The lottery numbers just get bigger each year as 58-year-old Roy Cockrum found out in 2014. PHOTO: WBIR

It's now being called jackpot fatigue. When lottery jackpots are small, players are waiting until they rise before playing.

People once impressed with a $50 million payout now shrug until it reaches $300 million. And because fewer people play, so it takes longer to get to staggering prizes, reports USA Today.

It takes big numbers to impress and attract lottery players nowadays.

New Jersey lottery officials said sales of Mega Millions and Powerball multistate games were down 30% through the end of March 2015, and this is happening throughout the USA.

"It appears to be a national phenomenon," said David Rosen, the Legislature's budget officer. "Maybe it's gambling fatigue."

Total lottery sales in 18 states and the District of Columbia — led by a more than 15% decline in Texas — decreased in 2014 compared with the year before, according to the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries, a trade group that represents 52 lotteries across the USA and Canada.

Richard Noll won $10 million in the Massachusetts Lottery 'Platinum Millions' game in 2015.

But sales of in-state games, such as scratch-off tickets, are up 10%.

The Cash4Life game that New Jersey and New York launched has expanded to Pennsylvania and Virginia.

Edna Aguayo (L) of Ozone Park, Queens, was New York's first person to win $1,000 in the Cash4Life game. PHOTO: NY Daily News

Scratch-off games are an important part of the Florida Lottery's portfolio of games, amounting to approximately 64 percent of ticket sales.

"There's a generation that went to the local convenience store, picked up their newspaper, picked up their cup of coffee and picked up their lottery tickets and went off to work," said state Sen. Paul Sarlo, a Democrat from Bergen, N.J. "The younger generations don't do that anymore."

Harold Diamond was 80 when he won the New York $326 million Mega Millions jackpot in January 2015.

All's not lost. The huge jackpots will return, either by chance or through a rules change generating even bigger prizes.

What does this mean for Silver Lotto System players?

Don't be attracted by the total jackpot figure. While the chances for winning a jackpot are better for our System than any other method, the Silver Lotto System works best getting multiple, smaller wins. Sure we have several million-dollar winners and our biggest - the $22.2 million Oz Lotto winner - but jackpot motivation is for amateurs. Reduce your starting number threshold and play more often.

Benefit by fewer players. As other players wait for the large jackpots to tempt them into playing, in the meantime you're playing the smaller games of up to $10 million. And when there are fewer players in a lottery game, the chances of sharing any large prize is reduced. Not always of course, and we can't put a number on it, but every little advantage counts.

You have more times to get excited without waiting for the big jackpots. Imagine if you waited until the jackpot reached $300 million before you played. That means you'd only be playing a handful of games a year. Our System works best when you play frequently, so ignore the big jackpot numbers and keep playing regardless. You'll have the expectation of winning each week and that anticipation is always a good thing.

READ MORE: USA Today

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