Lottery already assured of best sales year ever through May

CLIVE — Iowa Lottery sales have already hit records for the fiscal year with the June numbers still to be added to the total.

Lottery CEO Matt Strawn gave an update to the Lottery Board Thursday. “Fiscal year 2023 will be the strongest year of lottery performance in the 38-year history of the Iowa Lottery — setting records for gross sales that will approach $480 million,” Strawn says.

He says the proceeds from Iowa Lottery sales returned to the state are more than $101 million — which is up 12% compared to last year. “This year is the first time and Iowa Lottery history the net proceeds have exceeded $100 million in the first 11 months of a fiscal year,” he says. 

The fiscal year ends June 30th and a record for sales is assured. “Without a doubt fiscal year ’23 will outpace the lottery’s previous high watermark for sales which was $552.6 million and the previous high watermark for proceeds, which was $101.7 million, both of which were set two years ago in fiscal year ’21,” Strawn says.

Strawn says a couple of BILLION dollar lotto game jackpots and more drawing days helped increase lotto game sales. He says there were also some internal actions taken to help. “Among the strategic factors that influenced this performance in those product categories include the deployment of more self-service vending kiosks in high traffic retail locations, and updating the Instaplay product category for the first time since its inception in 2017. Developing new price points and price structure value propositions for the scratch ticket line, and more effectively managing the lottery’s inventory of pull tab tickets,” S

trawn says. Powerball sales are up nearly 26%, MegaMillions sales are up more than 24 percent and Lotto America Sales were up more than 56% through May.