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(Des Moines, IA) -- The Iowa Lottery says sales in the the just-concluded fiscal year toped $400 million for the second year in a row. Spokesperson Mary Neubauer says the numbers were below last year's record, but still very strong.
This week, Iowa Lottery CEO Matt Strawn reported that year-over-year sales leveled out during the second half of the fiscal year. Strawn says scratch ticket sales are lower than last year, due to higher gas prices and inflation. Strawn says customers have less discretionary income for entertainment products like lottery tickets. He says inflationary pressures are also affecting the Lottery's operating expenses. He says for example the monthly operating budget shows an 82% increase in fuel expenses in February of 2022 compared to February of 2020.
The Lottery's reporting that so far in FY22, sales total $291,409,434 and trail last year’s record sales by 0.5 percent. FY22 sales continue to outpace budget projections by 21.29 percent and the actual five-year sales average by 15.9 percent.
However, FY22 proceeds lag the record setting pace of FY21 by 4.7 percent.