Fiscal Year 2020: Iowa Lottery Meets Budget Targets
Lottery Sales, Proceeds, Prizes To Players All Meet Projections
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CLIVE, Iowa - The Iowa Lottery released its annual results on Friday, with sales, proceeds to state causes, and prizes to players all meeting budget targets in fiscal year 2020 even amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The Iowa Lottery continues to deliver on its promise of responsibly generating revenue for important Iowa causes," said Iowa Lottery CEO Matt Strawn. "This year, that responsibility extended to safely navigating a public health emergency while still serving Iowa retailers, lottery players and the public."
The preliminary figures released Friday show that the Iowa Lottery generated $81.5 million in proceeds to state causes for the year. Annual lottery sales in FY 2020 were $372 million, while prizes to players totaled $236.3 million. Lottery sales commissions to the retail locations that sell its tickets totaled $24.3 million.
Sherrae Hanson of Ankeny, chair of the Iowa Lottery Board, said she was pleased to see the lottery's financial results, and noted other positives for the lottery during the year. Those included statewide messages that the lottery provided encouraging participation in the U.S. Census, awareness of National Problem Gambling Awareness Month, and support for public health initiatives to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
Hanson, a certified public accountant, also noted that the lottery received a clean audit from the State Auditor's Office, and had annual operating expenses that were well below budget.
"This was a year of adaptation for the Iowa Lottery as it was for us all," Hanson said. "As a citizen Board member, it has been especially gratifying to see the meaningful difference that the lottery and its staff and retailers achieved for our state."
The unaudited results released Friday show that Iowa Lottery sales in FY 2020 decreased 4.8 percent from the previous year's total of $390.9 million.
Lottery proceeds to state causes in FY 2020 decreased 12.3 percent from the previous year, and prizes to players decreased 2.3 percent from the previous year's total.
The lottery's FY 2020 results were largely impacted by two main factors: the COVID-19 pandemic and a relative lack of big jackpots in national lotto games.
The jackpots in Mega Millions® and Powerball® both repeatedly climbed into the stratosphere in fiscal year 2019, with the Mega Millions grand prize in particular reaching more than $1.5 billion in October 2018, the largest jackpot in the history of that game. But in FY 2020, both games' jackpots were repeatedly won with increased frequency at comparatively lower levels ($40 million to $100 million). That in turn meant lower overall sales in both games and the COVID-19 emergency further impacted the lotto category, with lotto sales nationwide falling during the pandemic.
Conversely, scratch-game sales in Iowa had another strong year. Scratch-games sold well throughout FY 2020, including during the pandemic. Iowans who suddenly had large amounts of time at home made scratch tickets part of their hard-copy entertainment options along with the puzzles, board games and bicycles that have been selling at such high rates they're now in short supply in many places.
Scratch-ticket sales in Iowa, which have set annual records each year since FY 2015, did so again in FY 2020, totaling $262.4 million. That is an increase of $11.8 million from the previous year's total for that product.
Strawn noted that scratch games have long been the Iowa Lottery's leading product category, and complimented the lottery's team for its commitment to achieving results for Iowa, especially during the trying final months of the fiscal year.
In general, the type of lottery product that sells best in a given year has a big impact on overall lottery results. In a year like FY 2020 when scratch tickets sold particularly well, lottery profits overall will likely be a smaller percentage of total sales simply because scratch games have a smaller profit margin. Sales in lotto games are largely jackpot driven and therefore often fluctuate greatly from year to year, while sales of scratch games, pull-tab games and InstaPlay games are more consistent over time.
A highlight for FY 2020 was the $2.5 million the lottery raised for the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund to benefit our state's veterans and their families. The lottery now has raised nearly $30 million for the Veterans Trust Fund since it began providing proceeds to that cause in 2008. In FY 2020, the lottery also provided proceeds for the first time to the new Public Safety Survivor Benefits Fund, which helps with insurance costs for the families of Iowa peace officers and fire fighters who die in the line of duty.
Here is a year-to-year comparison of annual sales by lottery product:
| Product | FY 2020 Sales | FY 2019 Sales |
|---|
| Scratch games | $262.4 million | $250.6 million |
| InstaPlay games | $16.3 million | $11.9 million |
| Pick 3 | $8.5 million | $7.9 million |
| Powerball | $36.4 million | $54.8 million |
| Mega Millions | $20.4 million | $36.3 million |
| Pick 4 | $5 million | $4.3 million |
| Lucky for Life | $5.3 million | $5.4 million |
| Lotto America | $6.8 million | $8.8 million |
| Pull-tab games | $10.8 million | $10.9 million |
The Top 10 retailers in Iowa for lottery sales in FY 2020 were in seven different communities:
| Retailer | Address | City | FY 2020 Sales |
|---|
| Hy-Vee | 1843 Johnson Ave. NW | Cedar Rapids | $911,523 |
| Hy-Vee | 20 Wilson Ave. SW | Cedar Rapids | $897,610 |
| Jiffy | 3718 SW Ninth St. | Des Moines | $884,385 |
| Jiffy | 111 S. Third Ave. | Marshalltown | $838,393 |
| Hy-Vee Drugstore | 1520 Sixth St. SW | Cedar Rapids | $775,258 |
| Hy-Vee | 2540 E. Euclid Ave. | Des Moines | $760,238 |
| Hy-Vee | 2323 W. Broadway | Council Bluffs | $713,036 |
| Jiffy | 311 N. Jefferson Way | Indianola | $682,430 |
| Midtown | 1100 E. Fifth St. | Storm Lake | $636,630 |
| Richmond & Ferry BP | 720 Richmond Ave. | Ottumwa | $626,441 |
The largest lottery prize won during FY 2020 in Iowa was $1 million, and two players each claimed that amount:
| Winner | City | Game | Prize | Claim Date |
|---|
| Shane Saxen | Correctionville | Powerball | $1 million | March 2, 2020 |
| Timothy Harless | Eldora | Mega Millions | $1 million | Dec. 19, 2019 |
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