Lottery officials try to boost sales

In an effort to boost sluggish sales lottery officials are trying to convince more high-traffic, well-placed stores to sell lottery tickets.

The lottery’s sales representatives are now focusing on bringing more retailers into the lottery’s network to sell Powerball and scratch-and-win tickets.

A recruitment drive was launched in September. As of June, North Carolina had one lottery retailer for about every 1,500 residents. That’s lower than the national average and proportionally fewer outlets than in neighboring states.

The lottery raised $313 million for education in the fiscal year that ended June 30.