The novel coronavirus has slowed the sales of nearly everything, including lottery tickets.

Accordingly, the Iowa Lottery announced Thursday that the guaranteed Powerball starting jackpot will soon be eliminated. Instead, the Powerball Production Group will determine each new starting jackpot and the amount the jackpot increases after each winner-less drawing.

The group, made up of lottery directors from participating states, decided last week to reduce the starting jackpot to $20 million with a minimum increase of $2 million between drawings.

Iowa Lottery will make the same changes to the Mega Millions game, it announced on Friday afternoon.

However, if ticket sales are poor enough going forward, the starting jackpot could dip below $20 million, said Mary Neubauer, spokeswoman for the Iowa Lottery. The increase in the jackpot could also come in below $2 million.

► Coronavirus in Iowa: The latest news on the spread and impact

The changes will go into effect after the April 8 drawing.

Neubauer said that Powerball jackpots generally increase as ticket sales do. But sales have dropped as people across the country stay home to avoid the coronavirus.

According to the Iowa Lottery, ticket sales dropped each week of March, from about $754,000 for the week ending March 7 to about $666,000 for the week ending March 28 — even though the jackpot has continued to rise. Those figures, however, haven't been adjusted or audited.

"I don’t believe we have ever seen that occur before," Neubauer said in an email.

Although the jackpots have risen, they haven't reached anywhere close to last year's levels. In early March 2019, the jackpot sat at $382.1 million and rose to $768.4 million at the end of the month, when someone won. This year, the jackpot at the beginning of the month was only $100 million, rising to $170 million on Wednesday.

Fewer Mega Millions tickets were sold as March went on, too, the lottery said. The first week of March ended with $302,000 worth of ticket sales while the final week only yielded $284,000.

“It’s all just come to a head," Neubauer said.

The Powerball jackpot for Saturday's drawing is an estimated $180 million annuity. If someone wins, the jackpot will drop to $20 million for next Wednesday's drawing, the lottery said. If no one wins, the pot will increase to $190 million.

Players who have purchased multi-draw Powerball tickets are eligible for their future drawings.

Those who purchase $2 Powerball tickets pick their first five numbers from 1 to 69 and choose the Powerball from 1 to 26.

Since the 1980s, the lottery has contributed more than $1.7 billion to Iowa's coffers, but don't expect the short-term dip in sales to have a major effect on the state budget.

Rep. Gary Mohr, R-Bettendorf, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, said he expects all sources of state revenue will be diminished this year, not just lottery proceeds. But he said between the state’s reserve funds, whatever new revenue it collects and federal aid he believes Iowa is in a good place to put a budget together.

“I don’t think it’s any surprise that when you have this kind of a jolt to the economy, it’s going to be less. But we’ve all been through these things before. We’ve all been through these in our personal lives. We’ll get through it,” Mohr said.

Rep. Chris Hall, D-Sioux City, the ranking member on the House Appropriations Committee, said lottery revenue is typically between about $85 and $90 million a year and isn’t a large revenue stream for the state.

“Within an $8 billion budget, lottery sales slumping are not going to be the major concern that we have to watch. The Legislature needs to be keeping its eye on unemployment numbers, especially because about 90% of the state’s revenue comes from personal income and sales tax receipts,” Hall said.

Austin Cannon covers the city of Des Moines for the Register. Reach him at awcannon@registermedia.com or 515-284-8398. Your subscription makes work like this possible. Subscribe today at DesMoinesRegister.com/Deal.