Some are calling upon the state to shut down the sale of lottery tickets, saying it’s a nonessential business. They note that lottery tickets can be purchased online.
“They’re endangering the store owners, the customers,” said Martin Manna, president of the Chaldean Chamber of Commerce, which advocates for numerous stores in metro Detroit. “They’ve been asking: why is the Michigan Lottery essential. … You have people coming in multiples times a day coming in to buy the lottery. That’s dangerous.”
Manna said that a Chaldean liquor store owner in his 50s died this week of complications from the coronavirus, illustrating the hazard store owners are facing.
