RACINO, BAR CLOSINGS HELP SCRATCH-OFF SALES SOAR

Closings of Ohio bars, restaurants and racinos left people looking for ways to have a little fun.

Scratch-off Ohio Lottery tickets sales soared during the coronavirus pandemic, so much so that they helped overcome losses from the closing of bars and racinos.

The Ohio Lottery Commission reported last week that total sales from traditional lottery games closed out the fiscal year on June 30 up $111 million from the previous year. Lottery revenue from the slots-like video machines at the seven racinos was down nearly $80 million for the year.

Michael Sliger, manager at Bee Gee’s Minit Market in Kettering, said he has seen “a lot of new faces” come in to buy lottery games since bars, restaurants and casinos and racinos have been closed because of the coronavirus pandemic. Scratch-off sales have increased at Bee Gee’s.

“Since people are at home or they have a lot more time, they’re looking for something to fun to fill that time,” Sliger said.

Some games that take longer, like BINGO, have also grown in popularity, Sliger said.

“Our sales are always high, but scratch-off sales have gone up,” he said. “And sales are still staying strong.”

Bee Gee’s Minit Market is Montgomery County’s top lottery grossing store. Bee Gee’s Minit Market sold its first $1 million ticket in the historic Mega Millions drawing in 2018.

In the last fiscal year, Bee Gee’s reportedly sold $21,350 in Mega

Millions prizes and $220,010 in tickets.

Sliger said the Ohio Lottery Commission also has continued to release new games every month or so throughout the pandemic, which keeps customers interested in coming back to play.

Scratch-off sales totaled $148 million in February, the last full month before Gov. Mike DeWine began closing businesses, then increased to $162 million in April and to $216 million in May. Scratchoff

games had sales of $1.874 billion this year, up from $1.663 billion the year before.

At the end of Feburary the state’s seven racinos revenue was up 9% from the year before. Then the pandemic hit and racinos closed on March 13 and revenue ended the year down 23% from the year before. Keno finished the year down about 3%.

Scratch-off sales in May and June were about 50% up over last May and June, the Ohio Lottery Commission said.

The Vandalia Carryout on East National Road said their scratch-off sales have been

“fair to partly cloudy,” and that they have been selling more liquor than lottery tickets since the pandemic began.

“Throughout the last year, the lottery proactively utilized predictive modeling tools to optimize game inventory levels at retail locations. Similar to the rest of the industry, Ohio Lottery sales remained steady during March through June due in part to the limited entertainment options available at that time. With the product mix and strategic marketing support coming this next fiscal year, we are optimistic that our scratch-off line will continue to succeed and resonate with our players,” said Danielle Frizzi-Babb, Ohio Lottery communications director.

This spring, an Ohio lottery warehouse in Solon, Ohio was temporarily shutdown because someone at the facility tested positive for the coronavirus. The facility reopened in the middle of June. Some Miami Valley stores reported running low on scratch-offs during this time.