Louisiana Lottery Has Third Best Year Ever, Contributes Over $171.9 Million to State Treasury for 2018

Published on

The Louisiana Lottery Corporation ended its fiscal year with more than $491.3 million in revenue, making 2018 the Lottery’s third best year ever. Resulting transfers to the state treasury for K-12 public education were more than $171.9 million, up $12.7 million from last year and exceeding budgeted transfers by $17.7 million. 

“The Lottery team is very proud of the strong finish we had to this fiscal year,” said Lottery President Rose Hudson. “We will continue to work hard and carry this positive momentum forward into the new year for our efforts to maximize revenue for the state of Louisiana.”

Scratch-offs continue to be the top seller in the Lottery’s game portfolio, ending the year at $217.1 million, up approximately $10.8 million from last year.  

Sales of Powerball, the Lottery’s second highest revenue generator, experienced an $11.1 million increase in sales from fiscal year 2017 and ended at approximately $96.1 million for 2018. 

In addition to state coffers, local businesses that sell Lottery products also benefited from the Lottery in fiscal year 2018 with total retailer compensation of more than $27.4 million, which includes sales commission, incentives for cashing winning tickets and bonuses for selling winning tickets.

Fourth quarter figures for fiscal year 2018 show Lottery revenue totaled $117,857,851 with $41,250,250 being transferred to the state treasury.

The Louisiana Lottery ranks second among state lotteries in percent of revenue transferred to its government. By law, at least 35 percent of Lottery proceeds are transferred to the state treasury and dedicated for K-12 public education. Roughly 53.7 percent of sales fund prizes, 5.6 percent is paid to retailers and less than 6 percent is used to operate the Lottery. 

The Lottery's total fiscal-year state transfers were $171,955,980. Since the Lottery began operations in 1991, more than $10 billion in revenue has been generated, primarily from ticket sales. More than $3.58 billion has been transferred to the state treasury.

Lottery ticket purchasers must be at least 21 years of age. The Lottery encourages anyone with a gambling problem, or friends of anyone with a gambling problem, to call toll-free 1-877-770-7867 for assistance. Recent financial statements and historical treasury transfers can be found on the Lottery’s website, louisianalottery.com.