The Illinois Lottery in fiscal year 2023 recorded the highest net income since its inception, making its forthcoming 50th anniversary a worthy celebration. The lottery posted more than $880 million in net income for FY2023, which ended June 30.
Illinois Lottery revenue results show the increase resulted from the number of large jackpots, including more than $1 billion in Powerball and Mega Millions.
Mega Millions and Powerball revenue increased over the last year by about 53%, or $70 million, and in total net income, the year’s fiscal year showed a 5.7% increase over the fiscal year 2022.
Easy access to lottery sales outlets contributes to state lottery’s success
What is a lottery success story without its retailers, who are at the forefront of ensuring sales are convenient? The lottery retailers won $174 million in bonuses and commissions, which they paid in the 2023 fiscal year.
According to a recent news release by the Illinois Lottery, Director Harold Mays said:
“Our 7,000 committed retailer partners across the state do an incredible job servicing our players and selling tickets throughout the year,” said Director Mays. “Convenient, local, accessible lottery sales outlets are crucial to our ongoing success.”
The lottery’s success was a win-win situation for everyone, as it had a fleet of winners. The lottery crowned 61 new millionaires.
That included the $1.34 billion Mega Millions jackpot, split between two players in Des Plaines, Illinois. It was the largest prize since the inception of the Illinois Lottery.
Summing all prizes won in the fiscal year, from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023, the lottery reached more than $2.36 billion in prizes.
Illinois Lottery contributes revenue to state’s educational system
The Illinois Lottery contributed about 99% of the proceeds to the state’s educational sector and supporting communities in different capacities.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, said:
“When Illinoisans buy a lottery ticket, they aren’t just taking a chance at winning millions — they are directly contributing to our state’s education system. I couldn’t be happier to join the Illinois Lottery team in celebrating a record-breaking year with $882 million in net income.
From supporting our K-12 students to providing funding for the Special Olympics and more, the Illinois Lottery continues to support our communities.”
“A record year like this allows us to meet our mission to responsibly deliver revenue to the Common School Fund, which is the primary source for state funding of K-12 education in Illinois, in grand fashion.
We are proud to be able to continue doing our part to support education, knowing that almost 99% of lottery proceeds go directly to supplement education funding, and the remainder goes to other good causes,” Mays added.
Illinois Lottery partners with Allwyn North America for improved revenue
The state’s profitable revenue for the 2023 fiscal year can also be attributed to its private manager, Allwyn North America, which was formerly known as Camelot Illinois.
Allwyn is a lottery operator that offers modern technology, games, customer relations management, and other lottery-related services. It is also responsible for helping lotteries raise funding for community development, players’ safety, and other essential areas.
The Illinois online lottery website and app have experienced substantial growth year after year. In fiscal year 2023, it culminated in $518 million in sales.
Keith Horton, general manager of Allwyn North America, said:
“A modern lottery offers its players both convenience and choice, with a variety of games on offer and multiple options for purchasing tickets. We continue to grow the Lottery’s digital presence with engaging game content, a data-driven and machine-learning-based approach to Customer Relations Management, and the recent ‘Get It!’ marketing campaign to encourage app downloads.”
The Illinois Lottery disclosed that net revenue of over $880 million is still being audited. It will release information on the entire lottery’s revenue to the state before the year runs out.