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.
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The plug has been pulled on a bill that would give the Hoosier Lottery permission to sell tickets online and host instant games on its website.
The House Public Policy Committee endorsed a bill on Tuesday allowing online lottery sales, a move sought for years by state lottery officials as a way to boost revenue.
In 2025, Indiana could see its biggest gambling expansion since sports wagering was legalized in 2019.
A Christmas Eve Powerball drawing could add new meaning to holiday cheer as millions of players hope to cash in on the prize, which comes after months without a jackpot winner.
The Indiana State Fair added six shows to its Hoosier Lottery Free Stage lineup Wednesday, including a tribute to the Fab Four’s 1964 performance in Indianapolis.
In a forecast revealed during a Tuesday commission meeting, lottery revenues were expected to end the 2025 fiscal year on June 30 down by almost 4%.
Under the bill, Indiana would have joined 14 other states with digital lottery games, including Kentucky, Illinois and Michigan.
The lottery expects to have raked in an eye-popping $1.7 billion in revenue by July, which marks the end of its fiscal year. It will have have paid out $1.1 billion in prize expenses by then, according to preliminary and unaudited data.
The Hoosier Lottery has leased two floors of the building at 1302 N. Meridian St. since 2011.
Although gaming officials celebrated the year’s high revenue and sales, they cautioned that three multi-state, billion-dollar jackpots—which boosted revenue—weren’t stable elements for future budgeting and planning.
The Hoosier Lottery expects to make $1.7 billion in sales by the end of the fiscal year, which ends June 30. That’s up 1.6% compared with last year.
Indiana’s governor is supporting the Hoosier Lottery’s consideration of starting online games or ticket sales while state legislators are looking to have their say on whether those will be allowed.
Indiana lawmakers are looking to block the Hoosier Lottery from starting online games or ticket sales without their permission.
The boost in revenue will result in the lottery sending a record $375 million in profits to the state—up about $71 million, or 23%, from the year before.
Officials told the State Lottery Commission this past week that they projected that scratch-off ticket sales would be up almost 27% for the fiscal year ending June 30 compared with a year ago.
According 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.
