Are Lottery Players Smart?

Is there a preference for lotteries with higher returns? (In-depth analysis)

The idea of a 'Smart' lottery participant may seem contradictory at first, yet I propose that states providing superior lottery returns may actually experience higher per capita losses compared to those with poorer returns.

In my other recent WoO Article I examined the average gambling losses per person across all fifty states that operate lotteries, tribal casinos, commercial casinos, or a combination thereof. During this analysis, I considered the possibility that lotteries could yield greater losses per resident in states with more favorable RTPs (Returns-to-Player), which correlate to a lower House Edge.

To arrive at a conclusive finding, it is essential to distinguish ticket sales from other lottery-related revenue. There are instances, such as in West Virginia, where casino revenue was classified as lottery revenue because of the state's all-encompassing lottery regulations. Additionally, West Virginia operates licensed and regulated 'Slot Parlors' that also contribute to lottery revenues.

Therefore, to conduct a fair comparison, we must isolate the losses from ticket sales from other lottery categories to accurately assess the average losses per resident related solely to lottery ticket sales. While it may seem straightforward to subtract the prizes from total ticket sales, I suspect that several states may lack detailed win/loss records in their Annual Lottery Reports. I will make every effort to obtain this information, but it may not always be readily accessible.

Wyoming is another state that will be excluded from consideration since the Annual Report must be requested in person, which is unfortunate given that some information is available for other states.

***To clarify, I want to emphasize that any discrepancies between the figures presented here and those in my previous analysis occur because we are focusing solely on lottery TICKET sales, excluding pull-tabs or other lottery-generated revenues.

Arizona:

For Arizona, we will analyze their Lottery Report that details the 2014 statistics (the latest accessible data). Page 5 We will refer to Page 245 of the State's Appropriations Report, as found in the PDF.

In Arizona, total lottery sales amounted to $723.9 million, with $488.3 million coming from Instant Sales. This information is significant because I believe that Instant Sales Tickets (like Scratch-Offs) generally provide a better Return-to-Player compared to Online (Drawing) games, suggesting that states with a higher proportion of Instant Ticket sales could experience superior lottery revenues compared to those with fewer Instant Ticket sales.

Moving forward, we will investigate the share of Instant Ticket Sales in each state, as applicable, to evaluate whether states with a larger percentage of sales from Instant Tickets also tend to achieve higher Lottery Revenues. It's conceivable that the popularity of Instant Tickets plays a crucial role in how effectively a State Lottery pays out, indicating that states with a greater proportion of instant ticket sales may enjoy better overall returns, but we will find out soon enough.

In Arizona, total prizes amounted to $458.1 million, resulting in a total loss of $265.8 million from lottery purchases. Based on the population data from the WoO Page, we estimate the loss per resident from Lottery Tickets (overall) to be $41.58, given a population of 6,392,017.

For Arizona, the loss per resident stands at $41.58, reflecting a return to player rate of 63.282% on all ticket sales. To illustrate, this implies that a player purchasing $100 in lottery tickets over the year would, on average, lose about $37.

Arkansas:

Next, we'll examine Arkansas, a state that exhibits... fairly detailed Lottery Report when it comes to their revenue sources:

Arkansas reported total Lottery Revenues of $409,159,192, with $334,395,046 derived from Instant Games. Regrettably, this section of the report does not specify the amounts actually paid out over that period but only states the total lottery revenues. While we made estimates based on a 60% Return-to-Player for the previous analysis, this page requires more precise data focusing on State Lotteries.

To gather accurate information, we will consult the 2014 Lottery Sales figures from the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery PDF:

From Page 35 of the document, we observe that total Lottery Revenues (both the State and the Lottery Commission report this before payouts, unlike most tax departments that include contributions to education or general funds after payouts) amount to $410,637,968 (very close to the 2015 figures), with $322,415,276 generated from Instant Sales and $87,657,850 from Online sales, culminating in $410,073,126 in total ticket sales.

One favorable aspect of Arkansas's approach, which I wish all states would adopt, is the separation of payouts from Instant Games and Drawing games. The payouts for Instant Games totaled $229,462,196 (71.17% RTP), while those from Drawing games were $45,487,903 (51.89% RTP), resulting in an overall RTP of 67.05% and a total loss of $135,123,027, equating to a loss of $46.33 per resident based on a population of 2,915,918.

California:

Arkansas could potentially exemplify what it means to be a 'Smart' Lottery State. The most prudent choice for players, naturally, would be to avoid participating in the lottery altogether. However, if one does choose to play, focusing on Instant Games may be advantageous, as they seem to offer a generally better return to players. This makes sense considering that Instant Lottery Tickets often feature lower top prizes, and most I’ve seen suggest a 1 in 4 chance of winning, taking into account break-even prizes and free tickets.

Turning to the State of California, we find that ticket sales per resident may be lower due to the availability of various other legal gambling options in the state. Previously, we estimated Lottery Loss per Resident based on Annual Ticket Sales, but since this analysis focuses solely on the Lottery, estimates won't suffice; we need concrete numbers.

This leads us to the California Lottery Report for the fiscal year ending in 2015. Unfortunately, while this report effectively categorizes revenue sources (indicating ticket types sold), it only provides generic information about prizes, making it challenging to assess the distribution of those prizes. Notably, the sales for 'Lotto Game' (i.e., drawings) fell by 13.5%, which is significant, especially since all other lottery categories saw increases compared to the previous year. I discovered a detailed breakdown of prizes a couple of pages further into the report, allowing us to review that information.

The first observation is that the Lottery reported total sales of $5,524,850,593, with Instant Games accounting for $3,915,381,412, representing 70.87% of total sales. For the purposes of this analysis, all other lottery sales involve drawing games. The Lottery distributed $3,501,745,873 in total prizes, which means a Return to Player rate of 63.38% and a total loss to players of $2,023,104,720, resulting in a loss per resident of $54.31, based on a population of 37,253,956.

California's Instant Tickets yielded a Return to Player of 67.93%, thanks to total prizes paid from Instant Games amounting to $2,659,817,449. This RTP is actually 4% below that of Arkansas, which might explain why Arkansas enjoys a higher percentage of its revenues coming from Instant Tickets.

Colorado:

From an economic perspective, the higher disposable income in California may lead the average resident to lose more on the lottery compared to states like Arkansas. However, we note that the Return-to-Player percentage aligns closely with that of Arizona, showing only a slight difference despite the better proportion of Instant Sales in California, while Instant Ticket returns are poorer than those in Arkansas.

The analysis of the Colorado Lottery is straightforward, as we can simply refer to the Colorado Lottery 's Annual Report. For the previous page, we relied on estimates using the State's General Revenue figures and a 60% return, which inadvertently inflated the losses reported, especially for states where we lacked specific data. Annual Report The unfortunate news regarding the Colorado Lottery is that an examination of this...

Similar to a few other states, Colorado merely provides the total figures for ticket sales and the corresponding prizes, which limits its usefulness for this analysis. Nevertheless, we will still include the data, reporting gross ticket sales of $545,030,260 and prizes amounting to $336,511,493. This results in a Return to Player rate of 61.74%. Consequently, the average loss per resident due to lottery participation is calculated to be $41.46, given the state's population of 5,029,196.

Connecticut:

Among the states we've examined so far, it's noteworthy that Colorado's lottery loss per resident is marginally lower than that of neighboring Arizona, which stands at $0.12 per resident. Additionally, the return percentage for players in Colorado is 1.5% less. This observation seems to support the hypothesis that states offering a higher return to players tend to see larger losses on a per-resident basis.

Next, we turn our attention to Connecticut, which was previously estimated on the earlier page I created. However, we understand that an estimate doesn't suffice in this situation, necessitating a search for the specific Lottery Revenue Reports from the most recent fiscal year available. 2014 Annual Report for the Connecticut Lottery.

The catchphrase for the Connecticut Lottery is 'Our Games Benefit Everyone,' which likely doesn’t extend its blessings to the players themselves. Regardless, here is the pertinent information from the report.

The silver lining is that the PDF details the sources of lottery ticket sales for the most recent year, yet it fails to delineate how prizes were distributed beyond stating the total amount awarded. Nevertheless, they recorded some impressive figures: $660,230,730 in sales from Instant Games, along with $455,315,831 from all Drawing games, which includes both in-state and multi-state games. It's worth noting that only 59.18% of Connecticut's sales came from Instant Games.

During that year, the lottery disbursed $668,791,859 in prizes, averaging a return to player of 59.95%. This number represents the lowest return rate among the states we've analyzed so far. The total loss incurred by players was $46,754,702, which when divided by the state's population of 3,574,097, translates to a loss of $125.00 per resident.

Delaware:

This situation is particularly intriguing because it contradicts various hypotheses I've formed regarding lotteries, with the exception of one: my assertion that states with a smaller proportion of Instant Ticket sales tend to have a lower overall return. This holds true, as Connecticut has recorded the lowest percentages in both categories. However, it leaves me puzzled as to how the lottery in Connecticut, despite having the highest retention rate, significantly surpasses other states regarding losses per resident. A plausible explanation might be that Connecticut's affluence allows for greater discretionary spending.

Delaware offers another perspective on how a prosperous state might fare in terms of overall lottery sales, particularly when residents have a considerable disposable income. Previously, Delaware was also noted for its high ranking in gambling loss per resident; however, I suspect some of that lottery revenue might stem from limited license operations. Annual Report is from 2013 , so we will take a look at that.

Once more, an estimation was provided for the aforementioned page, yet we need to retrieve the latest data.

From Page 5, we can immediately observe that 71.74% of the contributions to the General Fund originated from Video Lottery. This undoubtedly indicates that Video Lottery has a better return compared to ticket games and has generated notably more revenue. In our earlier analysis, this revenue was included as Lottery Income (similar to West Virginia), so we need to differentiate it from ticket sales.

Fortunately, Page 9 of the Annual Report provides a detailed breakdown of sales by type of game, revealing total Instant Game sales amounting to $47,451,154 and Online Sales worth $96,657,250. This is noteworthy because Delaware is the only state so far that offers both types of games yet experiences lower Instant Ticket sales. The likelihood is that the Video Lottery, which offers a higher return-to-player rate, is responsible, although it lacks the jackpot potential seen in Drawing-type games. However, it seems that this hasn't negatively impacted the lottery, as revenue from the Video Lottery exceeds that of other lottery forms combined.

The total prize amount awarded was $99,264,072 against sales of $144,108,404, resulting in a Return to Player rate of 68.89%. Regrettably, there is no specific accounting for the return from Instant Games. Nevertheless, Delaware boasts the best overall Return to Player ratio of any state analyzed to date. Ultimately, players incurred a total loss of $44,844,332 from lottery tickets, which, with a population of 897,934, results in a loss of $49.94 per resident.

Florida:

It's interesting to note that both California and Connecticut are exceptions, as, despite featuring Video Lottery avenues, Delaware reports a higher per-resident ticket loss than many states with lower lottery returns. We might suspect that either Instant Games offer incredibly favorable payouts, or that the Drawing games exclusive to Delaware provide above-average returns – potentially both, as Instant Games constitute just a minor segment of total sales; nonetheless, Delaware maintains a superior overall return to player relative to most other states. State Lottery Annual Report .

Now, we come to the State of Florida, where, like before, we've estimated the lottery loss per resident in a previous article, necessitating a more in-depth examination of the available data. Unfortunately, the current report only reveals a gross total of sales at $5.58 billion and prizes of $3.64 billion, leading to an overall Return to Player of 65.23%. The document does state that Instant Games returned $2.68 billion in prizes. However, when we analyze the detailed list of Instant Games ( the report resembles more of an advertisement! ), we find that the actual prize payout appears less than what is indicated because it seems the report doesn’t account for all available scratch-off options.

Interestingly, Instant Games accounted for 73.63% of the total returns to players within the Florida Lottery, though this does not provide explicit details on sales breakdown. If everything were equal, based on total sales of $5.58 billion, approximately $410.9 million of that would likely derive from screw-off tickets. However, given that, in general, Draw games yield a lower return-to-player ratio compared to scratch-off games, we can't use this percentage of overall returns from scratched tickets to deduce what share of total sales they actually comprised.

What we can conclude is that there was a total loss of $1.94 billion to the Florida Lottery for the specified year. With a population of 18,801,310, this reflects a loss of $103.10 per resident.

It’s worth mentioning that Florida may emerge as an outlier due to various demographic factors; nonetheless, lottery losses per resident may not correlate directly with the returns generated. So far, Florida appears to have a middling return to players but incurs considerable losses per resident.

Georgia:

As a final note, we previously utilized estimates for the State of Georgia in the prior article, so we will take a more thorough look at the State Lottery data now. For this, we will consult the Georgia Lottery Annual Report.

Interestingly, Georgia distinctly lists 'Tickets Provided as Prizes' separately, while many other lotteries likely lump these into standard prize calculations. However, cash prizes are also categorized separately, allowing us to analyze figures after excluding tickets awarded as prizes. This results in $3,739,922,000 in total ticket sales and $2,413,844,000 designated for prizes, yielding an overall return to player of 64.54%. Consequently, the lottery losses totaled $1,326,078,000, corresponding to a population of 9,687,653, which translates to a loss per resident of $136.88.

A key takeaway from these figures is that the losses incurred by Georgia's lottery players may largely stem from the fact that the Lottery and Charitable Gambling are the only two legal gambling avenues available in the state. The returns for the Georgia Lottery fall within a middle range, indicating no particular elements likely enhance the per-resident loss figures.

The report states that gross sales from Instant Tickets were $2.727 billion, compared with online sales clocking in at $1.295 billion. Again, this does not include the tickets awarded as prizes, which Georgia separately factors in; thus, the total ticket sales after accounting for these non-cash awards amount to $4.022 billion. The earlier figures already considered non-cash prizes. In this light, Instant Tickets represent 67.80% of total ticket sales, while Drawing tickets account for the remaining 32.2%.

Idaho:

Now, let’s explore the Lottery in the State of Idaho, for which the details were mentioned on the cited Wizard of Odds Page. The Annual Report reflects a decline in interest for Draw Games, with corresponding sales dipping compared to the previous year, while sales for other types of tickets increased. Thus far, Idaho is notable for offering the most comprehensive lottery report among the analyzed states, as it clearly delineates sales and prize distribution by ticket type. To maintain consistency, we will focus solely on sales from Instant Tickets and Online Tickets while excluding TouchTab ticket sales, which are not applicable to other states. Idaho Lottery's Annual Report .

Similar to several other states, Colorado only provides a summary of total ticket sales and the prizes won, which doesn't offer much insight for our analysis. Nevertheless, we will incorporate these figures into our chart, noting that the state generated $545,030,260 in Gross Ticket Sales and $336,511,493 in prizes, resulting in a Return to Player rate of 61.74%. This translates to a per-resident lottery loss of $41.46, given the state’s population of 5,029,196.

Among the four states we've examined, one observation stands out regarding Colorado: its Lottery Loss per Resident is marginally lower than that of its neighboring state, Arizona, which stands at a difference of just $0.12 per resident. Also noteworthy is that the return percentage for players in Colorado is 1.5% lower than Arizona's. This aligns with the hypothesis that states offering a higher return tend to experience greater losses on a per-resident basis.

Next, we turn our attention to Connecticut, which was estimated on a prior page, though mere estimates won't suffice here. We need to access the latest Lottery Revenue Reports to gain accurate insights.

Illinois:

The Connecticut Lottery's phrase, "Our Games Benefit Everyone,\" suggests that it might not include the participating players in this benefit. Regardless, here is the pertinent information. Annual Gambling Report .

The good aspect is that the PDF we accessed offers a detailed breakdown of the sources for the state lottery's ticket sales that year. Unfortunately, it fails to provide a detailed prize distribution, only disclosing a cumulative prize amount. Overall, the state recorded $660,230,730 in Instant Game Sales and $455,315,831 from all Drawing games, which encompassed both in-state and multi-state games. Interestingly, Instant Games only comprised 59.18% of Connecticut's total sales.

For that year, the lottery disbursed $668,791,859 in prizes, yielding an average return to players of 59.95%, the lowest among the states evaluated thus far. The total loss for players reached $46,754,702, leading to a per-resident loss of $125.00, calculated using Connecticut's population of 3,574,097.

This situation is particularly fascinating because it contradicts much of my previous understanding regarding lottery patterns—except for one point: My observation that states with a lower proportion of Instant Tickets tend to see a diminished overall return still holds true. Connecticut reflects the lowest percentages in both criteria so far. However, I am puzzled by how this state’s lottery, despite having the highest hold, also sees significant losses per resident compared to others. My best guess is that Connecticut's overall wealth allows residents to have more disposable income.

Indiana:

Delaware presents another opportunity to analyze how a prosperous state might influence lottery sales and whether its residents possess ample disposable income. On the previous page, Delaware was notably ranked high for gambling losses per resident, which suggests some of its lottery income might stem from limited license operations.

Similar to before, we have relied on estimates in prior assessments, but the most recent data brings more clarity.

From Page 5, we can discern that 71.74% of the contributions to the General Fund originated from Video Lottery sales, indicating that they likely offer a better return compared to traditional ticket games. This segment of revenue significantly eclipses that derived from ticket sales. On another page, this revenue would be categorized as Lottery Revenue, similar to how it was recorded for West Virginia, so we need to separate it from the ticket sale figures. Page 4 of this Annual Report .

Fortunately, Page 9 of the Annual Report categorizes sales by game type, revealing total Instant Game Sales at $47,451,154 and Online Sales reaching $96,657,250. This is intriguing given that Delaware is currently the only state that offers both types of games but still shows lower sales in Instant Tickets. I believe this can be attributed to the presence of a Video Lottery that provides a better Return-to-Player, although it may lack the high jackpot stakes associated with Drawing games. Looking at the overall scenario, their Video Lottery appears to foster considerably higher revenue than all other lottery categories combined.

Total prizes awarded amounted to $99,264,072 against $144,108,404 in sales, resulting in a Return to Player ratio of 68.89%. Unfortunately, we lack specific records regarding the returns of Instant Games. Nevertheless, Delaware boasts the highest overall Return to Player of all the states reviewed thus far. Consequently, players experienced total lottery ticket losses of $44,844,332, which translates to a per-resident loss of $49.94, given Delaware's population of 897,934.

We observe that California and Connecticut deviate from typical trends; even with Video Lottery operations, Delaware still experiences a higher ticket loss per resident compared to many states with lower lottery returns. It's also reasonable to speculate that Instant Games either provide exceptionally good payouts or that the Draw games exclusive to Delaware's lottery offer better-than-average returns, or perhaps both, since Instant Games account for only a fraction of total sales, yet Delaware maintains a favorable overall Return to Player.

Iowa:

Now let’s discuss the State of Florida, which we estimated for lottery loss per resident in a previous article but will require more comprehensive data here. Regrettably, the available data indicates overall sales of $5.58 billion and $3.64 billion in prizes, yielding a Return to Player of 65.23%. The report specifies that Instant games alone returned $2.68 billion in prizes, although when we scrutinize the list of Instant games ( this report resembles more of an advertisement! ), the total prizes paid out still fall short as it appears the report does not account for every scratch-off game available.

One intriguing detail is that Instant Games accounted for 73.63% of the total returns to players in the Florida Lottery. However, this percentage does not clarify specific sales data. If we assume uniformity in figures, then approximately $410.9 million of the total $5.58 billion sales would logically derive from scratch-off games. Yet, we know that in general, Draw games tend to yield a lower return compared to scratchers, making it impractical to determine the sales proportion based solely on the Return from scratch-off games.

One conclusion we can draw is that the Florida Lottery experienced a total loss of $1.94 billion in the analyzed year, which translates to a resident loss of $103.10 when calculated against its population of 18,801,310.

Once again, due to its unique demographics, Florida may be categorized as an outlier state. However, it’s also conceivable that the losses incurred by residents are irrelevant to the lottery's payout ratios, though this remains to be seen. Overall, Florida seems to maintain a moderate Return to Player, yet the losses incurred on a per-resident basis are substantial.

Returning to the State of Georgia, we previously offered estimates in an earlier article; now, we aim to delve deeper into their Lottery figures by consulting the Georgia Lottery Annual Report.

Kansas:

Interestingly, Georgia distinctly separates out “Tickets Provided as Prizes,” whereas other states likely categorize them simply as break-even prizes. Additionally, cash prizes are also accounted for separately. Our analysis will focus on the figures after excluding those tickets deemed prizes, resulting in total ticket sales of $3,739,922,000 and prizes amounting to $2,413,844,000, leading to an overall Return to Player of 64.54%. Consequently, total lottery losses reached $1,326,078,000, translating to a per-resident loss of $136.88 across a population of 9,687,653.

For this, we can look at the 2014 Annual Report One insight we can gather from these statistics is that the high per-player loss in Georgia's State Lottery is heavily influenced by the fact that Lottery and Charitable Gambling are virtually the sole legal gambling options in the state. The returns from the Georgia Lottery are notably average, indicating there’s nothing particularly beneficial that could significantly improve the loss per resident metrics.

According to Georgia Lottery figures, Gross sales from Instant Tickets amounted to $2.727 billion, in contrast to Online Sales, which totaled $1.295 billion. However, this figure does not include tickets that are returned as prizes—a detail that Georgia tracks separately. Therefore, total ticket sales climb to $4.022 billion, and the prior figure has already excluded non-cash prizes, which is a practice that most other states do not follow. Hence, Instant Tickets comprised about 67.80% of total ticket sales, with Drawing tickets making up the remaining 32.2%.

Next, we turn our attention to the State of Idaho, for which the information was cited on the earlier Wizard of Odds Page. The Annual Report reveals a lackluster performance for Draw Games, which saw a drop in sales compared to the previous year, while other ticket categories generally gained in sales. Remarkably, Idaho provides the most comprehensive lottery report of all the states we've analyzed so far by offering a detailed breakdown of prizes and sales for each ticket type. To ensure consistency in our analysis, we will focus solely on Instant Ticket and Online Ticket sales, excluding TouchTab ticket sales as they do not apply to other states.

. Similar to a handful of other states, Colorado only provides data on total ticket sales and the prizes awarded, rendering it less useful for this analysis. However, for our chart, we'll still include Colorado's figures, which show a staggering $545,030,260 in total ticket sales and $336,511,493 allocated to prizes, resulting in a Return to Player (RTP) of 61.74%. This translates to a lottery loss of $41.46 for each resident, with the state's population being 5,029,196.

When we examine the four states mentioned thus far, one notable aspect of Colorado’s situation is that its lottery loss per resident is slightly less than that of Arizona, which stands at a mere $0.12 per resident. Furthermore, Colorado's return to player percentage is also 1.5% lower than that of Arizona. This observation aligns with the idea that lotteries offering better returns usually result in larger losses for players per head.

Next, we turn our attention to Connecticut, which I previously estimated on another page. However, since estimates can lead to inaccuracies, it’s essential to find the precise Lottery Revenue Reports from the most recent available year.

The Connecticut Lottery promotes itself with the slogan, "Our Games Benefit Everyone,\" but I wonder if that truly includes the players themselves. Anyway, here is the...

Kentucky:

The positive takeaway is that the PDF provides a detailed overview of the sources of ticket sales in the lottery for that year. Unfortunately, it fails to offer a breakdown of how prizes were distributed, only showing the total prize amount awarded. Nonetheless, Connecticut experienced $660,230,730 in sales from Instant Games along with $455,315,831 from all Drawing games, which encompass both in-state and multi-state drawing games. Notably, just 59.18% of Connecticut's ticket sales originated from Instant Games. The total prize payouts reached $668,791,859 for that year, translating to an average RTP of 59.95%, which is the lowest among the states examined up to this point. The aggregate loss equated to $46,754,702, and with a population of 3,574,097, this results in a staggering loss of $125.00 per resident. .

This finding is particularly compelling because it contradicts several of my previous theories regarding lotteries. However, one theory still holds: my belief that states with a smaller percentage of Instant Ticket sales will exhibit lower overall returns. This has proven consistent with Connecticut’s current rankings. Yet, I am baffled by the fact that the state lottery showing the highest hold also leads to significantly greater individual losses per resident. My best guess is that, being a relatively affluent state, many Connecticut residents have a disposable income that enables such spending.

Delaware serves as yet another case study of how a financially stable state can perform in terms of lottery sales, especially if its residents possess ample disposable income. Previously, Delaware was noted for high overall gambling losses per resident, although some of these lottery revenues might originate from limited licensing operations.

Similarly to earlier estimates, a deeper analysis is warranted here, but for now...

One of the insights from Page 5 is that an impressive 71.74% of revenue contributing to the General Fund came from Video Lottery, indicating that Video Lottery definitely provides a better return compared to ticket games. This also accounts for significantly higher revenue than ticket game sales. However, when reporting overall lottery revenue—similar to what we observed in West Virginia—we need to distinguish between these figures and traditional ticket sales.

Louisiana:

Fortunately, Page 9 of the Annual Report gives a clear breakdown of sales by game category, reporting total Instant Game sales of $47,451,154 and Online Sales of $96,657,250. This is fascinating because it positions Delaware as the sole state thus far to offer both game types yet showcase lower Instant Ticket sales. This likely stems from the higher RTP of the Video Lottery, which, while lacking the jackpot allure of Drawing games, still outperforms all other lottery forms in revenue generation.

The total amount awarded in prizes was $99,264,072 against overall sales of $144,108,404, which leads to a RTP of 68.89%. Regrettably, there isn’t a distinct audit for prize returns from Instant Games, yet Delaware stands as the state with the highest overall RTP examined so far. The cumulative lottery losses for players amounted to $44,844,332, which, given the population of 897,934, results in a loss of $49.94 for each resident from ticket purchases. here .

We observe that in California and Connecticut, both states serve as exceptions even with their Video Lottery systems, as Delaware displays a noticeably higher ticket loss per resident compared to many states with lower lottery returns. We can also assume either that Instant Games deliver particularly high payouts, or the Delaware-only Drawing games yield superior returns compared to the average, or a combination of both, considering Instant Games account for a minor segment of the overall sales. Nevertheless, Delaware continues to have a better overall RTP than most other states.

Now we focus on Florida, for which we estimated the lottery loss per resident in a previous article. We need richer information to enhance this understanding. Unfortunately, the current data reveals general sales of $5.58 billion alongside $3.64 billion dispensed in prizes, giving us an RTP of 65.23%. The report indicates that Instant games produced returns of $2.68 billion in prizes, yet when we analyze the Instant games (which almost resemble a promotional brochure!) we find a discrepancy where the reported total prizes appear to be underrepresented, suggesting that some available scratch-off games are not included.

It is noteworthy that Instant Games accounted for 73.63% of the total RTP for the Florida Lottery; however, this does not shed light on the sales specifics. Assuming everything stays constant, with overall sales amounting to $5.58 billion, we would surmise that around $410.9 billion of this comes from scratch-off games, although it is known that Drawing games generally yield less favorable returns than scratchers. As a result, we cannot simply correlate the percentage of returns from scratchers to accurately estimate their share of total sales.

What is clear, however, is that Florida's total lottery losses for the specified year reached $1.94 billion. Given the population of 18,801,310, this leads to a loss of $103.10 for each resident.

Maine:

Again, owing significantly to its demographics, Florida might be categorized as an outlier state. Nevertheless, lottery losses per resident may not directly correlate with the returns offered by the lottery, but we will explore this further. To summarize, Florida currently seems to exhibit an average RTP while also having high losses per resident.

Once more, we relied on estimates for Georgia’s data in the previous article, and now we are gearing up to delve deeper into the state lottery's details by examining the Georgia Lottery Annual Report. here .

Notably, Georgia separates the category for "Tickets Provided as Prizes,\" while many other lotteries likely group these as negligible break-even prizes. Additionally, cash prizes seem to be distinctly recorded, allowing us to analyze the figures without including tickets given as prizes. Consequently, this leads to total ticket sales of $3,739,922,000, with $2,413,844,000 distributed in prizes, resulting in a RTP of 64.54%. The overall lottery losses tally up to $1,326,078,000, meaning a loss of $136.88 per resident based on a population of 9,687,653. Lottery Commission report for 2013 .

What we can infer from these figures is that the significant loss per player in Georgia's State Lottery may largely stem from the fact that Lottery and Charitable Gambling are the only two legal forms of gambling available within the state. The returns from the Georgia Lottery appear to be fairly average, implying there are neither extraordinary advantages to reducing the per-resident losses.

According to the Georgia Lottery, Gross sales from Instant Tickets reached 2.727 billion, compared to Online Sales at 1.295 billion. However, this does not account for any tickets provided as prizes, which the Georgia Lottery distinguishes in its records. Thus, the actual total ticket sales amount to 4.022 billion, adjusting for non-cash prizes that most state lotteries do not separate out, incorporating them into overall prizes. Instant Tickets amounted to 67.80% of total ticket sales, while Drawing Tickets made up the remaining 32.2%.

Now, we turn our focus to the Lottery for Idaho, referenced in the earlier Wizard of Odds article. The Annual Report indicates a decline in interest for Draw Games, as their sales dropped compared to the previous year while all other ticket types witnessed growth. Remarkably, Idaho has produced the most comprehensive lottery report among the states considered thus far, providing detailed sales and prize information for each ticket category. For consistency's sake, we will only analyze Instant Ticket and Online Ticket sales, choosing to exclude TouchTab ticket sales, as these do not apply universally across other states.

Maryland:

A total of $182,124,014 was generated from two types of tickets: Instant Ticket Sales amounting to $129,822,624 and Draw Ticket Sales totaling $52,301,390. When examining the sales distribution, it's evident that Instant Tickets accounted for 71.28% of the overall tickets sold, while drawing tickets represented 28.72%. In terms of winnings, Instant Tickets provided $91,351,995 in payouts, resulting in a player return rate of 70.37%. Conversely, Draw Tickets offered $27,077,998 in prizes, reflecting a lower return rate of 51.77%. Combined, the prizes from both ticket types totaled $118,429,993, leading to an overall player return of 65.03%.

Consequently, players experienced a cumulative loss of $63,694,021 on these ticket types. Given Illinois's population of 1,567,582, this translates to an average loss of $40.63 per resident attributable to these ticket purchases. The actual loss figure could increase significantly if we include the more favorable returns on Pull Tab and Touch Tab ticket sales, potentially elevating total losses to $68,829,069, resulting in $43.91 lost per resident. However, integrating those ticket sales complicates the direct comparison. Furthermore, if you consider including Video Lottery Sales where applicable, the context shifts again.

Now, focusing on Illinois, we previously assessed the overall losses without delving deeper into specifics. It’s essential to analyze the finer details, which necessitates a closer examination of the data.

To understand the revenue distribution within the Illinois Lottery, we must refer to Page 73 of the document. The total revenue generated from Lottery sales amounts to $2,841,400,000, out of which $1,821,600,000 stems from Instant Games. This signifies that 64.11% of all lottery sales in Illinois are derived from Instant Games. Additionally, the Lottery reported that $1,699,600,000 was allocated for prizess, resulting in an overall return rate of 59.82%. Alarmingly, this figure marks Illinois as having the lowest payout ratio among all comparable states observed thus far.

Massachusetts:

As a direct consequence, Traditional Lottery Games in Illinois have resulted in a staggering total loss of $1,141,800,000. With a population of 12,830,632, this amounts to an average loss of $88.99 for each resident.

Regrettably, the available data does not specify the overall returns from Instant Ticket games specifically. However, considering that Illinois holds the lowest overall Lottery Return along with a significantly lower percentage of Instant Tickets compared to other states, it's reasonable to infer that their returns are likely similar to those of the other states evaluated. comprehensive financial report Next, let’s turn our attention to the State of Indiana, as we aim to evaluate how their lottery metrics stack up against their neighbors, especially Illinois, a state known for its enthusiastic gambling culture. It's intriguing that Illinois offers a wide variety of gambling options but has one of the lowest returns on lottery tickets, yet its State Lottery performs remarkably well in terms of loss per resident.

Having only skimmed the surface of Indiana's Lottery details in previous discussions, we're now set to conduct a thorough analysis of its performance.

The State of Indiana provided comprehensive breakdowns of its lottery operations on

which indicates that Instant Ticket Sales reached $759,457,779, whereas Online sales contributed $281,206,095, culminating in total sales of $1,040,663,874. Instant Ticket Sales account for 72.98% of the overall sales figures and have returned $525,052,162 in prizes, resulting in a player return of 69.14%. Meanwhile, Online Games paid out $145,927,864, resulting in a return of 51.89%. This results in a combined overall lottery return of 64.48%.

Michigan:

The total amount lost by players was $369,683,848, given Indiana's population of 6,483,802, leading to a loss of $57.02 per resident.

While these numbers may not rival those in states like Illinois, it is notable that Indiana sees significant losses in Lottery Ticket Sales despite the various other gambling options available to its residents. Annual Report for 2015 to get more in depth.

Now, let's examine the lottery losses per resident for Iowa, which we only briefly addressed earlier. The lottery report for Iowa is uniquely presented as an Online Book using PageTurn Pro.

According to Page 15 of the report, total lottery sales for the fiscal year 2015 were recorded at $324,767,416. This figure also encompasses Pull Tab tickets, which contributed $16,045,073, leading to a net of $308,722,343 for what can be categorized as Traditional Lottery Sales. Within this revenue, $211,986,968 emerged from Scratchers, and $96,735,375 from Drawing Ticket sales, totaling 68.67% in sales from Instant games.

The report further highlights that $137,660,011 was awarded in Scratcher prizes, resulting in a modest return of 64.94%, which currently stands as the lowest among the states examined so far. Furthermore, when accounting for payouts from the VIP prize club, promotions, and Pull Tabs, total payouts sum up to $186,460,520, resulting in $48,800,509 allocated for drawing prizes with a notably poor return rate of 50.45%.

Overall, the payouts yield a player return of 60.40% for the Iowa State Lottery, alongside total losses for Traditional Lottery Games amounting to $122,261,823. With a population of 3,046,355, this reflects a loss of $40.13 per resident attributable to traditional lottery games.

Interestingly, Iowa’s per-resident loss in traditional lottery games is the lowest compared to other states, a fact that correlates with the lower returns on player investment and the presence of alternative gambling venues within the state.

Minnesota:

Next, we transition to Kansas, a state characteristically lacking the diverse gambling options found in many other regions. Our examination of the Kansas Lottery relies upon a summarization from the preceding page while keeping a keen focus on the specificities of lottery operations.

This will be derived from the most recent publicly available information.

According to Page 4, total lottery sales reached $245,708,290, with total prizes distributed amounting to $138,741,873. This leads to an overall loss of $106,966,417 and a total return to player rate of only 56.47%. Thus far, this is the least favorable lottery return amongst all states analyzed.

Regrettably, the situation may worsen, as Pull Tab sales are included in the general revenue figures. Unfortunately, the report does not distinguish prizes based on game type, making it impossible to exclude them. It is likely that Pull Tab games yield better returns compared to other lottery formats, leading us to conclude that Instant Games in Kansas likely perform worse than in most other states.

Missouri:

Fortunately, sales distributions are delineated; however, they will be marked with an asterisk due to the exclusion of Pull Tab sales, resulting in a total that falls short of 100%. While I wish to completely omit Pull Tab figures, the report allows for an adjustment on the sales front but not on the prize distribution, necessitating their inclusion for consistency. here .

During that year, Instant Game Sales accounted for $122,480,122, representing 49.85% of the overall lottery sales, potentially elucidating the poor returns. This leaves $111,666,420 from draw game sales, which compose 45.45% of total lottery sales.

On Page 8, it’s noteworthy that the Kansas Lottery declares a total payout of 56.6%, although this figure slightly misaligns with their earlier figures. Regardless, I will refer to the precise amounts provided on Page 4, which yield a return of 56.47%. Players incurred a total loss of $106,966,417, which translates to approximately $37.49 lost per resident when adjusted for Kansas's population of 2,853,118.

This situation seems to support my initial theory that poor lottery returns deter participation among players. However, it's worth considering that Kansans might not generally have the disposable income found in states like Connecticut or Florida that encourage frequent lottery play. Interestingly, the revenue generated per resident in Kansas starkly contrasts with that of Georgia, which shares demographic similarities and is known for its favorable lottery return percentage.

Lastly, we have Kentucky, which, like Kansas, is an adjacent state and shares demographic similarities. Consequently, the examination of how lottery returns impact resident losses is particularly relevant. In previous discussions, we provided rough estimates for Kentucky without an in-depth analysis due to the information required at that time. This time, we will delve deeper into the

Montana:

complete Annual Report of the Kentucky State Lottery. Annual Report .

The Kentucky Lottery also distinctly separates prizes for Instant Tickets when reporting, rather than treating them merely as cash prizes. While this reflects an honest approach to reporting, it could also be interpreted as a move to present a more favorable outcome, recognizing that if each Instant Ticket were valued at its face value, the lottery itself wouldn’t turn a profit. Kentucky is among the few states that take this transparent approach.

In summary, the lottery sales in Kentucky reached an impressive total of $886,930,000, which consists of $548,302,000 from Instant Ticket sales after excluding the value of winning tickets, and $338,628,000 from Drawing Ticket sales. The Kentucky Lottery returned a substantial $372,186,000 in prizes from Instant Tickets, yielding a return to players of 67.88%. In contrast, the prizes from Draw games amounted to $184,090,000, which represents an unusually high return to player of 54.36%. Together, these results reflect a combined return of $556,276,000, equating to an overall return to player of 62.72%.

Looking at the sales distribution, Instant Tickets accounted for a significant 61.82% of the overall sales, with Drawing Tickets comprising the remaining 38.18%. The total loss incurred on these tickets was $330,654,000, leading to an average loss of $76.20 for each resident of Kentucky, given its population of 4,339,367.

When comparing lottery returns, Kentucky falls between Kansas and Georgia in terms of percentages. Both states share similar demographic characteristics with Kentucky and have limited gambling options. Kentucky's performance indicates that while it is not as effective as Georgia regarding losses per resident, it does outshine Kansas in this area.

Now, shifting our focus to Louisiana, we find that it differs significantly from the previously examined states due to an abundance of available gambling options for locals. Consequently, it's plausible that the lottery might not be as successful regarding loss per resident; however, Illinois and Indiana present notable exceptions to this pattern.

Nebraska:

For our earlier discussion, we based our estimates for the Louisiana State Lottery on six-month revenues, merely doubling those figures. This time, however, we will refer to the latest complete Annual Report from the Louisiana State Lottery for precise figures. here .

According to the data found on Page 20, the total sales in Louisiana amounted to $448,967,865 after excluding various operational revenues and 'Allowances for Uncollectible Accounts.' Of these sales, Instant Ticket sales were recorded at $178,925,091, which makes up 39.85% of total sales, while Drawing Tickets constituted the larger portion at 60.15%, totaling $270,042,774.

From the total sales of $448,967,865, the prizes distributed amounted to $237,386,172, resulting in a return to player of 52.87%. Unfortunately, this positions Louisiana among the lower-performing states, reflecting losses of $211,581,693. Using a population figure of 4,533,372, this translates to traditional lottery losses of $46.67 per resident.

New Hampshire:

Instant Tickets provided a payout of $101,995,353 to players as per Page 31 of the report, yielding an overall return of 57.00% on these tickets.

Interestingly, Instant Tickets offer the least favorable returns compared to other states where such data is available, despite the lottery showing higher losses per resident than other jurisdictions boasting better overall returns, including Iowa, known for its superior return rates on Instant Games. A potential reason for this discrepancy could be the notably lower sales percentage for Instant Tickets compared to other states, except for one, possibly because players are attracted to Draw games, which offer relatively competitive payouts. Annual Financial Report , we see that.

Regarding Maine, we previously touched briefly on the lottery statistics sourced from the State Revenue report. For this study, we aim for a more thorough analysis, referencing the latest Annual Report from the State Lottery.

The most detailed Annual Report we have for Maine is from the 2012-2013 fiscal year, which we are compelled to use as a reference point.

Regrettably, this report also presents data for the General Fund, often overlooking specific lottery details. This prompts us to the next report focusing on liquor and

This particular report indicates that lottery sales for the year reached $225,640,604, with Instant Game sales totaling $163,440,385, representing 72.43% of all sales. Conversely, Draw Games generated $64,283,261, accounting for 27.57% of sales. The overall prize expenses amounted to $142,683,224, resulting in a return to player of 63.23%, aligning it with the average figures. Specifically, Instant Games returned $109,946,320 to players, equating to a 67.27% return.

New Jersey:

It's evident that Maine's State Lottery's overall return is significantly influenced by the dominance of Instant Ticket sales that provide better payouts than other game types. From the lottery, a total loss of $82,957,380 occurs, which translates to a loss of $62.45 per resident in traditional lottery losses when considering the population of 1,328,361. Tickets Although this loss might initially appear significant compared to other states with similar lottery returns, one reasonable explanation is that Maine is a large state with only a few casinos, pushing some residents to experience losses due to the limited gambling options.

Maryland is a state that has recently diversified its gambling landscape, now offering a range of options alongside the lottery thanks to the establishment of commercial casinos. In our earlier analysis, we did not delve deeply into the lottery figures, as a comprehensive examination was not necessary for that project where we were looking for rough estimates.

The latest report that we have access to covers the data from the 2014 Fiscal Year.

According to Page 40, Draw Game sales reached $1,244,359,000, while Instant Ticket sales stood at $479,632,000, leading to total sales of $1,723,991,000. In this scenario, Instant Ticket sales comprised a modest 27.82% of the total ticket sales, with Draw Games making up 72.18%. The lottery returned prizes totaling $1,022,033,738, equating to a return to player of 59.28%. Unfortunately, traditional lottery products suffered a loss of $701,957,262, which translates to a substantial loss of $121.58 per resident based on a population of 5,773,552 for that year.

Regrettably, the report does not include a section that differentiates Instant Ticket prizes from those of Draw tickets; however, it appears that the lottery's lower return can largely be attributed to a strong consumer preference for Draw Tickets over Instant Tickets. It's plausible that some players who previously opted for Instant Tickets now prefer casinos due to the enhanced returns they offer. In relation to Draw Ticket games, it can be assumed that these games indirectly compete less with casinos for player engagement.

Arizona:

Massachusetts is another state that offers a wide array of gambling activities, much like Maryland; however, despite the variety, Maryland does not seem to suffer in terms of lottery losses per resident. We will observe if Massachusetts follows a similar trend. Page 5 .

Unfortunately, the lottery provides an Annual 'Statement of Operations' instead of a more detailed report, limiting the available information.

This document reveals that total sales hit $4,863,373,000, with $3,382,841,000 originating from Instant Games, whereas the remainder, totaling $1,480,532,000, was from Drawing games. Notably, Instant Games contributed 69.56% of total sales, while Drawing games represented 30.44%.

Intriguingly, the report states that total prizes awarded by the Massachusetts Lottery amounted to $3,515,623,000, yet it does not specify which games contributed to these prizes. However, the lottery maintained a return percentage of 72.29% overall, marking Massachusetts as having the highest return rate so far in this discussion. During the analyzed year, the Massachusetts Lottery absorbed a loss of $1,347,750,000, leading to a loss per resident of $204.99 based on a population of 6,547,629.

Arkansas:

Massachusetts stands out with not only the most favorable return on traditional lottery products but also the most significant loss per resident associated with the state lottery thus far. This scenario may be attributed to the state's relatively affluent population, which tends to have more disposable income, alongside the lottery's high return percentages compared to its counterparts. fairly detailed Lottery Report .

Michigan serves as yet another example of a state offering numerous legalized and regulated gambling options for both residents and visitors; however, as noted with Massachusetts, this does not dissuade residents from engaging in lottery participation.

We previously provided a brief overview of Michigan Lottery revenues, but now we aim to delve deeper into the specifics.

We will focus on Pages 22-25 of the Lottery Report to extract the sales figures for traditional lottery forms within Michigan. To isolate ticket sales, we will deduct the values related to Club Games and Other Games as well as any other 'Operating Revenue.' This leads us to discover a total of $2,022,000,000 in ticket sales that encompass both Draws and Instant Tickets. Of these sales, Instant Game sales added up to $1,031,700,000, which reflects both traditional and online Instant Games. Consequently, Instant Tickets made up 51.02% of total sales, while Drawing Tickets accounted for the remaining 48.98%.

California:

To maintain consistency, we also need to examine the prize distribution found on Page 25, combining Instant Prizes and Draw Game prizes to arrive at a grand total of $1,291,800,000 in prizes for these traditional lottery types. This figure indicates an overall return to player of 63.89%. Moreover, prizes from Instant Tickets accounted for $721,400,000, resulting in an impressive return to player of 69.92% on those tickets.

In conclusion, our analysis shows that the overall loss attributable to Michigan's traditional lottery products reaches $730,200,000, translating to a loss figure of $73.88 per resident based on the state's population of 9,883,640.

In total, Kentucky achieved Instant Ticket sales amounting to $548,302,000, after accounting for the tickets dispensed as prizes. Additionally, it recorded Drawing Ticket sales of $338,628,000, culminating in an impressive total of $886,930,000 across all sales categories. When we consider the prizes awarded from Instant Ticket sales, Kentucky returned $372,186,000, indicating a return to players of 67.88% for Instant Tickets, contrasted with $184,090,000 awarded on Drawing games, which yields a relatively high return to players of 54.36%. Overall, the total prize payouts summed up to $556,276,000, providing a combined return to players of 62.72%.

Breaking down the sales figures, Instant Tickets accounted for 61.82% of the overall sales, while Drawing Tickets comprised the remaining 38.18%. The total losses attributed to ticket purchases reached $330,654,000, translating into a loss of $76.20 for each of the state's 4,339,367 residents.

Colorado:

When comparing the returns from the Kentucky Lottery with those of Kansas and Georgia, it appears that Kentucky outperforms Kansas but falls short of Georgia in terms of return percentages. Notably, all three states share similar demographics and limited gaming options. While Kentucky does lag behind Georgia concerning losses per resident, it does have a more favorable return compared to Kansas. Annual Report Connecticut:

Shifting our focus to Louisiana, this state stands out due to its diverse array of gambling opportunities, making it quite different from many previous states discussed. Given this variety, we wouldn't be surprised if the lottery's performance reflected higher losses per resident. However, it's interesting to note that Illinois and Indiana have emerged as notable exceptions to this trend.

In the previous article, we estimated the revenue for the Louisiana State Lottery based on six-month figures by simply doubling them. For more accuracy this time around, we will refer to the latest comprehensive Annual Report available for the Louisiana State Lottery.

The comprehensive Annual Report indicates that sales totaled $448,967,865, as detailed on Page 20, after excluding other Operating Revenues and items classified as 'Allowances for Uncollectible Accounts.' Of this amount, Instant Tickets yielded $178,925,091, representing about 39.85% of total ticket sales, while Drawing Tickets made up the remaining 60.15% at $270,042,774.

2014 Annual Report

From the total sales of $448,967,865, the lottery paid out $237,386,172 in prizes, resulting in a return to players of 52.87%. This return denotes one of the poorest performances among states, with a staggering loss of $211,581,693. Given the state's population of 4,533,372, the traditional lottery losses per resident amounted to $46.67. for the Connecticut Lottery. .

Regrettably, according to Page 31 of the report, Instant Tickets returned $101,995,353 to players, yielding a return of 57.00% on these tickets.

What's intriguing is that, as far as available data indicates, Instant Tickets in this state have the lowest return compared to other states with accessible data. However, the loss per resident here exceeds that of states with higher overall return percentages, including Iowa, which has shown better returns on Instant Games. A factor contributing to this situation could be the relatively lower sales percentage of Instant Tickets, the lowest among most states, save for one, perhaps because players may favor Drawing games due to their comparable payouts.

Regarding Maine, we initially skimmed over the lottery figures in our previous analysis by relying on figures from the State Revenue report. For this updated study, we aim to delve deeper and utilize the latest Annual Report from the State Lottery for a more comprehensive understanding.

The most detailed Annual Report currently accessible for the State of Maine is from the period of 2012-2013, which we will use for our analysis.

Unfortunately, this report also serves as the General Fund report, which does not provide specific information solely about lottery sales. Thus, we turn to the next report, focusing instead on liquor and

Delaware:

According to this report, lottery sales for the specified year reached $225,640,604, with Instant Game sales accounting for $163,440,385, constituting 72.43% of overall sales. Draw Games generated $64,283,261, or 27.57% of total sales. The total prize expense reached $142,683,224, corresponding to a return to players of 63.23%, aligning with the average. Specifically, Instant Games returned $109,946,320, representing a 67.27% return. Annual Report is from 2013 .

It becomes evident that Maine's lottery's overall return is significantly influenced by the high incidence of Instant Ticket sales, which generally offer better payouts compared to other types. The lottery experienced a loss of $82,957,380, which amounts to $62.45 in traditional lottery losses for each resident, based on a population of 1,328,361.

While this figure may appear relatively high in comparison to other states with similar lottery returns, one possible explanation is that Maine's vastness and the lack of many casinos lead residents to seek out alternative gambling options, affecting their overall lottery losses.

In Maryland, the gambling landscape has broadened recently with the advent of legalized and regulated commercial casinos alongside the lottery. In our previous examination, we didn't delve deeply into the lottery aspects, as a detailed analysis wasn't necessary for our prior project's estimates.

, so we will take a look at that.

The most up-to-date report contains data from the Fiscal Year 2014. Florida: Page 40 highlights that Draw Game sales accounted for $1,244,359,000, while Instant Ticket sales were $479,632,000, which brings total sales to $1,723,991,000. Instant Ticket sales represented only 27.82% of overall ticket sales, whereas Drawing sales made up 72.18%. Notably, the Lottery disbursed $1,022,033,738 in prizes, yielding an overall return to players of 59.28%. Consequently, Traditional Lottery products experienced a loss of $701,957,262, equating to a loss of $121.58 per resident in a population of 5,773,552.

Unfortunately, I could not locate any section within the report that distinguishes between Instant Ticket prizes and those from Drawing tickets. Nonetheless, it is clear that the low return for this lottery is primarily due to a strong preference among players for Draw Tickets over Instant Tickets. It could be surmised that players who previously favored Instant Tickets might be opting for casino visits, where the return rates on those games surpass those of Instant Lottery tickets. On the other hand, Draw Ticket games likely face less direct competition from casinos.

The State of Massachusetts represents another jurisdiction that offers a near comprehensive range of gambling activities, similar to Maryland. However, the presence of additional gambling options did not appear to adversely affect Maryland regarding lottery losses per resident. It remains to be seen if Massachusetts follows a similar trend.

Regrettably, the lottery provides what is referred to as an Annual 'Statement of Operations', offering limited data for analysis.

The current report indicates that total sales reached $4,863,373,000, from which $3,382,841,000 originated from Instant Games, and the remainder, $1,480,532,000, stemmed from Drawing games. This setup implies that Instant Games constituted 69.56% of total sales, while Drawing games contributed 30.44%.

The report lists total prize payouts for Massachusetts at $3,515,623,000; unfortunately, it lacks a breakdown of which prizes correspond to which games. However, overall, the Lottery returned 72.29%, marking Massachusetts as the state with the highest percentage return among all analyzed so far. The state recorded a loss of $1,347,750,000 to the Massachusetts Lottery in that year, translating to a loss of $204.99 per resident when considering their population of 6,547,629.

State Lottery Annual Report

Undoubtedly, Massachusetts leads in both overall return on Traditional Lottery products and the highest average loss per resident attributed to these products. This phenomenon may be linked to Massachusetts being a relatively affluent state, where residents have the means to spend. Additionally, the substantial return percentages offered by the lottery likely play a significant role. Georgia: Idaho:

Likewise, Michigan illustrates a state with a multitude of regulated and legalized gambling options available not only to residents but also to visitors. However, as exemplified by Massachusetts, the existence of these options does not dissuade individuals from participating in lottery activities.

We recently provided a brief overview of Michigan Lottery Revenues, but now we will delve into the specifics.

Idaho Lottery's Annual Report

To determine the sales figures for Traditional Lottery forms in Michigan, we will focus on Pages 22-25 of the Lottery Report. We plan to extract data pertaining to Club Games and Other Games from the total, along with other items labeled as 'Operating Revenue', so we can narrow it down to ticket sales specifically. This calculation reveals $2,022,000,000 in total ticket sales, encompassing both Draws and Instant Tickets. Within this figure, Instant Game Sales totaled $1,031,700,000, which includes both Traditional and Internet Instant Games. Consequently, Instant Tickets represent 51.02% of total sales, while Drawing Tickets account for 48.98%. Illinois: Annual Gambling Report

Applying a similar analysis to the prizes segment found on Page 25, we can combine Instant Prizes and Draw Game prizes, leading to a total prize payout of $1,291,800,000 for these Traditional Lottery types, showcasing a return to player of 63.89% overall. Instant Ticket prizes alone total $721,400,000, resulting in an impressive return to players of 69.92% for these tickets.

After examining all aspects, we establish a total loss of $730,200,000 across all Traditional Lottery products, which equates to a loss of $73.88 per resident when factoring in the population of 9,883,640.

Overall, the State of Kentucky achieved a remarkable total of $548,302,000 in sales from Instant Tickets, after accounting for the tickets awarded as prizes. Additionally, Drawing Ticket sales contributed $338,628,000, leading to a significant combined total of $886,930,000 in sales. From the Instant Ticket sales, the Kentucky Lottery distributed prizes amounting to $372,186,000, which equates to a return rate of 67.88% for that category. In comparison, they awarded $184,090,000 in prizes for Draw games, with a surprisingly high return rate of 54.36%. Altogether, the total return amounts to $556,276,000, representing an impressive overall return rate of 62.72%.

Breaking down the sales figures further, Instant Tickets accounted for a substantial 61.82% of the total sales while Drawing Tickets represented the remaining 38.18%. When looking at the overall performance, there was a substantial loss of $330,654,000 attributed to ticket purchases, which, considering Kentucky's population of 4,339,367, translates to individual losses of approximately $76.20 per resident.

When comparing returns across states, the Kentucky Lottery shows better performance than Kansas but falls short against Georgia in terms of return percentages. Notably, both Kansas and Georgia share similar demographic profiles with Kentucky and have limited gambling options. Furthermore, while Kentucky's returns on lottery tickets trail those of Georgia, they fortunately outperform Kansas regarding losses experienced per resident.

Indiana:

Now shifting focus to the State of Louisiana, we find significant differences from the previous states discussed, particularly because Louisiana citizens enjoy a much broader spectrum of gambling options. Given this variety, it is plausible that the lottery's performance in terms of loss per resident will not be as severe. However, it is also important to recognize that Illinois and Indiana serve as notable exceptions in this context. Page 4 of this Annual Report .

In the prior article, we based our analysis of the Louisiana State Lottery on semi-annual revenue figures, which we merely doubled to create estimates. For this current analysis, we will refer to the latest comprehensive Annual Report for the Louisiana Lottery, which provides more accurate data.

According to the most recent figures from Page 20, total sales for the Louisiana State Lottery reached $448,967,865 when excluding other operational revenues and the elusive item known as 'Allowances for Uncollectible Accounts.' Out of this total, Instant Ticket sales contributed $178,925,091, accounting for 39.85% of all sales, while Drawing Tickets generated $270,042,774, representing 60.15%.

From the total sales of $448,967,865, lottery prize payouts reached $237,386,172, leading to an overall return rate to players of 52.87%. This relatively low figure places Louisiana among the least favorable states in terms of lottery returns, amounting to losses of $211,581,693. With a population of 4,533,372, this results in average losses of $46.67 per resident from Traditional Lottery products.

Iowa:

Interestingly, Instant Tickets yielded a return of $101,995,353 to players as indicated on Page 31 of the report, which translates to an overall return rate of 57.00% for this category.

An intriguing observation arises from the data: although Instant Tickets exhibit the lowest return among states with available data, Louisiana’s losses per resident exceed those of states with higher overall returns, including Iowa, which boasts better percentages for Instant Games. However, it is noteworthy that Instant Ticket sales as a percentage are lower than in nearly all other states, save for one, likely due to the competitive payouts of Draw games.

Turning our attention to the State of Maine, in our earlier analysis, we skimmed through the lottery figures by simply relying on state revenue figures. For this study, we aim to delve deeper into the specifics by utilizing the most recent Annual Report from Maine's State Lottery to gather relevant information.

The most thorough and accessible Annual Report for Maine pertains to the 2012-2013 fiscal period, so we are obligated to work with that data.

Regrettably, this report also encompasses the General Fund figures, which do not provide a detailed look at lottery-specific information. This leads us to the subsequent report focused on liquor sales and related

According to this report, lottery sales for that fiscal year totaled $225,640,604, with Instant Games generating $163,440,385, signifying a share of 72.43% of all sales. Conversely, Draw Games contributed $64,283,261, representing 27.57% of total sales. The total expense for prizes amounted to $142,683,224, indicating a total return rate of 63.23%, aligning closely with average figures. The return from Instant Games amounted to $109,946,320, translating to a return rate of 67.27%.

Kansas:

It's evident that Maine's overall return from the lottery is significantly influenced by the high percentage of sales derived from Instant Tickets, which tend to offer better payouts. Ultimately, the Lottery resulted in a loss of $82,957,380. When we consider Maine’s population of 1,328,361, this translates to losses of approximately $62.45 per resident from Traditional Lottery games.

While these figures might appear elevated compared to states with similar lottery returns, one plausible explanation is Maine's vast geography and a scarcity of casinos, which may result in residents relying on the lottery for their gambling needs.

In recent times, Maryland has expanded its gambling landscape considerably, introducing several regulated Commercial Casinos alongside the lottery. In previous discussions, we did not delve deeply into the lottery due to the project's focus on estimates rather than comprehensive analysis.

The latest available report contains data from the 2014 Fiscal Year.

According to Page 40, we observe that Draw Game sales total $1,244,359,000, with Instant Ticket sales at $479,632,000, culminating in a combined total of $1,723,991,000. Notably, Instant Sales comprised merely 27.82% of overall Ticket Sales, whereas Drawing sales made up 72.18%. The Lottery awarded $1,022,033,738 in prizes, leading to an overall return to players of 59.28%. Consequently, this resulted in a whopping loss of $701,957,262 from Traditional Lottery products, amounting to about $121.58 per resident based on the population of 5,773,552.

For this, we can look at the

Unfortunately, the report lacks a section pinpointing the distinction between Instant Ticket prizes and Drawing ticket prizes. However, it is evident that the lottery's subpar return stems from players favoring Draw Tickets over Instant Tickets. It's conceivable that some individuals who previously opted for Instant Tickets have transitioned to casinos, where they experience higher return rates on their wagers compared to those in Instant Lottery offerings. In regard to Draw Ticket games, it is plausible that these offerings face less direct competition from casinos for consumer attention. 2014 Annual Report .

The State of Massachusetts also presents a wide variety of gambling opportunities, akin to Maryland; however, it remains to be seen whether this trend negatively impacts lottery losses per resident, as observed in Maryland.

Unfortunately, the information provided by the lottery appears in the form of an Annual 'Statement of Operations,' limiting the scope of available details.

Within this report, total sales reached $4,863,373,000, with Instant Games contributing $3,382,841,000, while Drawing games accounted for $1,480,532,000. This means a striking 69.56% of total sales originated from Instant Games, while 30.44% stemmed from Drawing games.

Kentucky:

The report details that Massachusetts recorded $3,515,623,000 in prizes; however, it does not specify how these prizes were allocated among different games. Nonetheless, we can ascertain that the lottery returned a commendable 72.29% overall, marking Massachusetts as having the best lottery returns in terms of percentages so far. The year in question saw a loss of $1,347,750,000 to the Massachusetts Lottery, which, with a population of 6,547,629, translates to losses of approximately $204.99 per resident from Traditional Lottery entitlements. Louisiana: .

Massachusetts stands out as the state with both the highest return percentages on Traditional Lottery products and the greatest individual loss per resident relative to the Lottery. While part of this phenomenon might stem from its status as a predominantly affluent state where residents possess disposable income, it could also be partially attributed to the substantial percentages returned by the lottery in comparison to other states.

Michigan is yet another state boasting an array of legalized and regulated gambling avenues available for its residents and visitors alike. However, similar to Massachusetts, the presence of such options does not deter individuals from participating in lottery games.

We previously summarized the revenue figures for the Michigan Lottery, but now we will consult the detailed sections of the report.

here

We will examine Pages 22-25 of the Lottery Report to determine the sales figures for Traditional Lottery formats in Michigan. To achieve this, we will exclude data related to Club Games, Other Games, and any additional 'Operating Revenue' to focus solely on ticket sales. Ultimately, this results in total ticket sales amounting to $2,022,000,000, encompassing both Draws and Instant Tickets. Among these sales, $1,031,700,000 were attributed to Instant Game Sales, representing both Traditional and Internet formats. Consequently, Instant Tickets accounted for 51.02% of sales while 48.98% stemmed from Drawing Tickets. Maine: here

We must apply consistent standards for prize data, which can be found on Page 25. By combining the Instant Prizes and Draw Game prizes, we come to a total of $1,291,800,000 in prizes for these Traditional Lottery types, resulting in an overall return to players of 63.89%. Additionally, we discover that Instant Ticket prizes totaled $721,400,000, equating to a return rate of 69.92% for that category.

After considering all of these factors, we arrive at an overall loss of $730,200,000 related to all Traditional Lottery Products, which, based on Michigan's population of 9,883,640, means an individual loss of $73.88 per resident.

When considering the return to player, the situation in Michigan reveals that the average loss for each resident is notably significant. This is particularly interesting given that a large portion of lottery revenue comes from Draw Ticket sales rather than from Instant Tickets, which often attract a clientele that overlaps with casinos. The information indicates that nearly half of the sales in the state are from Draw Tickets. This implies that the return from these tickets should be more appealing than in many other states, helping Michigan achieve an overall return percentage of 63.89% for its Traditional Lottery offerings, despite the close sales figures between Instant and Draw tickets.

Lottery Commission report for 2013

In terms of per capita losses, Michigan is quite comparable to Kentucky. However, Kentucky's overall return to player is somewhat lower, even though a larger share of their sales comes from Instant Games. I believe this is largely because the Michigan Lottery provides a better payout for its Draw Games than the competition does. Maryland: Massachusetts:

The situation in Minnesota is another area where prior data was somewhat vague, necessitating a closer examination for our lottery analysis. From the data on page 6, it's clear that there is a distinction between Scratch Games and Drawing Games. Total sales for all Traditional Games reached $546,900,000, with $376,200,000 attributed to Scratchers and $170,700,000 to Draw Games. Consequently, the breakdown shows that 68.79% of the revenue stems from Instant Games while 31.21% comes from Draw Games. This section also indicates that $335,200,000 was distributed in prizes, resulting in an average player return of 61.29% for players.

Thankfully, page 24 provides a more granular look at Scratch Ticket sales and prizes, showing $376,195,747 in sales versus $249,885,363 in prizes, which leads to a return to player rate of 66.42% for these tickets. While this figure is not as low as what some states like Louisiana offer for similar games, it still falls on the lower end of the spectrum in terms of returns for Instant Ticket players.

In total, there were losses reported at $211,700,000 for the stated period. When we divide this by the population, which is 5,303,925, the per capita loss on Traditional Lottery amounts to $39.91.

The returns on Instant Tickets in Michigan are not significantly worse than those in other states, but it's interesting to note that in some states where we have data on Instant Ticket returns, higher returns also coincide with greater losses per resident.

comprehensive financial report

Next, we will focus on Missouri, for which we have briefly reviewed the Annual Report earlier, but now we will dive deeper. Michigan: On page 16, we find the initial set of data, revealing that the state has achieved total lottery sales of $1,127,354,806 and allocated $755,428,901 towards prizes. This results in a 67.01% return in prizes, placing Missouri in a favorable position compared to other states for Traditional Lottery returns. However, we still need to clarify whether this high return is also influenced by Instant Ticket returns. Annual Report for 2015 .

Continuing on the next page, we note that Scratchers brought in $743,764,015 in sales, while draw games generated $353,699,652 in sales. Missouri includes Pull Tabs as well, which is essential to reconsider when calculating the overall returns for Traditional Lottery. Combining these two types of lottery results in $1,097,463,667 in sales, indicating that Scratchers contribute 67.77% vs. 32.23% for Draw Tickets.

Moreover, there were $524,877,348 in prizes awarded for Scratchers, contrasted with $203,725,703 for Draw prizes, leading to total prizes amounting to $728,603,051 within the Traditional Lottery. Hence, the overall return for Scratcher players is 70.57%, while Draw games also perform respectably with a return of 57.60%. The combined losses for Traditional Lottery players summed up to $368,860,616, which, given a population of 5,988,927, results in a per capita loss of $61.59.

It seems that part of the loss per resident can be attributed to the relatively decent return from the overall lottery system, given that Draw Games pay somewhat better than average and Scratchers offer an above-average payout as well.

to get more in depth.

Now, we turn our attention to Montana, which has a smaller demographic but impressive Lottery Revenues as noted earlier. The main driver behind these revenues is the Video Lottery, which, like in West Virginia and Delaware, plays a significant role in generating state revenue. For our purposes, we will concentrate on the revenues generated strictly from Traditional lottery products. Minnesota: .

Initially, we notice that the revenue from Scratch Tickets is a modest $17,531,453 compared to $34,792,457 from Draw Tickets. This disparity is primarily because Scratchers contend with a considerable share of players flocking to the Video Lottery. However, considering the overall Lottery revenues, this is not a major concern for them!

To summarize, the total sales volume for Traditional Lottery products reached $52,323,910, with Scratchers comprising 33.51% and Draw Tickets making up 66.49% of this total.

From the same report page, we learn that Instant Ticket prizes yielded $10,475,269, leading to a player return of 59.75%. Meanwhile, Draw tickets granted $18,781,202 in prizes, resulting in a return of 53.98%. The entire prize pool totaled $29,256,471, culminating in an overall return of 55.91% for Traditional Lottery, reflecting total losses of $23,067,439. With a population of 989,415, this results in a loss of $23.31 per resident pertaining to the Traditional Lottery.

Missouri:

Reflecting on these numbers, it seems that two main factors are influencing the outcomes: Firstly, the returns from Scratch Games are notably poor, and secondly, the astounding popularity of the Montana Video Lottery shares similarities with West Virginia's situation. From previous analysis, it's apparent that the total Montana Lottery experiences impressive figures, averaging $425.37 per resident, indicating that Traditional Lottery generates merely less than 5.5% of total lottery revenues.
This is beneficial for both the state and the Lottery, rather than detrimental, because an analysis of other states lacking a Video Lottery shows that it would be impossible for them to achieve $425.37 per resident without such a system in place.
Connecticut

Regarding the Nebraska State Lottery, we only briefly touched upon this in the prior study, and it’s time to explore the Annual Report more thoroughly.

The first conclusion that we can draw is that there is no one factor that explains why some lotteries perform exceptionally well and not others, Virginia is one lottery, for example, that it would be very difficult to explain as it has a slightly below average return to player (99.07%) but absolutely dwarfs the average State in Traditional Lottery Revenues (134.8%). The best way to even conceivably account for Virginia would be to suggest that players are simply drawn to the lottery given that there are not many other types of gambling available readily. That would seem to be the case in similarly gambling situated states such as South Carolina and Tennessee.

Sadly, the Annual Report for the Nebraska Lottery is rather disappointing, lacking a breakdown of either Ticket Sales or Prizes by game type such as Scratchers or Draw tickets. Consequently, the available information is limited to overall ticket sales and prizes. It shows that ticket sales totaled $159,764,858, with $94,626,442 awarded in prizes, reflecting a total return to player of 59.23%. Being under the 60% mark places Nebraska on the lower end of Lottery Returns to Player, evident from the fact that they only retained $65,138,416 against a population of 1,826,341, which translates to a per capita loss of $35.67.

Among the states we have reviewed so far, except for Montana (which has massive Video Lottery revenues), Nebraska has shown the lowest per capita loss to the Traditional Lottery thus far. This doesn't come as a surprise, considering the overall dismal returns from the State Lottery. 455.3M Unknown Delaware New Hampshire is another state we briefly examined in our previous project to gauge the Lottery loss per resident.

Turning to Page 49 (Page 59 of the PDF) of the Comprehensive report, 144.1M Unknown

New Hampshire conveniently provides a detailed breakdown of their sales and prizes per game. The total sales amount to $281,131,994 (after excluding "Other Revenues\"), with total prizes reaching $176,415,353, leading to a return to player of 62.75%, placing it in a moderate position.

Florida

With respect to the Scratchers, the interest in them is really difficult to understand, and for the most part, seems to wane when there are casinos and, most especially, Video Lottery games within a given state. Of course, the Expected Loss Per Hour while playing the scratchers is insanely high, yet if you go to enough gas stations in lottery states, you'll eventually run into somebody holding up the line buying and/or cashing them by the dozens...sometimes with 98%+ Video Poker within a mile or two of him/ her! It's a really bizarre form of gambling and among other things I have seen, I have noticed that some players will only scratch off the bar code and then scan the ticket to determine if it is a winner rather than scratch of the symbols, Bingo or Crossword Puzzle, whatever the case may be. This is interesting behavior to me because it makes it abundantly clear that the player is just hooked on the act of gambling on these sorts of tickets and doesn't actually care about the, 'Game,' aspect.

From this total, $208,938,625 comes from Instant Tickets, accounting for 74.32% of the total sales, while Draw Tickets represent 25.68%. Furthermore, Instant Ticket prizes awarded amounted to $141,186,490, granting a return to player of 67.57%.

Overall, the amount lost to the lottery per resident sums to $104,716,641, which, considering a population of 1,316,470, results in a loss of $79.54 per resident.

These figures closely resemble those from Kentucky, which also experiences limited gambling alternatives within its borders. I personally believe that the New Hampshire Lottery performs reasonably well, benefiting from a solid disposable income among its residents, coupled with a mid-range return percentage.

Conversely, one State that does not lack gambling opportunities is New Jersey, which was a pioneer in legalized casino gaming and has played a crucial role in setting trends. Following our previous brief examination of the New Jersey Lottery, it’s time to thoroughly analyze it, beginning with the most recent complete Annual Report available, dating from 2014.

Page 40 of this report presents both positive and negative aspects; the good news is that they make a clear distinction in their sales according to ticket type, while the downside is their failure to provide a breakdown of prizes, listing only a total figure.

Overall, the reported Ticket Sales reached $2,901,645,562, of which $1,531,771,568 (52.79%) came from Instant Games, leaving 47.21% from Draw games. The total prizes amounted to $1,731,959,514, resulting in a return to player of 59.69%. Although this return is slightly below average, it likely arises from the higher-than-usual portion of sales derived from Draw Games as opposed to Scratchers.

Total losses amounted to $1,169,686,048, which, divided by the population of 8,791,801, translates to $133.04 loss per resident.

When we consider the return to player (RTP), it's notable that Michigan residents experience quite significant losses relative to the lottery. This stands out especially because a large chunk of Michigan’s lottery revenue comes from Draw Tickets, which draw a different demographic when compared to Instant Tickets that somewhat overlap with casino offerings. The percentage of revenue from Draw Tickets—around 50%—suggests that Michigan's draw games might have a higher RTP than most other states if they are managing to sustain an overall RTP of 63.89% on their traditional lottery products, amidst a competitive market with Instant and Draw sales.

Currently, if we compare the loss per resident, Michigan is on par with Kentucky. However, Kentucky records a slightly lower overall RTP, which is somewhat offset by a larger share of their sales coming from Instant Games. This observation likely points to Michigan’s Draw Games offering a relatively better return.

Another state worth discussing is Minnesota, which previously only had vague information presented. We now turn to more thorough details for our lottery analysis. On page 6, a distinction is made between Scratchers and Draw games, outlining total sales reaching $546,900,000 from all Traditional Games, with $376,200,000 attributed to Scratchers and $170,700,000 from Draw Games. This distribution reveals that 68.79% of the revenue originates from Instant Games while 31.21% comes from Draw Games. Furthermore, the report states that $335,200,000 was allocated to prizes, leading to an RTP of 61.29% for players.

Fortunately, Page 24 provides a detailed breakdown of Scratch Ticket sales and prizes, reporting $376,195,747 in Scratch Ticket Sales against $249,885,363 allocated for Scratch Ticket prizes. This results in an RTP of 66.42% for these games. While this is better than the performance seen in states like Louisiana, it nonetheless falls on the lower end concerning Instant Ticket returns.

In total, $211,700,000 was reported as the losses during this period, which translates to a loss of $39.91 per resident based on a population of 5,303,925 when concerning Traditional Lottery products.

Comparatively, the returns on Instant Tickets in Michigan are not significantly worse than those in other states, although, so far, states that have higher returns on Instant Tickets also tend to show greater loss per resident.

Now let's focus on Missouri, which we briefly reviewed in the preceding page but will delve into with more detail.

On Page 16, the initial numbers reveal that Missouri recorded $1,127,354,806 in total lottery sales, returning $755,428,901 in prizes. This statistic leads us to understand that 67.01% was returned to players as overall prizes, placing Missouri in the upper echelon regarding returns for Traditional Lottery products. An important question remains whether this is a direct result of high returns from Instant Tickets.

Transitioning to the next page, we find that sales from Scratchers reached $743,764,015, while draw games brought in $353,699,652. It's worth mentioning that Missouri also offers Pull Tabs, which necessitates us reassessing the total RTP figures specifically for the Traditional Lottery alone. When combined, these two lottery categories amount to an overall figure of $1,097,463,667, indicating that Scratchers make up 67.77% of Traditional Lottery sales while Draw Tickets constitute 32.23%. Unknown Additionally, the data reveals that Scratcher prizes stood at $524,877,348, compared to $203,725,703 awarded in Draw prizes, culminating in total lottery prizes of $728,603,051 for Traditional Lottery contests. From this, we can deduce that the RTP for Scratchers reached 70.57%, while Draw games also performed quite well, returning 57.60%. The cumulative losses by players on Traditional Lottery summed to $368,860,616, equating to a loss of $61.59 per resident based on a population of 5,988,927.

Unknown

North Carolina

• 1,839.0M
• North Dakota

27.0M

• N/A
• Ohio

1,551.0M

• Oklahoma 171.6M
• Oregon
• I would argue that this notable loss per resident can be somewhat traced back to a decent RTP overall from Draw Games that offer slightly better returns, combined with Scratchers that provide a better-than-average payout.
• 318.3M
• I would argue that this notable loss per resident can be somewhat traced back to a decent RTP overall from Draw Games that offer slightly better returns, combined with Scratchers that provide a better-than-average payout.
• Unknown
• Next, let's examine Montana, a state that, despite its smaller population, has garnered remarkable Lottery Revenues as cited in earlier studies. Here, the Video Lottery plays a significant role, generating substantial revenue, much like the situation in West Virginia and Delaware. Our goal now is to focus solely on the revenues from traditional lottery types.

Pennsylvania

• 3,819.6M Initially, it is noteworthy that Scratch Ticket Revenue in Montana is relatively modest at $17,531,453 when compared to Draw Ticket Revenue, which reaches $34,792,457. This disparity largely arises because Scratchers face competition from the Video Lottery for many players. As established by previous overall Lottery Revenue data for the state, this does not pose a significant issue for them!
• Unknown Overall sales from traditional lottery products reached $52,323,910, with Scratchers accounting for 33.51% of this total and Draw Tickets comprising 66.49%.
• Rhode Island Further examination reveals Instant Ticket prizes numbering $10,475,269, yielding an RTP of 59.75%, while Draw Tickets awarded $18,781,202, leading to an RTP of 53.98%. Cumulatively, the prizes totalled $29,256,471, resulting in an overall RTP of 55.91% for the Traditional Lottery, which reflects total losses amounting to $23,067,439. With a population of 989,415, this results in losses of $23.31 per resident concerning the Traditional Lottery.
• 243.1M South Carolina
• Calculator for estimating lottery jackpot ticket sales. Examining these statistics, it becomes evident that two critical factors play a role here: firstly, the poor returns from Scratch Games, and secondly, the overwhelming popularity of the Montana Video Lottery— a phenomenon similar to what we find in West Virginia. As highlighted in another project, the total revenue from the overall Montana Lottery stands at an impressive $425.37 per resident, indicating that Traditional Lottery only comprises less than 5.5% of the full lottery revenues.

1,401.7M South Dakota