. Every other tax that I am compelled to pay yields me ZERO chance of any benefit that I have ever seen.
You mean you don't appreciate your police and fire protection?
but are alcohol sales down? that will be the final nail
Why spend money on a lottery ticket, when the chances of winning are 1 in 77 million? I think people are more apt to buy booze or pot and get a guaranteed high over a chance to win.......just saying.
Illegal numbers have better odds (and no tax reporting to the IRS).
Yes but if you do win the brand of drink and smoke and who blows you gets so much better. So I hear
and somehow I still can't buy a pack of smokes without waiting 10 minutes behind one or more mathematically-challenged dullards
Who needs the lottery when money is free (ZIRP).
hugs,
Jamie
DOES THIS INCREASE MY ODDS???
Signed
Instant Looser
More reason for the announcement of Federal Reserve QE 4, QE 5, QE 6, QE 7.... QE dollar dies.
Welcome to Japan!
This is a perfect back door for states to raise things like the gas tax to make up for the short fall for those that "had" money to burn. Perhaps EBT will be allowed as payment for lotto now, we can get Maxipad Waters on that.
I would strongly for eliminating the gas tax IMMEDIATELY.
If the trucking industry collapses in the USA you'll have a lot bigger problem than race riots.
Lotery is a tax on the poor and ignorant. Now who will pay?
Well... since they've turned most of the former 'middle class' into 'poor,' they're halfway there.... truth is a good number of even the college educated ones are pretty damn dumb - NO understanding of math and statistics. Look at all the office Lottery pools. Desperate dreams of getting out of the rat race.
I think I saw your name on the list
I had 2 slogans for the lottery: on the first you see a billboard on a major highway in a given State, and the Governor of that state is holding a ticket and saying:
WHAT THE FUCK. SPEND A BUCK!
the other one is not as funny.
I can't afford lottery ticks anymore because I clicked on the ad here at ZH for "A Younger Girlfriend" and she says she needs it; sorry powerball.
www.traderzoo.mobi
Maxipad Waters is the government at work flapping her jaws. It's what they do best.
ZH just reminded me to play the lottery tonight. Look for me on tv when I'm holding the cardboard check. Just got a tip...Blue Horseshoe loves Anacott Steel!
Well here in South Carolina a lotto ticket that once cost $1 fiat buck now costs $2. You have to match at least 3 numbers to get a couple of bucks back, when it used to be 2.
Even those that choose to throw a couple of bucks at a very very long shot get tired of the bullshit.
Along with the fucking comercials... It's for the chidrens edumacation. Which is a crock of shit!
I agree. Powerball used to cost $1 and now it's $2, and the odds are terrible. I stopped buying Powerball and buy Mega Millions instead, which is still $1. I won't spend more than a dollar a week. Hope may spring eternal but my wallet is limited.
That does it. Now I know for sure the economy is in the crapper.
ALLOW THE USE OF EBT CARDS TO BUY LOTTERY TICKETS!!
WHAT'S THE FUCKING PROBLEM HERE??
MORANS
I HAVE ANOTHER IDEA:
Borrow at 0% from the FED and let it all ride on powerball!!!
I should be a CFO for a fortune 500 firm.
you're way behind the curve O'LottoCare requires you play
you're way behind the curve O'LottoCare requires you play
Maybe the Federal Reserve can backdoor save states by printing up trillions and mass buying state lottos.
Betting (ha) that a portion of Lottery proceeds goes towards advertising/education promoting responsible gaming, help-lines for problem gamblers etc. That will be the first part to get chopped in the next budget.
After you win the Power-ball, it's a good idea to quit playing.
Well the states keep too much of the money, the odds just suck....
They need to make it possible to win something............
If the greedy states would keep about 25% instead ov > 50% then more would probably play!
Much as I'd love to connect the dots of the line drawn by the Tyler(s), given the type of locations where most tickets are purchased, I suspect another factor might be more highly correlated with decreased Lotto sales:
the sudden, and quite tragic, inflation in the price of Slim Jims.
purple drank yo
The serfs are too busy playing the EBT. lol
The President of Purdue University released his annual statement, and I believe many here would be quite surprised by what he had to say about the current state of affairs. I won't exerpt any text here. The letter is quite lengthy and goes into some detail.
http://www.purdue.edu/president/messages/1501-med-openletter.html
No surprise, considering who the President of the University is-- one of the Republican Party's finest.
thanks. i read the link. his outlook for purdue is positive based on his data. its what he said about everything not purdue that was most interesting to me.
He forgot to mention in his address that university presidents are paid many hundreds of thousands of dollars per year, and the football coaches ten times that much. And that's taxpayer money at Purdue.
I think I heard about 8 powerball commercials today listening to the radio for only 4 hours. The state needs that revenue.
When you have a sudden 100% increase in the ticket price, I'm not surprised.
sweet! my odds are getting better of hitting!
WON'T SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CHILDRINS??
Isn't it "chilluns"? The spelling here has gotten attrocious!
The cockaroaches is eatin' my food stamps....
an' my wife.........
she sleepin' wit' da Bzzzzzz..............
This is one of the few things I have read here that is actually as bad as ZH says. Usually it's just all hyperbole and screeching monkeys about .2% "plunges".
They're investing in STAWKS now.
Well, it's a good thing the casinos are doing OK.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/caesars-largest-unit-to-file-own-chapter-11-...
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/ap/new_jersey/almost-half-atlant...
http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2015/01/casino_revenue_declines...
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-29892529
http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/morning_call/2015/01/casino-queen-lay...
http://www.freep.com/story/money/business/michigan/2015/01/13/detroit-ca...
Almost time to start Stephen King's "Long Walk" Lottery!!
People don't even have the money to dream anynore.....how sad.
Bail out the lottery ticket printers?
... perhaps people getting smarter ... ok, probably not.
bailouts coming
my car needs an oil change. I need a bailout. I think 6.5 billion will cover it
So, even the dimmest of our citizenry has figured out that this is a tax on ignorance.
Lottery ticket or can of stew. Hmmmmm.
Hormel Chile
My recipe for Hormel chili (no beans), which it just so happens we had last night (one regular size can serves two).
First, open the can. To simmering Hormel chili, add:
--A snort of Penzeys onion powder.
--A small snort of Penzeys powdered ginger.
--Freshly minced Greek oregano (a very sturdy plant that likes cold dimly lit back hallways).
Serve over Hom Mali Thai jasmine rice (about $20 per metric ton at Costco).
Damn tasty, and about $1.25 per person.
This is stupid. When Powerball increased the number pool to 59, they exponentially decreased the odds of winning.
I used to join my office pool when the pot became ridiculously huge, but noticed that when once we would get a dozen random numbers among the quick picks, and the occasion 3$ win, that totally ended and we hit nothing at all.
So we stopped playing altogether.
Lotto did itself in and has nobody to blame but their own stupid selves.
at least when the mob ran the numbers you won once in a while
It makes me wonder: Why do lotteries not pay out more? if only to keep the peace?
I reckon if I was a statist and I had control over such matters, I would be a benevolent dictator and I would make sure the plebs won morejust to keep them at peace. I look at it from pure a market perspective: Such benevolence would isolate the plebs into their own functioning economy and keep a distance from the state.
I want to believe that the magnitude of money collected by state lotteries could increase if they increased their payouts.
weren't all the new Mexicans supposed to be buying lotto? They bought goats instead
According to the USDA-NASS, that's exactly what they did.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/01/12/map-literally...
Goat tastes like human. Might be why luciferians refer to children as kids.
Man, I'm just not that needy; I mean, if I can get Uncle Sam to pick up my rent, cell phone and food I really don't need to play the lottery, but that's just me.
They should sell day-old lottery tickets for half price. 50% off, and you have only a 1/170,000,000 less chance of winning!
Oboner is passing "O'GambleCare" You must play lotto now
You dont understand. Everything is so good and the poor and middle class are making so much money, they dont need to buy lotto.. they are livin it large!
All you need is 1 ticket.
The "Phantom Junker" has nested early this year Tyler. It usually shows up after Q-1 earnings and has a small presidentail 'cuff link' on it's left wing. ha ha
Intellectually I often find myself wondering what is more foolish, the "sheeple census," voting, or the "voluntary tax," the lottery. I'm leaning toward the "sheeple census."
The banksters need to repay us.
In the lottery, "If we don't play, we can't win." With taxes, "If we don't pay, we win."
Are lotteries as fraudulently run and executed as the free market and used to pay off criminals, agents, crisis actors and launder money? If so, then let's look at the upside of this post
1. Easier to expose the fraud
2. Greater chance for the Carney to close-up shop and move elsewhere for easier pickins
3. More chance for the drop off in potential illegal activities like money laundering can be picked up by the Banksters so they can be caught again and maybe jailed this time
There's always hope for change. Especially when the boys are back in town
They wanted hope and change.
Now without change, they can't buy a ticket, so hope is gone too.
Every ticket's a winner
...For the state.
When the Dumbass Tax isn't bringing in enough money, what does that teach us? The traditional Conservative reasoning is that you get more of what you subsidize and less of what you tax. When you subsidize and tax in equal measure, do you get stasis?
Odds for UK lottery win stand at around 16 million to one. You have a greater statistical chance of being bitten by a shark on land. Maybe the morons are slowly realising the truth about the moron tax.
The odds are absolutely ludicrous. On top of that, if you win, they have the balls to take half of it back in taxes. So half gets taken right up front in ticket sales, then half again after the winner shows up. Reminds me of the Abbott and Costello episode where Costello has to continue to share a portion of his beans (the only food left to eat between the two). Abbott quickly devours his, then says Costello should share half of his. After each time, Costello is compelled by Abbott to half it again, until he's down to one individual bean. Yep. That's how the gov works. We'll call it "Trickle down halving".