A nonprofit publication of the Kentucky Center for Public Service Journalism

Kentucky Lottery closes first half of fiscal year on record pace with more than $710 million in sales


The Kentucky Lottery reported Friday that sales for the first half of FY21 (July 2020 through December 2020) were higher than the first six months of any other fiscal year in the company’s history.

Overall sales for the period were $710.3 million, which is $169.5 million (31.3%) more than the same period in the previous fiscal year. This was led by a 33.1% jump ($107.5 million) in sales of Scratch-off tickets to a total of $431.9 million. Draw games were also up $30.7 million (14.9%) to $236.6 million.

Also significant is the rise in play via the internet. While overall sales on the platform remain a relatively modest part of the business, the percentage growth has exploded. Internet sales from the first six months of FY21 to the same period in FY20 have grown over 232% ($34.8 million) to $49.8 million.

In a shorter-term gain, the board also learned of increased recent sales for both the Powerball and Mega Millions games. Both had seen lackluster sales for some time, but the longest jackpot runs in the history of the games (Powerball just ending at 36 drawings and Mega Millions having its 37th drawing Friday) have led to tremendous interest and subsequent sales of the game. The Mega Millions jackpot for currently stands at $1 billion.

In other business, the board approved:

• Contract renewals with Smartplay International for both draw machine and random number generator maintenance and repair;

• A contract renewal with Garron Lottery Products for draw machine and ball sets maintenance and new items on an as-needed basis, and;

• Rules and regulations for two Scratch-off tickets, five Instant Play games, and amended Pick 3 and Pick 4 rules.

The next meeting of the KLC’s board of directors will be Friday, March 12. The meeting will begin at 10 a.m. EST, and will be viewable via the Lottery’s YouTube channel. The audit committee meeting will begin at 8 a.m.. as well as the procurement committee at 9 a.m.

Kentucky Lottery


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