Massachusetts Lottery posts $1b profit, targets discount schemers

The Massachusetts state lottery plans to keep a tighter eye on frequent winners despite posting record profits in its most recent fiscal year.

The Massachusetts Lottery reported a profit of $1.035b in the 12 months ending June 30, 4.6% higher than the previous fiscal year. The sum marks the third straight year of record returns and the first time in the Lottery’s 45-year history that net income has topped the $1b threshold.

State Treasurer Deborah Goldberg credited tighter cost controls for boosting the annual profit, as lottery sales actually dipped by $140m to $5.09b last year, the first year-on-year sales decline since 2010. The pain was primarily felt in the instant ticket category, which saw sales slide 2.7% year-on-year. Powerball sales also suffered a year-on-year decline.

Instant tickets account for 70% of all Lottery revenue, and Lottery Commission executive director Michael Sweeney warned that it was dangerous for the lottery to have the bulk of its revenue “in the hands of one product.” Sweeney claimed the Lottery was “looking for appropriate places to expand where we can,” and while online sales would seem an obvious expansion channel, both legislators and state residents have been cool to the concept.