RICHMOND – For the first time in 26 years, the Virginia
Lottery has recorded a half-billion-dollar profit year. The Lottery announced last
week that profits for FY14, which ended on June 30, totaled a record $538.6
million. According to Virginia’s constitution, every dollar of Lottery profit
benefits K-12 education in the Commonwealth.
The record profit for the year, which passes the old record
of $487.1 million set in FY12, is based on record sales of $1.81 billion. The
Lottery grew sales by a healthy 7.2% during the year, through a combined effort
of new Scratcher games, a Mega Millions jackpot in December, and a strategy of
growing the number of people who play the Lottery in Virginia.
“Our efforts are based on the idea that it’s better to have
a large number of people, each buying a few tickets, rather than a smaller
number of people playing more,” said Virginia Lottery Executive Director Paula
Otto. “We were able to grow the number of people playing by two percent,
resulting in record profits for education in the Commonwealth.”
The total of $538.6 million in profit means the Lottery
generated an average of more than $1.47 million per day for Virginia’s K-12
public schools. Lottery profits make up about 8% of Virginia’s education
budget.
Stores that sell Lottery tickets also benefitted, earning a
record $101.5 million. Lottery retailers, many of which are small, community-based
businesses, receive a 5% commission for every ticket sold, a 1% cashing bonus
for all prizes redeemed, various sales incentives and a bonus for selling
tickets that win prizes of $20,000 or more.
“The Lottery sales staff places a priority on increasing the
number of retailer partners and working to build sales with our existing
partners,” said Otto. “Customers who come in to buy lottery tickets usually
make other purchases as well, which is good for business, especially at smaller
independent stores.”
The biggest winner of the year was Lewis Howard of
Cumberland. On Halloween, he appeared at a news conference to claim the $99
million prize he won playing Mega Millions. He actually won the prize in May,
but held on to the ticket more than five months before contacting the Lottery.
It was the eighth Mega Millions jackpot won in Virginia since the game began in
2002. Mr. Howard bought his winning ticket in Farmville.
In December, the eyes of Virginia and the world were on a
Mega Millions jackpot that eventually grew to $636 million. Although that
jackpot was not won by a ticket bought in Virginia, sales of Mega Millions
tickets in the Commonwealth during the weeks leading up to the December 17
drawing generated $16.3 million in profit.
Meanwhile, sales of Scratcher account for more than half of
overall Virginia Lottery sales, and FY14 was no exception. Scratcher sales were
a record $988.6 million, an 11.4% increase.
“During Fiscal Year 2014, the Virginia Lottery celebrated
its 25th birthday,” said Virginia Lottery Board Chairman Cynthia D. Lawrence.
“We’ve come such a long way since the first ticket was sold in September of
1988. The consumer market has changed; tastes have changed, and so has the
Lottery.”
After celebrating its 25th birthday on September 20, 2013,
the Virginia Lottery is now embarking on its second quarter-century of
providing games and excitement for Virginians. The Lottery’s mission remains
the same: “Contributing to Virginia’s future, one play at a time.”
In the coming year, Virginians will have new games and added
excitement at their fingertips. A new Virginia-only game, $1,000,000 Money
Ball, will offer the best odds of becoming a millionaire of any current jackpot
game. $1,000,000 Money Ball will replace Win for Life, which will end its
successful run in September.