Lottery profit sets record

Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2005 | 9:25 a.m.

RICHMOND, Va. -- People itching to win a few dollars did more scratching in the past year, helping the Virginia Lottery turn a record profit of $423.5 million.

It was the fourth consecutive record performance for the Virginia Lottery, topping the fiscal year 2004 profit by about $15 million, the agency announced Tuesday.

Donna M. VanCleave, the lottery's interim executive director, said the growing popularity of instant scratch tickets was largely responsible for the increase. Sales of scratchers reached almost $680 million, a $49 million increase over the previous year.

"We work hard here to get innovative products, to get products players like and to run this place as efficiently and low cost as we can," VanCleave said.

Other state lotteries also are finding scratchers offer greater marketing opportunities than games that are driven by large jackpots, she said. Among the Virginia Lottery's most popular scratchers in the past year were "World Series of Poker" and "$100,000 Texas hold 'em."

The profit for the fiscal year that ended June 30 was exactly what the General Assembly had projected in the state budget. The Virginia Constitution requires the state to use the money for public schools.

Total lottery sales for the fiscal year were a record $1.3 billion, an increase of more than $71 million over the previous year. Players won $774.6 million and lottery retailers earned $76 million, both all-time highs.

The Virginia Lottery set the records despite new competition from Tennessee, which completed its first full fiscal year of running its own lottery. VanCleave said some retailers near the Tennessee border sold fewer tickets, but the overall impact was minimal.