Iowa Lottery

A Message from CEO Terry Rich

Recent surveys about volunteering and helping good causes show Iowans are among the most committed in the nation to causes that matter to them.

We understand that because helping worthy causes is one of our biggest goals. In fiscal year 2011, the Iowa Lottery raised a record $68 million for state programs, including more than $3 million for Iowa veterans and their families.

As Iowans, we know that tough economic times in our state make every additional dollar raised by the lottery that much more meaningful.

The lottery achieved record sales of more than $271 million from its core products of lotto, instant-scratch and pulltab games in FY 2011, but much more than sales made this year a success:

• Iowa Lottery players took home a historic $159 million in prizes from those three core products.
• We found out how much Iowans are committed to veterans' causes. The Iowa Veterans Trust Fund received $3.1 million in proceeds from lottery tickets dedicated to veterans and their families. That's the biggest annual total we've raised for the fund since legislation dedicating proceeds to it went into effect in 2008.
• We implemented a new sales and validations system for lotto tickets that began rolling out in March 2011 and became fully operational on July 3, 2011. We're excited to bring our players and retailers a state-of-the-art system that gives us new capabilities while at the same time providing the reliability and security players have always expected from us.
• Iowa businesses received more than $17 million in commissions from the lottery for their daily work in selling lottery products in FY 2011. That's an increase of $1.2 million from the year before.
• Regular security compliance checks have revealed an effective retailer system in our state. We're pleased that the lottery's positive impact in Iowa extends beyond the proceeds it provides for state programs.

Each year we concentrate on bringing new and innovative ideas to the market while keeping an eye on results. Record sales, proceeds to the state and prizes paid make us successful, but success comes not just in dollars. We concentrate on providing players entertainment value while operating the lottery with integrity and monitoring the social impact of what we do. We'll continue to do our best to ensure that Iowa's lottery helps Iowans every day in many ways.