The Iowa Lottery has reported record-setting sales of scratch tickets, which has been instrumental in leading them to finish fiscal year 2017 well ahead of budget projections. However, sales of Powerball tickets were down from the previous year, which saw a world-record jackpot of nearly $1.6 billion. This had them ending the year with sales four percent lower than the previous year and prizes paid to players down about eight percent. “The ‘chance factor’ was highlighted this year in terms of jackpots in our lotto games,” says Terry Rich, Iowa Lottery CEO. “There simply won’t be a world-record jackpot every year. But the lottery is in a healthy position overall and we continue to deliver more than we had forecast for state causes,” he adds. The preliminary results show that the Iowa Lottery has generated $81 million in proceeds in fiscal year 2017, which ended June 30. This marks the fourth time proceeds topped the $80-million mark in the lottery’s 32-year history. Annual lottery sales were $352.2 million and prizes to players totaled $215.6 million, while lottery sales commissions to retailers totaled nearly $23 million.
