The Louisiana Lottery Corp. netted $453.8 million in revenue during the fiscal year that ended June 30, marking its second-highest total ever and the fifth straight annual increase. The state’s lottery agency announced today that it netted about $3.3 million more in the most recent fiscal year than the previous year.
As a result, more than $158 million was transferred to the state treasury to be used for K-12 public education, about $9.3 million more than the state had budgeted to receive. Another $9 million was transferred to the state treasury during the last fiscal year, earmarked for the Louisiana Mega-Project Development Fund, as required in a 2014 legislative act.
Scratch-off lottery tickets were once again the leading product for the Louisiana Lottery Corp., accounting for a 13% increase in sales that made up for lackluster Powerball sales. With the Powerball player base having been expanded to include every U.S. state with a lottery, more jackpots are being claimed with increasing frequency, resulting in reduced overall sales.
“Because Powerball sales are driven by high jackpots, a matrix change scheduled for October should help the game’s performance,” says Louisiana Lottery Corp. President and CEO Rose Hudson. “That’s icing on the cake, as the popularity of scratch-off games has exploded.”
In addition to state coffers, local businesses that sell lottery products also benefited from the uptick in revenue, with total retailer compensation of more than $25.2 million. That includes sales commission, incentives for cashing winning tickets and bonuses for selling winning tickets.
