More than 5% of the lottery’s roughly 4,300 retail ticket sellers were closed for extended periods after statewide business restrictions were put in place in March because of the COVID-19 outbreak, lottery officials said.
Read MoreAccording to a financial report presented to the Hoosier Lottery Commission on Tuesday morning, lottery sales are expected to hit $1.3 billion in fiscal year 2020, which is 1.1% less than budgeted and nearly 3% lower than in fiscal year 2019.
Lottery sales reached $1.34 billion in the latest fiscal year, up from $1.27 billion in the previous year.
The Hoosier Lottery is set to study the move that could let players buy tickets for Powerball, Mega Millions and instant games on their phones.
The Mega Millions jackpot is expected to hit $1.6 billion Tuesday, making it the biggest lottery prize in U.S. history.
This is the first year IGT Indiana has qualified for an incentive payment since it was hired by the lottery in 2012.
Sales of scratch-offs and a reduction in expenses helped offset a dip in sales for big-jackpot tickets.
The new ticket would top a current $30 instant game as Indiana's most expensive.
Two governors tried to fire Northstar Lottery Group. But Northstar—a subsidiary of Gtech Corp., the parent company of Gtech Indiana, which manages the Hoosier Lottery—remains on the job more than two years later.
Even if the Legislature approves the new lottery tickets, it's uncertain when they could be sold. They're not specified in the existing contract with Gtech Indiana, which runs the Hoosier Lottery.
Northstar Lottery Group, which is accused of manipulating scratch-off games in Illinois, is a subsidiary of Gtech Corp., the parent of the company that manages the Hoosier Lottery.
A prosecutor says two brothers accused of conspiring to fix lottery games in five states planted software on a lottery computer in Indiana that would have enabled them to fix more games.
Lottery officials project a $281 million profit during the 2016 budget year that ended June 30 after record sales for scratch-off tickets and draw games because of large Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots.
The Hoosier Lottery is having a banner year, thanks in part to this winter’s record $1.6 billion Powerball jackpot mania and other efforts to better reach Indiana players.
The private management company operating the Hoosier Lottery says it expects to sell enough tickets to avoid a penalty for a third straight year but not enough to receive an incentive bonus.
Northstar, the vendor hired to oversee sales and marketing in New Jersey, is an affiliate of Gtech Corp., the private operator of the Hoosier Lottery.
Eight firms are bidding to be the media-buying and planning-services agency for the Hoosier Lottery. Though the Lottery's ad contract isn't as lucrative as it once was, the winner could score an annual six-figure payoff.
Hoosier Lottery spokeswoman Courtney Arango said Indiana is committed to keeping its contract with private operator Gtech Indiana.
The Hoosier Lottery and other participating states questioned the future of the money-losing game after Texas decided Dec. 11 to end participation. Sales were not high enough to cover jackpots.
The Hoosier Lottery is evaluating its next move on the Monopoly Millionaires' Club—a new, so-far money-losing game—in the wake of a decision by Texas to end its participation.
New Jersey was the third state after Illinois and Indiana to bet that outside marketing and sales experts could tap hidden lottery riches. The state uses the same private manager as Indiana.
