GBGC: strong pandemic U.S. lottery performance

Many state lotteries have seen a boost in their preliminary results for the fiscal year 2021.

Press Release.- Several US state lotteries have reported their preliminary (unaudited) results for the fiscal year 2021 (ending June) and, in many cases, they have seen a boost during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Florida posted a new record sales figure in 2021, surpassing US$ 9b. Strong instant win scratch-off sales accounted for most of the increase in sales.

According to the preliminary results, the lottery had weekly scratch-off sales of over US$ 100m for 52 consecutive weeks. In the week ending 17 January 2021, total ticket sales were almost US$ 240m, which was a new record for weekly lottery sales in the US.

A consequence of the strong performance was that the lottery’s contribution to education exceeded US$ 2b for the first time.

Instant win games in South Dakota also had a stellar year during the pandemic and the lottery’s total sales increased by 27%. There were 34 new instant win games launched during the year.

In 2021, Louisiana lottery sales hit a new peak, rising by 23%. Scratch-offs had a successful year, helped by the lottery adjusting the prize structures, increasing payouts, and adding more higher price-point games that are popular with lottery players.

The Tennessee lottery reported sales of more than US$ 2b for the first time in 2021, helped by large jackpots for multi-state games reached in January 2021. Tennessee’s instant games accounted for 85% of sales, which is the highest share it has recorded.

Instant win games are often a convenience purchase while buying petrol or groceries, both essential activities which continued during the pandemic and could partly explain the strong performance of instant win games in many states. Other sources of entertainment and gambling were often closed in 2020/2021, which was also to the advantage of the lotteries.

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