The state of Illinois recently released a statement saying any large lottery payouts would be delayed because of the state’s ongoing financial issues -- Good news for the Hoosier Lottery and their retailers.
Back in July, Illinois capped lottery payouts at 25,000.
But with a budget impasse ongoing in the Illinois statehouse, the state’s lottery officials have now lowered that number to $600.
This has Illinois lottery players looking elsewhere, and Hoosier Lottery retailers have been happy to help.
Adam Hartman is the owner of the Fort Harrison Mini Mart in Terre Haute. He says he has noticed not only an increase in lotto sales, but an increase in Illinois license plates visiting his store.
“I have to keep more tickets on hand to make sure that I can keep up with demand," he says. "But, yeah, until Illinois gets their mess straightened out, then we’ll probably continue to see an increase.”
Other retailers in Terre Haute are also seeing an increase in sales to Illinois residents.
In 2014, the Hoosier Lottery had revenues of more than $1 billion, with more than a quarter of that revenue being distributed to different state funds.
