Big jackpots fuel another Hoosier Lottery sales record

The Hoosier Lottery racked up record revenue and record profit during Fiscal Year 2019, propelled by an extraordinarily long Hoosier Lotto jackpot run that yielded the highest sales for the in-state game in 11 years.

Sales topped $1.3 billion for the first time in the Lottery’s 29-year history, while reaching a new record high for an incredible eighth year in a row.

The strong results produced a record $312.22 million in proceeds for state coffers, a two percent increase from last year.

For the record-breaking achievements, IGT Indiana will receive an incentive payment of $11.24 million, the most lucrative performance bonus the Lottery has paid out to its private operator since the integrated services agreement took effect in FY 2014.

“It’s nice to see one record after another,” observed State Lottery Commission Chair William Ziekle, now in his tenth year.  “This comes about not accidentally. Really great year.”

FY 19 results also received a significant boost from the run-up to the $1.537 billion Mega Millions jackpot that was hit in October 2018, the second-highest domestic jackpot in U.S. history. Players spent a record $77 million on Mega Millions tickets in FY 19, shattering the previous record of $46 million set in FY 14, but you shouldn’t expect revenues to continue rolling in at the same clip. Lottery officials are projecting Mega Millions sales during FY 2020 to diminish by 32% (- $25 million).

Jackpot fatigue caused by the huge Mega Millions payout likely contributed to a down year for Powerball. Despite the $768 million jackpot hit in March 2019 that ranked as the second-highest Powerball jackpot in history and the third-largest multi-state jackpot ever, Powerball sales sank to a four-year low of $96 million. Lottery officials have budgeted for another decline in FY 20.

Players spent $61.5 million on the Hoosier Lotto game in FY 19, the most in any fiscal year since the $91 million in sales the game generated in 2008 when the game’s jackpot peaked at an all-time record of $54.5 million.

After going the entire 2019 fiscal year without being hit, the Hoosier Lotto jackpot was finally won on August 10, 2019, when a $43.8 million winning ticket — the second-largest jackpot in Hoosier Lotto history — was sold at a supermarket in Corydon. Like the other big jackpot draw games, the Hoosier Lottery forecasts a decline in Hoosier Lotto sales in FY 20.