Lottery Debuts 12 Fun Facts of FY21 to Celebrate The Minnesota State Fair

The Minnesota Lottery is excited to debut 12 fun facts from fiscal year 21 which began July 1, 2020 and ended June 30, 2021 to help celebrate the 12 days of fun during The Great Minnesota Get-Together:

1. Minnesota Lottery sales set a record of $803.6 million in fiscal year 21, surpassing the previous fiscal year’s record by $135.1 million. This is the fourth year in a row of record sales.
2. Minnesotans won a record $518.9 million in prizes.
3. Our retail partners paid, on average, more than 104,000 winning tickets every day.
4. Minnesota Lottery delivered a big win for Minnesotans with a record return of $188.8 million to the State. Lottery dollars support Minnesota’s General Fund, protect and preserve Minnesota’s environment, and fund important work to help prevent and treat problem gambling. Some lottery beneficiaries at the Fair, including the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR), where lottery dollars help fund efforts to maintain and improve parks and trails across the state.
5. Since 1990, the Minnesota Lottery has generated more than $3.4 billion for Minnesota, improving the lives of Minnesotans throughout all 87 counties.
6. The approximately 3,000 lottery retail partners from Aitkin to Zumbrota earned a record $53.7 million in commissions and incentives.
7. With more than 4.5 million tickets sold, Ju$t A Buck was the most popular scratch game of fiscal year 21 among Minnesota players.
8. The most popular lotto game of fiscal year 21? Powerball. More Minnesotans said I’MN to Powerball than any other game. Now with three Powerball drawings per week (hello, Monday drawings!) Minnesota players have another chance to get in on the fun.
9. Easiest jackpot game to win? Minnesota’s own Northstar Cash, which produced 51 jackpot winners—almost 1 every week.
10. Minnesota Millionaire Raffle continued to offer the lottery’s best odds to win $1 million and produced two $1 million winners. Spoiler alert: Sales for this year’s Raffle begin Oct. 26.
11. Luckiest retailers by region in (biggest prize sold in each region):
    1. Northwest: Coborn’s #2030 in Park Rapids sold a $500,000 winning Payday scratch ticket
    2. Northeast: Lucky Seven 1 Stop in Swan River sold a $630,373 winning Gopher 5 ticket
    3. Southwest: Fraternal Order of Eagles #2334 in Willmar sold a $212,146 winning Print-N-Play ticket
    4. Southeast: Casey’s General Store #3832 in Janesville sold a $503,343 winning Gopher 5 ticket
    5. Twin Cities: Wash-N-Fill Express of New Brighton sold a $1.8 million winning Gopher 5 ticket
12. This is the Minnesota Lottery’s 13th year at the Minnesota State Fair. We chose a different offering at the Fair this year in order to comply with safety guidance surrounding COVID-19. The lottery is safely connecting with Minnesotans 18+ by handing out FREE entry slips for a drawing to win $300 plus the chance to win $1 million in the Powerball First Millionaire of the Year drawing.