JULY 9, 2015, 7:36 PM LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JULY 10, 2015, 12:55 PM
BY DUSTIN RACIOPPI
STATE HOUSE BUREAU |
THE RECORD
The Powerball lottery jackpots are about to get bigger – but so too will the odds against winning, a change that will likely mean fewer winners but more money for the states that run the game.
The changes come as multistate lottery sales have dropped by a third in New Jersey, cutting into one of the state’s biggest revenue sources. Slower sales could mean less for education programs and housing for veterans and the disabled.
And it comes as lottery officials here and in other states are blaming “jackpot fatigue,” the claim that sales drop because customers aren’t excited by smaller jackpots. Experts and lottery critics, however, said any change that makes bigger jackpots might either backfire — since there would be far fewer winners of big payouts, causing players to keep away — or have just a short-term effect on sales.
The change is set to take effect Oct. 4 and was made by the consortium that oversees the multistate lottery; states that offer the game must agree to the new rule.
Once the change is in place, the odds against winning the Powerball will grow by two-thirds – from a one-in-175,223,510 chance of winning to one in 292,201,338, according to the New Jersey Lottery.
Put another way, it’s 400 times more likely an individual will get struck by lightning than win the Powerball jackpot under the new rules. As it stands now, winning this lottery is only 250 times more likely than facing a lightning strike.
Players currently win by matching five numbers from a set of 59 white balls and a sixth – the Powerball — from a set of 35 red balls. Numbers are drawn twice a week. If no one matches all six numbers in a drawing, the jackpot increases by at least $10 million. In October, the number of white balls available will increase to 69, while the pool of red balls will decrease to 26.
