The Pennsylvania Lottery has this week announced its earnings for the last financial year, ending June 30. The state lottery earned a record profit of $1.3bn, coming from $5bn in traditional game sales.
This record-breaking year was driven by a number of key games. Scratch-offs totalled 70% of sales for the financial year, a 17% increase from the previous period. Draw games, like Powerball and Mega Millions accounted for a further 25% of sales, totalling $1.3bn in sales. Meanwhile, Pick 3 Game saw 5.8% of sales making $305m.
This is the 10th year in a row that the PA Lottery made over $1bn in profit. These earnings go towards funding programs for senior citizens in the state; this includes reduced transportation fees, tax and rent rebates, as well as prescription assistance.
Lottery retailers also earned $329m this year; an increase of $71m from the previous year.
“We are extremely proud that we kept funds flowing to programs that benefit older Pennsylvanians during a year when many sorely needed this assistance,” PA Lottery executive director Drew Svitko said in a statement.
The presence of online games has also increased during the fiscal year, producing $887m in sales, an increase of $156m from the year prior.
These profits break the previously held high recorded in the 2018-19 fiscal year, in which the state had $4.5bn in sales and an annual profit of $1.1bn.
This year saw 97 players purchase tickets with prizes of $1m or more.
