Pennsylvania Lottery Reports Record Sales, Over $1 to Billion to Benefit Older Pennsylvanians in Fiscal Year 2014-15
MIDDLETOWN, Pa., July 24, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Pennsylvania Lottery achieved a new sales record of $3.82 billion for the 2014-15 fiscal year and again generated more than $1.06 billion in net revenue to fund essential programs and services that benefit older Pennsylvanians.
"I want to thank Pennsylvania Lottery players for helping us to achieve another record sales year and continue to fulfill our mission of funding benefits that improve the lives of older adults," said Pennsylvania Lottery Executive Director Drew Svitko. "We're very proud of our unique mission and sincerely appreciate all that our players and retailers do to make great things possible."
Lottery sales in fiscal year 2014-15 surpassed the prior year's all-time sales record by $20.1 million, or 0.53 percent.
The Lottery paid $2.41 billion in prizes, an increase of $35 million over the previous year and a new all-time record. More than 63 cents of every Lottery sales dollar was returned to players in the form of prizes, and 75 Lottery players won prizes of $1 million or more last year.
Net revenues to the Lottery Fund totaled $1.06 billion, making 2014-15 the fourth consecutive year the Lottery generated over a billion dollars to fund senior programs.
Instant games sales for the fiscal year totaled $2.59 billion, which was $146.7 million, or 6 percent, higher than the previous year. Instant games accounted 67.84 percent of fiscal year 2014-15 sales, up from 64.34 percent of total sales in the previous year.
Sales for terminal-based or draw games – including the PICK family of games, Treasure Hunt, Cash 5, Match 6, Cash4Life™, Millionaire Raffle, Powerball®, and Mega Millions® – totaled $1.23 billion for the fiscal year, which was $126.7 million, or 9.35 percent, less than the previous year. Lotteries across the nation are experiencing a long-term trend in declining sales of draw games, reflecting a growing consumer preference for instant games.
Powerball sales of $239.8 million were $61.5 million, or 20.42 percent, less than the previous year. Mega Millions sales totaled $124.9 million, down $21 million, or 14.38 percent, from the previous year. Sales of both multi-state games suffered from a relative lack of very large jackpots, which tend to motivate players. This trend was also seen in many other states.
Lottery retailers, many of them family-owned small businesses, earned $203.2 million in commissions, an increase of $868,662 from the prior year. There are more than 9,000 licensed Lottery retailers across Pennsylvania.
The Lottery's administrative costs decreased $1.6 million from the prior fiscal year, accounting for only 1.98 percent of total sales in 2014-15.
"We are working to enhance to our game selection and efficiently maximize points of sale in order to responsibly grow Lottery sales," said Svitko. "Because older Pennsylvanians are counting on us, we are striving to position the Lottery for continued success, this year and in years to come."
The Pennsylvania Lottery's 2014-15 annual report is available at www.palottery.com, under "About Us & News," then "Annual Sales & Benefit Reports."
About the Pennsylvania Lottery: The Pennsylvania Lottery remains the only state lottery that designates all its proceeds to programs that benefit older residents. Since its inception in 1971, the Pennsylvania Lottery has contributed more than $25.8 billion to programs that include property tax and rent rebates; free transit and reduced-fare shared rides; the low-cost prescription drug programs PACE and PACENET; long-term living services; and the 52 Area Agencies on Aging, including full- and part-time senior centers throughout the state.
The Pennsylvania Lottery reminds players to check every ticket, every time. Players must be 18 or older. Please play responsibly. For help with a gambling problem, call 1-800-848-1880.
For drawings results, winning numbers, winners' stories and to subscribe to the Lottery's RSS news feed, visit www.palottery.com. Like us on Facebook or follow us at www.twitter.com/palottery.
MEDIA CONTACT: Gary Miller, 717-702-8008
SOURCE Pennsylvania Lottery
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