Record Sales Boost Returns to the State of Illinois
CHICAGO, February 21, 2023 – The Illinois Lottery today announced record results, including sales of $1.8 billion and estimated returns to the State of Illinois of $468 million, for the first six months of the 2023 fiscal year.
“I’m proud to announce another record sales period, leading to increased returns to public education in Illinois,” said Lottery Director Harold Mays. “The Illinois Lottery is a valuable state asset with the core purpose of generating essential funding to the State of Illinois to support K-12 education and good causes across Illinois.”
The first six months of the year have been notable for the Lottery, with two jackpots over $1 billion – with the Mega Millions jackpot rolling to $1.34 billion in July 2022 and the Powerball jackpot rolling to $2.02 billion in November 2022.
The $1.34 billion Mega Millions jackpot was won by an Illinois resident on a single ticket bought in Des Plaines, Illinois. The winning ticket ended up being shared by two players, who split the largest prize ever won in Illinois.
In total, Illinois Lottery players collected almost $1.2 billion in prizes (excluding the Mega Millions jackpot) during the first six months of the year. This includes 32 Illinois players who won prizes of $1 million or more.
During the half-year, the Illinois Lottery’s responsible gaming program was recognized for demonstrating industry best practice. The Lottery’s program received the highest level of certification from both the World Lottery Association Responsible Gaming Framework and the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries.
“Ensuring we offer our players a responsible playing environment is at the foundation of everything we do at the Illinois Lottery,” said Mays. “We are proud to see our efforts validated as best practice by industry bodies. But our work doesn’t stop here. We believe in continuous improvement and will continue to build our approach to responsible gaming to support our players and retailers.”
Camelot Illinois has been the private manager of the Illinois Lottery since 2018. Working together, the Department of Lottery and Camelot have laid the foundations for continued lottery growth over recent years.
“Camelot’s goal is to build long-term recurring value for the Lottery by further expanding the player base, offering great games and convenient ways to play, and growing returns to the State of Illinois,” said Keith Horton, General Manager and General Counsel of Camelot Illinois.
“A successful lottery attracts more people to play a little. With a retail network of over 7,000 stores and a world-class website and app, the Illinois Lottery continues to deliver fun, innovative games, engaging content, and a convenient play experience,” said Horton.
About two-thirds of the adult population of Illinois report they now play the lottery – this has increased from around half of the adult population since Camelot started as the private manager.
The first half-year of FY23 builds on the Lottery’s recent track record of solid performance. The Lottery reported record sales in FY19 and FY21, and record annual proceeds to the State of Illinois of $834 million in FY22. The Lottery has delivered three of its five highest annual proceeds to the state in the past five years.
The 2023 Financial Year runs from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023 and full-year returns to the state will be published later in the year.
