Lottery revenues continue to decline at a steady rate, but the economic downturn in the southern coalfields has not had a noticeable impact, Lottery Commission Acting Director John Myers said Friday.
"It's been steady at about four percent," he said of the ongoing drop in Lottery revenues, caused primarily by competition from casinos in neighboring Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland.
For November, the Lottery had gross revenue of $87.67 million, down $2.78 million from November 2014.
Video slots at the state's four racetrack casinos fell 3.3 percent to $42.84 million, while Limited Video Lottery at more than 1,300 bars, clubs and fraternal organizations around the state fell 2.5 percent to $28.77 million.
Sales of traditional scratch-off tickets and online drawing games fell 6 percent to $11.77 million.
For the month, the state's share of Lottery profits was $39.9 million, down $1.38 million from November 2014.
For the first five months of the 2015-16 budget year, Lottery gross revenues of $468.9 million are down $17.48 million, or 3.6 percent, from the same point last year. Racetrack video lottery has experienced the steepest drop, falling nearly $10 million to $229.88 million.
Year-to-date, the state's share of Lottery profits of $211.45 million is down $7.88 million, or 3.6 percent, from the same point last year.
Also Friday, Lottery Commissioners denied a Virginia woman's request to be removed from the voluntary self-exclusion list at state casinos - citing unusual extenuating circumstances.
Under Lottery regulations, people may voluntarily place themselves on self-exclusion lists for any one or all five state casinos, effectively banning themselves from those premises. Once banned, individuals have to get permission from the Lottery Commission to be removed from the self-exclusion list.
On Friday, commissioners rejected the request of Deborah Carter of Christiansburg, Virginia, citing an incident the evening before she submitted the request to the Lottery on Nov. 25, when management of Mardi Gras Casino in Nitro spotted her in the casino and escorted her off the premises.
Because of that violation, Commissioner Michael Adams said Carter not only will not have her voluntary self-exclusion rescinded, but will be placed on the involuntary exclusion list. Under state Lottery law, persons caught cheating or otherwise violating state gaming laws or regulations are to be permanently banned from the state's casinos.
Reach Phil Kabler at philk@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1220, or follow @PhilKabler on Twitter.