You typically don’t think of Virginia as a trendsetter in online gambling. However, recently, the Virginia Lottery accomplished something no other state has.
For the first time in history, online lottery ticket sales in Virginia outpaced retail sales.
The company reported a record $5.521 billion in ticket sales for fiscal year 2024, a 20% increase over last year. Over $3 billion of those sales came from online ticket sales, compared to $2.45 billion in retail sales.
This is an exciting record for the Old Dominion and will set high expectations for Massachusetts and Kansas, which will be launching their online lottery games over the next year.
Key Highlights
- The Virginia Lottery has become the first to sell more tickets online than in retail stores.
- The VA Lottery set a record for ticket sales at $5.521 billion in FY 2024.
- Online ticket sales brought in $3.07 billion, compared to $2.45 billion for retail.
Virginia Sets Record as Online Sales Outpace Retail Sales
We started selling online on July 1, 2020, and it was an immediate hit with players.”
– John Hagerty, Virginia Lottery spokesperson
Last week, the Virginia Lottery reported its results for Fiscal Year 2024, which ended on June 30. It revealed ticket sales of $5.521 billion, a 20% increase from 2024’s record of $4.612 billion.
Virginia Lottery spokesperson John Hagerty spoke with the Lottery Post and revealed that Virginia became the first U.S. state in history to sell more lottery tickets online than at retail stores.
Online ticket sales accounted for $3.07 billion, while retail sales earned $2.45 billion. While this may seem a bit alarming for lottery retailers, retail sales are growing.
Hagerty said, “We started selling online on July 1, 2020, and it was an immediate hit with players. In the fiscal year immediately before that, FY20, our retail sales were $2.15 billion. So, sales at retail have grown since we began selling online.”
Lottery players also saw a substantial increase in total prizes paid out. Total payouts were $4.246 billion, as opposed to $3.416 billion in the previous fiscal year.
Overall, the Virginia Lottery saw profits of $934.1 million, up 8% from the record $867.4 million last fiscal year.
In Virginia, lottery proceeds fund K-12 public education. According to Haggerty, the Lottery contributed “more than $934 million to Virginia’s public schools, more than $2.5 million per day.”
Virginia Governor Glenn Younkin spoke in a press release about the record profits, stating, “Over the course of my administration, we have been able to achieve record funding for K-12 education, allowing for increased opportunities in the classroom.
I am so thrilled these record profits will help provide the necessary support and resources for Virginia’s students.
Approximately 10 percent of Virginia’s K-12 education budget comes from Virginia Lottery profits that assist in funding public schools.”
Virginia Online Sales Record Bodes Well for New Online Lottery Launches
Massachusetts is expected to pull in around $100 million per year in online lottery sales.”
Only nine states and Washington D.C. offer online lottery sales in the U.S. However, this is going to change in the next few months.
The Kansas Lottery is getting ready to launch its online lottery solutions, scheduled for early 2025. Massachusetts legalized online lottery sales in June and is looking to secure a service provider. It is expected to launch in late 2025.
Massachusetts is expected to pull in around $100 million per year in online lottery sales, and the Kansas Lottery will likely help the state set new records for lottery revenue.
Kansas just fell shy of a new record this past year due to a drop in scratch ticket sales, something that online lottery sales should help offset.
It took Virginia four years to start selling more tickets online than retail.
With so many different gaming options now available online, it would not be surprising to see other states start selling more online lottery tickets than retail tickets.
Personally, I only play the lottery when the jackpots for Mega Millions or Powerball start getting really big. When that happens, I log into my Virginia Lottery account.
They accept PayPal, making it fast and convenient to add funds.
There are also many more gaming options online than you find in retail stores, and you don’t have to potentially stand in lines, fill out paper forms, or deal with the other hassles of buying retail tickets.
With online gaming becoming the norm, we can expect online lottery ticket sales to increase. We can also expect other states to finally move to an online platform to help increase lottery sales.
Sources
https://www.casino.org/news/virginia-lottery-online-sales-outpaced-retail-2024-fiscal-year/
https://www.casino.org/news/massachusetts-online-lottery-legalized-for-late-2025-launch/
https://www.lotterypost.com/news/351820
https://www.playusa.com/kansas-lottery-targets-2025-ilottery-launch/
