Pennsylvania Lottery has been congratulated by Pennsylvania Skill for record-breaking sales and profits in FY21, achieving ‘exceptional growth’ in the state.
According to testimony before the House Appropriations Committee on February 15, the Pennsylvania Lottery generated more than $1bn in profits to benefit older Pennsylvanians with a sum of $1.2bn in FY21.
These results were greatly boosted by the sale of scratch-off games which accounted for more than 70% of total traditional sales in FY21, with sales of $3.7bn an increase of $555m (17%) from the previous year.
The lottery’s growth is occurring in many locations where it operates alongside Pennsylvania Skill, who have been operating legal games of skill across the state for the last seven years.
Indeed, an economic study by a Villanova University professor suggests lottery sales may increase if those machines are coupled with PA Skill machines in an establishment.
Mike Barley, Spokesman for Pennsylvania Skill, commented: “This is great news for Pennsylvania Skill. We have been clear that our economic forecast numbers show legal games of skill have no negative impact on the Lottery. This is confirmed by the continuing growth of lottery revenues.
“At a reasonable tax rate, skill games could provide over $250m in recurring revenue to the Commonwealth annually while providing critical supplemental income to Pennsylvania small business and fraternal clubs, like our American Legion and VFWs. This could help many Pennsylvanians.”
Powered by Pace-O-Matic, Pennsylvania Skill has created over 100 jobs in the Commonwealth and donated more than $1m to local charities last year, including children’s hospitals and food banks.
Their efforts to ensure compliance include employing a team of former Pennsylvania State Police officers to enforce all terms of contracts and codes of conduct, and limiting the number of machines and where they are placed in a location.
