Lottery sales fall, payouts rise

Massachusetts Lottery sales fell 6% in the first quarter of fiscal year 2025, and the agency’s payout rate is hovering at a five-year high.

Since the start of the fiscal year on July 1, the lottery has sold approximately $1.441 billion worth of scratch tickets, game numbers and Keno combinations, down $89.8 million from the same period in 2023.

Chief Executive Mark William Bracken told the Lottery Commission on Tuesday that estimated fiscal 2025 year-to-date earnings of $245.6 million lag behind the $315.9 million profit reported in the first quarter of fiscal 2024. Adjusted for the calendar shift, Bracken said the lottery’s fiscal year 2025 revenue is about $64.8 million less than last year.

Given the decline in sales, the lottery is also paying out a higher percentage of its sales revenue as prizes. Year-to-date prize payout for the first three months of FY2025 is 75.31%, compared to 72.62% for the first three months of FY2024. However, the lottery said it paid out $31 million less overall during the period. year compared to the same period a year ago.

The year-to-date prize payout percentage was higher than at any time through the start of FY 2021, as FY 2025 began with a 76.8% prize payout for July. It has since dropped to 75.8% as of August and 75.3% as of September. The next highest figure was 74.1% recorded in November and December last year.

Looking only at September, Bracken told the commission that sales of $451.5 million were below last year’s mark by $2 million, or 0.4%. But players also claimed $25.7 million more in prizes last month than in September 2023, contributing to a roughly $29.7 million drop in net earnings this September compared to last year.