Halfway Through Fiscal Year Lottery Transfers Down With Jackpot Size

For the second quarter of fiscal year 2020, the Louisiana Lottery Corporation transferred nearly $42.4 million to the state treasury, bringing total year-to-date contributions to $81.5 million, about $13.2 million lower than the first half of last year.

"Many players are now waiting for Mega Millions and Powerball jackpots to reach $400 million before deciding to play," explained Lottery President Rose Hudson. "Unfortunately, we have not experienced any of jackpots of this size over the last six months, and with multistate games accounting for about 30% of our sales, this is taking a toll. The silver lining is that our scratch-off game sales are up about 3.7% over last year."

With second-quarter revenue of $121,123,866, the Lottery contributed $42,393,350 to the state treasury. By law, at least 35% of Lottery proceeds are transferred to the state treasury and dedicated for K-12 public education. Roughly 53% of sales fund prizes and less than 6% is used to operate the Lottery. Retailers earn 5.6% compensation, including commission, incentives for cashing winning tickets and bonuses for selling winning tickets, totaling more than $6.8 million for October through December of 2019.

Since its inception in 1991, the Lottery has transferred more than $3.8 billion to the state.

Lottery ticket purchasers must be at least 21 years of age. Anyone with a gambling problem, or friends of anyone with a gambling problem, is encouraged to call toll-free 1-877-770-7867 for assistance.

For security purposes, players should sign the back of their tickets after purchasing.