Scratcher Sales up $4.8 Million
ALBUQUERQUE – For Scratcher™ players, the best New Year’s resolution will be to remember that non-winning tickets from $1, $2 and $3 games can still win great prizes.
In a year-long promotion called “Points and Rewards,” the New Mexico Lottery will hold monthly drawings for one winner of $5,000 cash and 300 winners of points, which can be redeemed for electronics, small appliances and fashion accessories.
“Players have asked for more opportunities to win,” said David Barden, New Mexico Lottery CEO. “A rewards program will give players more excitement and entertainment value when non-winning tickets still have a second-chance to land cash and merchandise prizes.”
At www.nmlottery.com, players can enter non-winning tickets from active $1, $2 and $3 Scratchers. They can enter multiple times with different tickets.
The first drawing is scheduled for Feb. 3. The deadline to enter is Jan. 31.
A mobile app that will scan ticket entries launches in the next few weeks.
More information about Points and Rewards is available in stores and at www.nmlottery.com.
New Scratchers in Stores Now
Four Scratcher games are new in stores now. The $5 “Crossword X5” game features two puzzles and a top prize of $50,000. The “HIT $500,” “HIT $100,” and “HIT 50” games offer a combined total of 4,000 prizes ranging between $50 and $500, all of which can be paid in stores.
“Many players like games with prizes that can be paid at the grocery store or the gas station,” said Karla Wilkinson, New Mexico Lottery product director. “The games have been selling so well that we’re expanding the concept into a family of games starting with the HIT trio.”
Wilkinson said these types of games have helped increase Scratcher sales in the first half of Fiscal Year 2015. Scratcher sales since July total $41.7 million, up $4.8 million or 13 percent.
Legislative Lottery Scholarships
Since its inception in 1996, the lottery has raised $629.4 million for education in New Mexico. More than 97,000 students have attended college on Legislative Lottery Scholarships. More information about Legislative Lottery Scholarships is available at www.nmlottery.com.