BUSINESS

Hoosier Lotto slows jackpot's growth

Jeff Swiatek
jeff.swiatek@indystar.com

If you suspect the Hoosier Lotto jackpot is growing more slowly than it used to, you're right.

Citing a 25 percent drop in sales for the game over the past two years, the Hoosier Lottery has reduced by 50 to 60 percent the amount of money it adds to the lotto's $1 million initial jackpot if the first two semiweekly drawings don't produce a winner.

Instead of adding $500,000 for the third draw, the lottery now sweetens the pot by just $200,000. And for the fourth draw, just $300,000 is added to the pot, compared to the old amount of $500,000. (Jackpot amounts for additional drawings then become influenced by ticket sales.)

The change was effective May 11 for the game. The lottery disclosed the change in a press release, but didn't describe it as a reduction in the jackpot, characterizing it as a "makeover" and saying it was "adjusting the mechanism by which jackpots grow."

"We know Hoosiers expect the lottery to operate in a fiscally responsible manner, and our core mission is to maximize revenue for the state of Indiana," lottery spokeswoman Stephanie McFarland said Thursday in a statement. "Based on our fiscal review of the Hoosier Lotto game performance over the past fiscal year, this change is necessary to keep Hoosier Lotto a competitive product in our portfolio."

Revenues from the game, which requires a player to match a six-digit number to win the jackpot, have slipped from $61.2 million in fiscal year 2012 to $46.5 million in 2013. Revenues haven't rebounded much this year, standing at $46.3 million with just a few weeks remaining in the 2014 fiscal year. Numbers are drawn on Wednesday and Saturday.

McCordsville resident Jim Hughes, who said he's played the Hoosier Lotto since its start, said he's disappointed with the smaller jackpot additions after the first week.

"It's unfortunate for the consumer they lowered the jackpot. I think it will hurt their sales. It's going to make me play less often."

Hughes said he's never won more than $100 playing Hoosier Lotto, but he likes it more than the larger multistate games, such as Powerball, because the odds of winning are more favorable. He said he typically picks six-digit numbers that use his and his wife's birth dates. Tickets in the game cost $1.

Ed Feigenbaum, publisher of Indiana Gaming Insight, said it's hard to say what's reducing sales of Hoosier Lotto. Sales of jackpot games can be affected by promotions, the startup of competitive games, large jackpots in multistate games or even the weather, he said.

The Hoosier Lotto has paid out its jackpot 115 times since 1994.

The state last year hired a new operator for its lottery, a private Rhode Island company called GTECH Corp., which has committed to increasing lottery revenues by $500 million over the next five years.

Revenues are used on state construction projects and pension funds for teachers, police and firefighters.

Call Star reporter Jeff Swiatek at (317) 444-6483. Follow him on Twitter:@ JeffSwiatek.