Kentucky Lottery breaks sales records
with $823.5 million in fiscal year 2012

The Kentucky Lottery announced sales of $823.5 million for fiscal year 2012, breaking the old sales record established in 2009 of $810.5 million and shattering last year’s results by $51.2 million.
 

These sales also led to record-breaking proceeds returned to the state. A total of $216.4 million was earned for scholarship and grants programs funded by the Kentucky Lottery, breaking the old record set in FY10 of $214.3 million and besting last year’s mark by $4.2 million. Unclaimed prizes, which are directed by law to the KEES scholarship reserve fund, were $8.3 million versus $7.5 million in FY11.
 

Cash prizes paid to players were $459.1 million, up 8.7 percent from the $422.4 mark in FY11.
 

Other highlights of FY12 include:
 

• Record scratch-off ticket sales of $505.9 million (5.5 percent increase from last year).
 

• Record Mega Millions sales of $40.1 million (19.7 percent increase from last year).
 

• Record retailer commissions of $50.9 million (7.6 percent increase from last year).
 

• At a meeting of the Kentucky Lottery Corp.’s board of directors, Howard Kline, senior vice president of finance and administration and CFO, said improving economic conditions and changes to the lottery’s scratch-off ticket program helped generate a large part of the sales increase. “After a relatively slow start in the first half of the fiscal year, the transition of Powerball to a $2 game and the successful launch of the innovative 5 Card Cash game helped boost draw game sales to $317.6 million or 8.4 percent,” he said.  
 

• Powerball sales increased $11.1 million (15.4 percent) over the previous year, and 5 Card Cash contributed $10.8 million in new sales.
 

• Operating expenses for the year were $27.2 million, up $1.8 million from FY11. Kline attributed this to one-time savings realized in FY11 through a new online gaming contract, along with capitalized expenses related to software development.
 

“It took a tremendous effort by our retail partners, our sales and marketing staff, and staff to break these records last year’” said KLC President and CEO Arch Gleason. “We do face a significant challenge this year as our sales goal is $853 million. Sales however look promising in the first few weeks of FY13, and I believe a variety of new initiatives and game enhancements will help us work to achieve our goal.”
 

From KLC