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Kentucky Lottery Has Best Sales Month In History

Posted at 9:59 AM, Apr 09, 2019
and last updated 2019-04-09 10:00:59-04

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (LEX 18)– The Kentucky Lottery posted its highest sales month in history last month.

According to a press release, March sales were $116.1 million which beat the previous record of $115.5 million in October 2018. This record was set when the Mega Millions jackpot exceeded $1 billion.

Leading the way for this massive month was a marked increase in Scratch-off ticket sales. This category saw $70 million in sales, a full $9.7 million more than in March 2018. This also beat a record that had stood for nearly 30 years – previously the best Scratch-off ticket sales month in Kentucky Lottery history had been the first month of sales in April 1989, which finished at $68.1 million.

“Much of this is attributable to the launch of our first $30 Scratch off ticket,” said Kentucky Lottery President and CEO Tom Delacenserie. “As we celebrated our 30th anniversary, we wanted to do something big to mark the occasion. Launching this new price point was a big hit with players with a first-time ever top prize of $3 million, and they really responded.”

March was also highlighted by a Powerball jackpot run that reached as high as $768.4 million. This led to sales of $12.3 million for the game, an increase of $5.3 million (73 percent) from the same month in 2018.

Increased sales also meant increased prizes. March 2019 finished the month with prize expenses of $76.1 million, also a new record.