The Pennsylvania Lottery last week revealed its revenue report for the latest fiscal year. Despite the hurdles and setbacks that it faced in that period, the state lottery still managed to perform very well with the first of online lottery games bringing in a whopping $31.3 million in profits to the state. In total, the Pennsylvania Lottery recorded more than $4.5 billion in ticket sales up until June 30 – this was a neat 7.2 percent increase from the amount that was recorded in the previous fiscal year. Total profits went up $49.6 million to $1.14 billion.
Two-thirds of the just-concluded fiscal year’s sales were accounted for by scratch-off tickets – total sales for this particular vertical rose 6 percent to a record $2.9 billion. Draw ticket sales also saw an increase of 8.7 percent to about $1.4 billion and this was largely attributed to the rise in multi-state draws such as MegaMillions and Powerball.
When it comes to the year-old online lottery games, there was a total of $381 million in sales during their first full year. In addition to the $31.3 million in profits from online lottery games that was mentioned earlier, there were additional profits from monitor games such as Keno and Xpress Sports.
Great News for Pennsylvanians
To begin with, a record $2.9 billion was paid out to winners with 70 people winning at least $1 million in cash prizes during the 2018-2019 fiscal year. However, the people who walked away with the cash prizes are not the only ones that are reaping the fruits of the success of the state lottery. From the total amount that the state received, a whopping $1.14 billion has been allocated to programs that serve the elderly citizens of the Keystone State. This is a $49.6 million increase from the amount that was set aside for the elderly in the previous fiscal year.
“Families across the commonwealth rely on the vital senior programs that are funded by the Pennsylvania Lottery. That is why we are extremely proud to have set a new profit record,” Pennsylvania Lottery Executive Director Drew Svitko stated.
Since it was launched way back in 1972, the Pennsylvania Lottery has contributed over $30 billion to pay for both tax and rent rebates as well as the transportation, prescription assistance, care and meals for the elderly in the state. The latest fiscal year is the eighth consecutive year that the lottery has generated no less than $1 billion for the benefit of the elderly. With online gambling now in full swing and the lottery having cleared most of its hurdles, this should get even better in coming years.
