Here are the details we shared with a player who wondered if something unusual had happened with the prizes available in one of our scratch games. The game involved has been really popular – and the Iowa Lottery had to take some additional steps to ensure it could stay on the market a little longer.
The player noticed that the overall number of prizes available in the “Colossal Crossword” game had increased, which also changed the number of claimed and unclaimed prizes in that game. The changes occurred because the Iowa Lottery ordered more tickets in the game, and that in turn increased the number of prizes available in it.
When we plan out the schedules for our games and order the tickets we’ll have on the market, we do our best to estimate the supply needed for a game to be offered for an anticipated period of time. But sometimes, sales in a particular game are stronger than we expected, which ultimately is a positive because it means players really like the game!
But that also creates the reality that the game won’t last for as long as we planned. One solution could be for the lottery to move up the release date for another game to fill the spot. But knowing that customers really like the existing game, we also can order more tickets in it. That’s what the Iowa Lottery did with Colossal Crossword. The additional supply of tickets in that game went live in late November.
We also released more tickets in the “Win Big” game earlier that month and in a few other scratch games this year, including “Super 20s” and “Wild Bingo.”
The same situation also can apply in our InstaPlay games. Back in March, the Iowa Lottery ordered more tickets in the “Cherry Twist Progressive” InstaPlay game to ensure an ongoing supply of tickets in it.
Another way to think of it is like the bulk order that a restaurant owner places for the meals they plan to serve. They estimate the number of, say, salmon dinners they anticipate customers will order, but on a particular night, the salmon may be really popular and sell out. Reality in the marketplace does not always match up with estimates in advance!
When we order additional tickets in one of our games, we always update the prizes available in it so you’ll have the latest details.
Thank you for playing!
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