Nearly everyone has scratched and bought instant lottery tickets at some point in their lives. It’s not something that everyone does. My bad habit of buying junk food is probably eating too much. If I had spent all my extra money on instant lotto tickets, I would have been rich instead of being overweight. It’s important to eat and gamble in moderation.
In Pennsylvania, where I reside, the first scratch off ticket was released in 1975. Since then, they have been hugely popular.
I have bought instant lottery tickets at every price point in my state. I tend to buy the $1 – $2 tickets, but every once in a while I purchase a $5 – $10 ticket. One time I even purchased a $20 instant lottery ticket. I lost my $20 and won nothing for the $20 ticket. One would expect that if you had to spend so much money they would give everyone at most a free $1 ticket. After I lost $20, I thought I was foolish. But as they say, “If I don’t play, I can’t win!” It was a gamble. I didn’t win. I know two people who won close to $20,000 in instant lottery tickets. It’s true, there are some people who win the big prize.
Instant lottery draws are predetermined months ahead of its release, which is unlike live lottery where you pick numbers. After the tickets are printed and designed, they are distributed to all state lottery retailers. As well as big chain stores, small convenience stores often sell instant lottery tickets. These tickets can be found in vending machines that offer a variety of styles and prices a9play desktop. They may also be available at cashiers counters or behind a shielded area. You can buy instant lottery tickets starting at $1 and going up to $20 in most states. But, there may be tickets that go for $20 or more in some states.
To help fund many programs, instant lotteries can be run by the states. The lottery in Pennsylvania is used to raise funds for programs that benefit the Commonwealth’s elderly residents. The Ohio Lottery has donated more than $13 million to public education since 1974. About 4.5 percent of Ohio’s funding for public education is provided by the lottery each year. Missouri’s Lottery spends 27.3 cents per dollar on education programs. 61.6cs goes back to the players as prizes and 5cs is used to pay administrative costs. 6.1c goes to retailers through commissions, incentive and bonus payments. Missouri retains more than 93c of every dollar. Although it’s different in each state, the lottery is very profitable despite the few issues that gambling addiction can create.
Many people buy instant (scratch-off) tickets. If they don’t win, they toss the tickets in the garbage. Did you know that every instant lottery ticket you lose is money wasted? You are not alone. There are thousands, if certainly hundreds of people who would love your tickets. These were not redeemable tickets and I’ve seen them sell losing lottery tickets for as high at $15 each. I was once asked by a convenience store clerk if I could take a bag full of lost instant lottery tickets they had. They were given to me by the clerk who was happy to give them. I brought the tickets home, checked them through, and I found two $1 winners. I then sold the remaining tickets for $30.
Where can I buy them? On eBay. I was able to see that eBay had instant lottery tickets available for sale. You can find people selling non-winning lottery tickets, also known as ‘worthless’ on eBay all of the time. I searched for these tickets while I was writing this article and found over 100 listings. Who buys these non winning lottery tickets? Collectors.
Instant Lottery ticket collection is rapidly becoming a big deal. All over the world there are people who love collecting lottery tickets. Many forums, discussion groups, and websites are available for collecting lottery tickets. A new term has been invented for instant lottery ticket collectors. It is LOTOLOGIST. This is the name of the instant lottery tickets collecting hobby. This hobby is growing in popularity. Simply visit your favorite search engine like GOOGLE and search for: lotologist OR lottery. There are many websites that collect, sell and buy non-winning instant lotto tickets.
One website that is unique is the ‘Pennsylvania Lottery Merchandise Musue’. They will either buy or accept donations for Pennsylvania Lottery Merchandise. All of the Museum’s lottery merchandise can be viewed online by visitors. You can visit this address to see more.