The Kentucky Lottery Corporation’s board of directors announced sales for the first four months of the fiscal year were lower than the same period last year – with the main culprit being a near-world record $1.5 billion Mega Millions jackpot that occurred in October 2018.
Sales from July through October of this year were $353.3 million, which is $12.8 million (3.5 percent) less than the same period in the previous year.
“That $1.5 billion Mega Millions jackpot was a huge outlier in sales last year, and we haven’t had any jackpot close to resembling that size this time around,” said Kentucky Lottery President and CEO Tom Delacenserie.
“In October of this year, we sold $2.4 million in Mega Millions tickets,” said Delacenserie. “In October of 2018, we sold $21.2 million in just Mega Millions tickets. While this was great for last year’s results, it does put us at a big year-over-year disadvantage when trying to compare performance.”
For the first four months of FY20, Instant tickets continued their solid growth trajectory with a $11.6 million increase from $203.4 million to $215.0 million. iLottery Instant Play sales continued to growth at a healthy pace as well, with a nearly 60 percent increase from $4.2 million to $6.7 million for the period.
“Through this week, our unofficial year-over-year results show sales being down only 2.5 percent,” said Delacenserie. “Lotteries across the U.S. are down as a result of the Mega Millions situation, and only being 2.5 percent away from where we were last year actually makes us one of the leaders in the industry.”
Delacenserie said staff members are working on plans to boost sales for the remainder of the fiscal year, including a continued effort to increase the number of tickets available at retail locations. He also said early indications for the “Holiday Cheer” family of holiday-themed tickets look very positive. “We anticipate a very strong showing in the second half of the year,” he said.
In other business, the board approved:
• Negotiations for a new contract with Barker and Herbert Analytical Laboratories Inc. for lottery ticket testing and related services
• Rules and regulations for four Scratch-off tickets, five Instant Play games and an amended prize grid for the Cash Ball 225 game.
The next meeting of the KLC’s board of directors will be Jan. 24, 2020. The meeting will begin at 10 a.m. and will be held at the KLC headquarters at 1011 West Main Street in Louisville. The audit committee meeting will begin at 8:30 a.m. as well as the procurement committee at 9 a.m.
From Kentucky Lottery Corporation
