North Dakota's lottery director says lottery ticket sales have been going down as gasoline prices go up.

"Consumers have a limited amount of disposable income, and when they're filling their tanks with gas at the pump, they're making a decision," director Chuck Keller said. "Because they're paying out more for fuel, there's going to be less money left over for other disposable items whether it's pop, candy or lottery tickets."

Keller said weekly lottery ticket sales in the state have dropped over the past five weeks, from an average of $497,000 per week to $421,000 last week.

"I believe that the current fuel prices are negatively impacting the lottery sales," he said.

North Dakota is a member of multistate lottery games. The state offers the Powerball lottery as well as Wild Card 2, Hot Lotto and 2 by 2.

- Associated Press