Record lottery sales this year

With innovative new games, record-setting prize payouts, and historic Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots, the Virginia Lottery has just completed the best year in its 35-year history. The Lottery announced today that profits for Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23) came to more than $867 million.

That means the biggest Virginia Lottery winner of FY23 is Virginia’s K-12 public schools.

“The Lottery’s business is all about games and excitement, but we also support an important mission: generating funds for our K-12 public education,” said Lottery Executive Director Kelly T. Gee. “The unprecedented success we saw in Fiscal Year 2023 is positive news for all Virginians, regardless of whether they choose to play Lottery games.”

Several records were shattered in FY23. The $867 million in profits represents a nearly ten-percent growth over the previous record of $779.6 million set in Fiscal Year 2022. For the first time, sales for all Virginia Lottery games exceeded the $4 billion mark, totaling a record-breaking $4.6 billion.

Significantly contributing to this marquee year was the popularity of playing Lottery games online, including many instant-win games that are available only through the Lottery’s mobile app or at valottery.com. Sales from instant games alone topped $2 billion. Registered adult players in Virginia also can play most draw games online.

Another unique highlight of the year – or should we say three? – was the luck of not one, not two, but three multi-state Mega Millions and Powerball jackpot runs each topping $1 billion.

Additionally, there were several player-focused innovations this year that helped drive business success. The Lottery introduced a new feature to make it even easier for players to cash winning tickets, whether bought online or at retail. Mobile ticket cashing, which gives players the ability to scan and redeem winning tickets worth up to $5,000 directly into their online Lottery account using their mobile device, a first in the U. S. Lottery industry, was introduced. Players now can also choose to withdraw winnings from their account using a voucher that can be redeemed at Lottery retailers.