State Treasurer Deborah Goldberg announced today that the Massachusetts State Lottery produced an estimated $979 million in net profit for the Commonwealth during the 2020 fiscal year that began July 1, 2019 and ended June 30, 2020. Lottery revenues rang in at an estimated $5.252 billion, the third highest total in the Lottery’s 49-year history. It is the sixth consecutive year that revenues have surpassed the $5 billion mark.
“Our top priority during these unprecedented times has been the health and well-being of our employees and customers,” said Treasurer Deb Goldberg, Chair of the Massachusetts State Lottery Commission. “I am grateful for our loyal customers and proud of the work the Lottery team and dedicated retail partners have done to adjust operations in order to continue to generate essential local aid. At a time when we face mounting challenges, these resources are even more critical for our cities and towns.”
In fiscal year 2019, the Lottery set a record net profit of $1.104 billion and record revenues of $5.509 billion.
“From the early stages of the pandemic, the Lottery has been committed to operating within the guidelines recommended by state and federal officials, taking significant measures to create a safe environment for Lottery team members and the public,” said Michael Sweeney, the Lottery’s Executive Director. “I commend our team members for their ability to quickly and responsibly implement and adapt to new and modified operating procedures during what has been a uniquely challenging time in all of our lives. The team’s performance under these conditions is the most impressive accomplishment in my time at the Lottery. More important than setting records across the board last year, we faced significant operational challenges and overcame them.”
Fiscal year 2020 revenues and net profit were greatly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall sales in the months of March, April and May decreased by a combined $244.6 million compared to the same period of fiscal year 2019.
As restaurants and bars remained closed for an extended period of time, fiscal year 2020 Keno sales were most affected by the pandemic. Keno sales totaled $979.0 million, a $76.2 million (7.2 percent) decrease from record sales of $1.055 billion in fiscal year 2019.
As a result of a strong performance prior to the onset of the pandemic and solid sales in the month of June, instant ticket sales for the 2020 fiscal year totaled $3.646 billion, a $27.2 million (0.74 percent) decrease from record sales of $3.673 billion in fiscal year 2019.
Due primarily to smaller jackpots over the course of fiscal year 2020, Mega Millions and Powerball sales decreased by a combined $141.0 million compared to fiscal year 2019. Mega Millions sales were down $78.6 million (50.9 percent), while Powerball sales were down $62.4 million (47.1 percent).
While the FY 2020 figures have not been formally audited, the Lottery does not expect them to change substantially once that annual review process is complete. Lottery officials anticipate completing the finalized financial statement of operations by the end of September.
The Lottery’s network of retailers earned an estimated $300.8 million in commissions and bonuses in FY 2020. With approximately 7,500 retailers, that amounts to an average of over $40,000 in income for each of the Lottery’s retail partners.
The Lottery paid out an estimated $3.866 billion in prizes in FY 2020, the third highest total in its history. An estimated 73.6 percent of all revenue was returned to players in FY 2020. Prize payouts can fluctuate from year to year based on the schedule or rate at which players cash in their prizes. In FY 2020, Lottery players won 185 prizes valued at $1 million or more, including 23 prizes valued at $2 million or more.
The Lottery’s administrative costs remained at approximately 2.0 percent of overall revenues.
The Massachusetts State Lottery was created in 1972 to generate local aid revenues for the Commonwealth’s cities and towns. Since its inception, the Lottery has returned more than $28 billion in net profit to the Commonwealth.