In Australia, planned modifications to the Tabcorp-operated national lottery Oz Lotto will raise ticket prices while making it more difficult to win the huge jackpot. The Victoria state government, which licenses and controls the lottery, claims, however, that the new system will result in more prize winners overall.
The odds of winning the jackpot in the Oz Lotto will soon be 63 million to 1 if two extra balls are added to the mix. (Photo courtesy of Oz Lotto)
The administration plans to raise the number of balls drawn from 45 to 47, as well as the number of additional balls pulled from two to three. The odds of winning the first prize will increase from 45 million to 63 million to 1.
However, it increases the number of possible winning combinations, reducing the odds of winning any reward from 55:1 to 51:1. Meanwhile, the base jackpot will be raised from AU$2 million to AU$3 million (US$2.24 million).
.
The changes are set to come into effect from May 17, subject to regulatory approval.
‘Desperate Cash Grab’
While the decisions are being made in Victoria, they will affect Oz Lotto entrants in all Australian states and territories. And Victoria will continue to take the lion’s share of the proceeds. The state collects 79.4% of revenues from Oz Lotto tickets sold in Australia, and 90% from those bought overseas.
The price of a ticket could also rise from $1.45 to $1.55.
Opposition gaming minister Steph Ryan told reporters Thursday the move was a “desperate cash grab,” as the government tried to “plug its failure to manage its own budget.”
“Ultimately, this is about delivering more revenue to government coffers,” she said.
Most of the revenue derived from Oz Lotto is allocated to funding for community organizations and mental health services, and channeled into programs to tackle problem gambling and drug abuse.
Victoria sports minister Martin Pakula called for calm.
“I think for most of us, the difference between a one in 40 million and a one in 60 million chance is pretty academic, to be honest,” he said.
He added he had played the lottery for decades and never came close to the jackpot, and “probably never will.”
Snowball Effect
Lotteries around the world are increasingly adopting a “more balls the better” approach. That’s because making the jackpot harder to win creates more rollovers, which builds bigger jackpots.
Studies show this “snowball effect” makes people more likely to play, despite the longer odds. Thus, the lottery becomes a kind of self-propelled publicity machine.
But Victoria’s lawmakers should pay heed to the predicament the Irish National Lottery found itself in after officials increased the ball-count to 47. For seven months from June 2021 to January 2020, nobody won the jackpot in 60 draws.
Irish lawmakers had made the lottery too difficult to win for a relatively small population of just 5 million. And because the country’s regulations cap the maximum jackpot at €19 million (US$21 million), it was stuck on that figure for the final three months. During this time, the public began to view the jackpot as unwinnable and lost interest.
The post Australia’s ‘Oz Lotto’ Jackpot Odds, Ticket Prices to Rise, Prompting Backlash appeared first on Casino.org.
Leave a Reply