Pennsylvania Lottery Sees Record $1.3B Profit This Fiscal Year

The Pennsylvania Lottery has defied the pandemic by generating record-breaking profits of over $1.3 billion for the fiscal year that ended this June. The previous record was made in the 2018-2019 fiscal year when the lottery had reported $1.1 billion in profit, driven by 4.5 billion in sales.

According to the annual report released Monday, the Pennsylvania Lottery said it sold more than $5.3 billion in tickets for the fiscal year that ran July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2021. The overall revenue came from traditional scratch-off tickets multi-state draws, as well as iLottery.

The state agency kept more than $1.3 billion of the sales to benefit programs that help senior citizens.

It’s the 10th straight year that the Keystone State has drawn $1 billion or more from its lottery.

Where Does the Lottery Profit Go?

The Pennsylvania Lottery reimburses all the profit to programs that benefit elderly residents, the only state lottery to do so, according to the official site.

The lottery said it’s the 10th consecutive year that the agency had more than $1 billion in profits to help fund programs for seniors in the Keystone State.

PA Lottery executive director Drew Svitko said in a statement, “We are incredibly proud that we kept funds flowing to programs that help older Pennsylvanians during the year many needed this assistance.”

Pennsylvania has also seen an unprecedented casino revenue of $3.9 billion for the same fiscal year, bouncing back from months of closure due to the pandemic.

Further Breakdown of Sales

Scratch-offs accounted for nearly 71% of lottery sales for the FY 2020-21, totaling almost $3.8 billion, representing a 17% year-over-year increase, according to the state records.

Draw Games – such as Powerball and Mega Millions – made up also 25%, with $1.3 billion in sales.

The third most popular was Pick 3, which accounted for almost 5.8% of sales – or $305 million.

Several Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots pushed sales this year, including a $516 Mega Million jackpot ticket sold in May in Bucks County, the Lottery said.

Those three types of sales – scratch-offs, draw games, and Pick 3 – had also reported record sales in the 2019-20 fiscal year.

Pennsylvania iLottery, which launched in May 2018, also witnessed growth with nearly $887 million in sales, up almost $156 million from the preceding fiscal year.

As many as 97 tickets won $1 million or more during the fiscal year that ended in June.

Lottery retailers in the Keystone State earned $329 million in sales commissions during this period – $71 million more than what they earned during the previous fiscal year.

Pennsylvania Lottery Fully Devoted to Senior Benefits

Since it was established in 1971, the Pennsylvania Lottery was meant to generate funding for older citizens. It is the only lottery in the United States that fully devotes its proceeds/profits to programs dedicated to older residents.

Since the very first ticket was sold in 1972, lottery proceeds have been allocated to multiple senior programs, including over $31 billion in property tax relief and rent rebates.

The agency also provides funding for low-cost prescriptions, senior transportation services, meals delivered to senior centers and homes, and long-term care financial assistance.

The Pennsylvania Lottery is one of the largest state lotteries in the country. Only New York, Florida, Texas, and California sell more lottery tickets annually.