Missouri Considering Spending More On Lottery

Missouri lottery officials petition lawmakers to increase its lottery ad budget from $1.3 million to $8 million a year to generate more sales.

April 27, 2010

JEFFERSON CITY - In an effort to jumpstart lottery sales, Missouri legislators have begun beefing up advertising on radio, television, social media sites and at community events, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

State lottery officials said that for every $1 spent on advertising, they could generate $3 for education, a stat that legislators are finding hard to ignore in light of shrinking tax revenue.

Under a new plan, ad spending would increase to $8 million, a budget that needs final approval by Missouri??s House and Senate. Officials estimate that the ads would then generate an additional $24 million for education.

May Scheve Reardon, Missouri??s lottery executive director, said that if the ad money is approved, the agency would seek bids as early as this summer from firms interested in developing an ad campaign.

Reardon pushed hard for the ad budget increase with legislators, overcoming concerns that the move would promote gambling.

"We're competing with a candy bar," Reardon said. "We're not taking people's entire paychecks. We give people the ability to dream about what they would do if they win."

Currently, Missouri spends $1.3 million on ads, the least of any of the 43 other states with lotteries and a sharp decrease from the $8.2 million that Missouri spent on ads eight years ago.

Reardon said that the ads are more important now because the majority of convenience store customers pay for their gas at the pump and therefore miss lottery displays posted inside the stores.

Critics questioned whether an ad spend increase would make the difference that Reardon projects.

"In this economy, the idea that we can go after these additional unsuspecting people, I don't think it's very wise to book that," said Senator Jim Lembke. "The people (the ads) appeal to are the people who can least afford to be losing money.

The state??s new budget is due May 7.

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