PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Rhode Island lottery officials say the season of giving is also the season of increased sales of scratch-off lottery tickets.
The Providence Journal reports that data from the lottery shows that there’s typically a 20 percent increase in scratch-off sales from November to December.
There was a more than 26-percent jump from November to December in 2013. December sales have made up about 10 percent of annual scratch-off sales since 2011.
Providence business owner Jose Sanchez says plenty of people have bought scratch tickets from his market this month. He thinks many customers use the tickets for Christmas gifts.
Scratch-off tickets were invented by John Koza. Massachusetts was the first state to sell the tickets in the 1970s.
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Information from: The Providence Journal, http://www.providencejournal.com
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