Lotteries in the states of Maine and Tennessee continue to hit revenue jackpots.
In Maine, state officials announced that its lottery sales posted a record high of $272.3 million in fiscal year 2015, up 7.05 percent from $253.1 million the previous year.
Portland Press Herald reported that it was the second year in a row that Maine Lottery proceeds broke records and was the most successful year in the lottery’s 42-year history. A total of $57 million in lottery proceeds are going into the General Fund.
Meanwhile, prize money paid to winners grew to $178.2 million this fiscal year, compared to the $166.7 million the previous year. The report said that the largest prize given out was $3 million.
Gregg Mineo, director of the Maine Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations, said that lottery retailers earned an all-time high of $18.1 million in commissions, 6.63 percent higher than the commissions earned in the previous year.
The report quoted Mineo saying that there are more than 1,200 lottery retailers in Maine.
According to Mineo, the robust record sales was fueled by the $1.6 billion Powerball jackpot in January. He said draw game sales up 50 percent over fiscal year 2015. But the big sellers remained instant “scratch” tickets, which totaled $210.5 million in sales, up from $199.5 million the previous year.
Meanwhile in Tennessee, Officials of the Tennessee Education Lottery reported a strong lottery sales for the months of July and August.
The Associated Press reported that lottery sales in Tennessee for July and August were up by 9.3 percent compared to the same period last year.
Instant ticket sales and large Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots gave lottery sales a big push for the two consecutive months. Player prizes have totaled more than $10 billion, with retailers earning more than $978 million in commissions.
