Massachusetts Lottery sales were down in April compared with April 2021.
Unadjusted sales dropped $25.9 million year over year, according to a report released after the Massachusetts Lottery Commission’s monthly meeting May 31. When factoring in the drop in sales and a $9.8 million, multistate Mega Millions and Powerball settlement, there was an estimated $27.4 million decrease in net profit for April.
Efforts to bring online lottery play to the state have been unsuccessful. The Massachusetts Lottery app is mostly an informational tool. A continued loss in sales could inspire more action to widen the state’s offerings by adding online play.
Adjusting for calendar shifts
A seven-day average net profit figure of $21.5 million was added to the estimated net profit of $85.8 million in April because a calendar shift resulted in seven fewer days being included for April 2022’s profit. With the extra week added, the total estimated profit for April was $107.3 million. The net profit in April 2021 was $134.7 million. The result is an estimated loss of $27.4 million in net profits YOY.
The YOY estimated prize payout rose 3.06% to 74.29% in April 2022 from 71.23% in April 2021.
Breaking down April sales numbers
Sales for Powerball, Lucky for Life, Keno, Megabucks Doubler and All or Nothing tickets were up compared with April 2021 numbers:
- All or Nothing up by $11,421
- Keno up by $1.3 million
- Megabucks Doubler up by $720,605
- Lucky for Life up by $1.5 million
A high jackpot of $473.1 million compared with a $116.9 million jackpot in April 2021 resulted in a $7.2 million increase in Powerball sales.
On the flip side, sales on some games were down:
- Instant tickets down $29.2 million
- Mega Millions down $3.6 million
- Numbers Game down $2.9 million
- Mass Cash down $831,159
Sales have been down all year
Every month in 2022 has shown decreases in YOY net sales.
In January, the overall unadjusted sales total dropped $84.3 million from the previous year. January’s prize payout rose 3.79% compared with 2021. February’s sales total dropped $3.6 million YOY. March sales were down $19.7 million YOY.
The most-recent increase in YOY sales happened in December, when unadjusted totals were up $50.7 million.
Instant tickets and Keno make up bulk of sales
Instant tickets made up 67.3% of the state’s lottery sales for a total of $313.3 million. Keno sales totaled $96.2 million and made up 20.7 % of total lottery sales in April. Instant ticket sales were $342.4 million in April 2021, accounting for 69.7 % of the total monthly lottery sales. April 2021 Keno sales were $94.9 million and 19.3%.
The Massachusetts Lottery celebrated its 50th anniversary April 6. More than $30 billion has gone to the state over those 50 years, and $96 billion in prizes has been awarded.
