The Massachusetts State Lottery set all-time weekly sales records for Instant Tickets and Keno in the final week of 2021, contributing to record weekly sales of $145.33m.
The final week of the year has been popular amongst players in Massachusetts previously, but the week between December 26 and January 1 2022 saw instant ticket sales reach $97.88m, over $4m higher than the previous record set in the same week in the previous year.
Similarly, Keno sales reached new heights, totaling $25.8m, beating the previous record of $24,48m recorded during the week ending March 20, 2021.
“Thanks to the Lottery team, our retail partners, and most importantly, our customers we have been able to achieve another record-setting performance,” commented State Treasurer Deborah B. Goldberg, chair of the Massachusetts State Lottery Commission. “Despite a challenging business environment over the last two years, the Lottery has been able to surpass previous records set and we hope to build upon that success this year.”
Instant ticket and Keno sales combined with the $9.23m revenue from the Powerball draw, driven by a $500m jackpot for New Year’s Day, ensured that Massachusetts witnessed a record-breaking week of sales, beating the previous high of $139.47m from January 2021.
“These accomplishments are the result of a collaborative effort across all areas of our organization and I am extremely proud of our team members for their contributions to our success,” added Michael Sweeney, Executive Director of the Mass Lottery.
“These results were driven by a thoughtful, analytical approach to all areas of our business such as new ticket development, managing inventory and distribution, new promotions and enhancing digital and social media while making operational adjustments prompted by the pandemic. We are very pleased to be able to produce this critical funding for all cities and towns across Massachusetts.”