Indiana’s state lottery Hoosier Lottery has witnessed a big increase in ticket sales during the COVID-19 pandemic, as officials expect a record amount of annual profit going into the state’s bank accounts, according to the Associated Press.
Last week, officials told the State Lottery Commission that they projected scratch-off ticket sales would be up by almost 27% for the fiscal year ending June 30 compared to a year ago. Sales for daily draw and big jackpot games, such as Powerball and Mega Millions, are also expected to be 19% higher than last year.
As a result of these sales improvements, the lottery is expected to accumulate $1.7bn in sales, awarding $368m to the state. Its profit is up about $63m, or 20%, from a year ago when overall sales dropped during the early months due to the pandemic.
However, IGT Indiana, the company that operates the lottery, doesn’t expect another jump next year since restrictions are already being lifted and people can take part in more activities.
The firm’s COO Melissa Pursley commented: “We have budgeted a decrease from the historical year that we’ve experienced. As Hoosiers begin to have more options to spend their entertainment dollars, we believe that our sales will be impacted.”
The state directs about $235m of the lottery proceeds toward reducing auto excise taxes, with $60m going to pension funds for teachers, police officers and firefighters.
Lottery profits for this year will result in a $19.7m incentive payment to IGT Indiana after the company had to pay a $3.6m penalty to the state for not meeting the minimum sales levels set in its contract.
IGT officials noted that several new scratch-off games introduced as well as jackpots reaching $1bn for Mega Millions and $700m for Powerball helped boost ticket sales.
Pursley warned that IGT was projecting an 8% decline in sales for the coming year, although it expects to again meet the minimum sales level set in the company’s contract.
Lottery Commission President William Zielke said looking back over the past year, it’s “a real compliment to the whole team to react to those risks in a positive way to overcome some of those obstacles”.
Zielke added he was comfortable with IGT’s projections after such a tumultuous year, saying: “I think this plan is conservative in the sense that it hasn’t over-relied on some things that may have just been unique to last year.”
Hoosier Lottery proceeds to the state have increased by about 50%, from $205m in 2012, which was the last year before the privatisation contract was signed. However, it remains below the original goal of $410m in annual profits by 2018 under the contract that was renegotiated in 2015.