Jackpot size and lotto sales: Evidence from Ohio, 1986-1987.

The impact of lotto jackpot size on sales is estimated using regression analysis on Ohio data for 1986-87. Sales accelerate as jackpots increase. This helps explain high variability in lottery net revenue, and implies that changes in game structure that lead to larger jackpots will increase net revenue. It was also found that Saturday drawings are more popular than Wednesday drawings, that sales increase less than proportionately when more days are available to purchase tickets, and that larger jackpots continue to increase sales even after they have been awarded.