With just days left until the end of the 3rd quarter of the Fiscal Year 2022, the Kentucky Lottery board of directors announced Friday afternoon that sales across the state remain strong.
Lottery’s Vice President and Corporate Controller Maggie Garrison said sales through February totaled more than $1 billion. She noted this is $116.2 million more than the prior year and $76.4 million more than budget.
According to Garrison, year-to-date draw game sales have dipped slightly from last year, down 1.5 percent to $329.5 million. She said this is due in part to jackpots in the Mega Millions game not reaching their high levels from last year. However, Garrison reported the total sales gap has been closed thanks to Scratch-off ticket sales, which was up 7.8 percent for the year to $631.6 million.
Garrison said the net income for the year is $231.9 million, which is $12.2 million more than the prior year and $18.3 million more than budget.
Kentucky Lottery President and CEO Mary Harville said she is proud of their team and how they have been able to generate additional sales, which will lead to additional funds to the Commonwealth. She added their operating environment continues to become more challenging due to the explosion of unregulated grey or “skill” machines in retailers, which will clearly siphon dollars meant for college scholarship and grant initiatives the Kentucky Lottery funds such as the KEES program. She said they will continue to address these challenges, as our state’s best, brightest and most deserving students are counting on them.
Also at the meeting Friday, the board approved rules and regulations for seven scratch-off tickets, five Instant Play games and revised rules for the Powerball game.
