Newsagents with lotteries tell me customers are talking about the claims in the news this week by Geelong area Powerball syndicate members who claim they were dudded by the person who purchased their tickets.
Some say the reports are impacting on syndicate sales in the lead up to tomorrow’s $50M Powerball jackpot.
I’m writing about it here to open a thread for newsagents who would like to comment about this.
I was in Fiji last week and I could buy tickets in Australian lotteries……imagine the public outcry if this weeks $50 million powerball was won overseas……!
No Syndicate sales effect in my store so far. I think it’s more of an issue for the customer and the workplace syndicates and those that manage them. I see an opportunity to spruik the benefits of Players Club registration. The $5 cost would have perhaps prevented this situation. At the very least advice to all that participate in a workplace unregistered tickets to have the syndicate ticket photcopied and on display for everyone to see their numbers.
Its certainly a popular topic for discussion but Syndicate sales are unaffected
If the person concerned had purchased the syndicate as a syndicate (set up by us)
each person would have had a ticket.
However, syndicates are difficult to arrange on the hop (we do all ours at quiet times as they take a bit of concentration etc) but there is a lesson here for workplaces etc who let one person collect the money and do the purchasing. Surely Tatts would be able to verify which was the winning ticket (assuming that the purchaser didn’t fill in a form and then ask for two entries (one for him and one for the so-called syndicate)
My sales were definitely not affected by this news item but it caused a lot of conversation in the shop.
Angelo is right about the gold card – it would have prevented this happening if the syndicate had a card with their name on it.
I have customers buy their own Lotto at the same time as they buy there groups Lotto. Some have a card some don’t so it could be hard to tell which ticket one if it wasn’t registered.
Under the old SA Lotteries we were able to sell lotto tickets as shares as long as the min. amount was above $2.
Under Tatts we have to go through a time consuming process to offer the same service, which I refuse to do.
After this indecent maybe Tatts should look at re-introducing the SAL method.
Bit of talk about it but our syndicate sales are up this week.
Hoping it jackpots again this week!
We have been selling a heap of syndicates and in fact the story has created a line of engagement for our customers. We have been asked lots of questions as to how to set up a syndicate. Our customers see us as the experts in the area.
After today’s crazy rush for the 50 million, we had a crazy amount of interest in syndicates and sold so many more than we are used to as an upsell in light of the media attention on syndicates. People who in the past have said no thanks because they didn’t know and didn’t want to know what syndicates were, were today asking what they are and how to be a part of it, whether they need a lotto card to register their syndicate etc.
I’ve also noticed that interest in lotto card applications are higher than in previous week also.
Tuesday’s $30 Million OZ Lotto was won by a shop syndicate here in WA. 10 lucky people won $3 million each. The Newsagency owner, who picked the numbers, was pictured on the front page of yesterday’s West Australian. Needless to say there was an incredible amount of interest and sales of syndicates for the Powerball $50 million.
We have also had a few people each day talk about the “Geelong” syndicate.