Below is an article from BC's The Province about how outraged
Canadian lottery players are after the
announcement that Lotto 6/49 will double its price to $2 after May
2004. Source:
Lottery players vent fury
Jack Keating
The Province
Thursday, November 27, 2003
Outraged lottery players inundated The Province yesterday with complaints
about the 6/49 lottery doubling its price to $2 next year.
It was the same at Lotto Centres and was the top story last night on
the CBC national news after the Interprovincial Lottery Corp. announced
that $1 Lotto 6/49 tickets would be eliminated after the May 29, 2004, draw
in order to offer larger jackpots.
"We've had negative feedback --
nothing positive," said Peter Low, manager of the Lotto Centre in Pacific
Centre Mall.
"People are complaining about having to spend more
money. They're saying the government just wants to get more money out of
them."
The 6/49 tickets have sold for $1 for 22 years.
"It's a bit of a cash cow for the government," said Marion
Wilson-Brown of Vancouver. "But it's a way for the government to raise money
without taxing us more."
The lottery has a minimum jackpot of $2 million, which rolls over
each time there is no winner.
The new jackpots are expected to start
at about $4 million and grow to $10 million or more on about half of the
draws. The jackpots are also expected to hit $25 million during the year.
Lottery officials say people buy more tickets when the jackpots are
higher.
"It's been the same game for 22 years, so people are
resistant to change," said B.C. Lottery Corp. spokeswoman Alison Lester.
"I'm not going to say I'm surprised by the reaction. We expected
both good and bad."
British Columbians spent $968 million on
lotteries in the year that ended on March 31, an increase of $5.9 million
from 2002.
Lotto 6/49 has been declining in popularity across the
country, and now ranks third in B.C. in sales behind Keno and Scratch and
Win.
B.C. gamblers spent $171 million on Lotto 6/49 last year, down
from $194 million in 2002 and $205 million in 2001
B.C. ranks eighth
among provinces in per-capita gambling.