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A Message
from CEO Terry Rich:
The Iowa Lottery had a
successful, record-setting performance in
fiscal year 2009. I'm extremely proud to
report that our preliminary figures for the
year show the Iowa Lottery increased the
overall amount of proceeds it sent to the
state and provided key support for veterans'
causes through the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund.
The Iowa Lottery raised more than $60.6
million for state programs in its latest
financial year, which ended June 30. That's
the highest profits total from the sale of
lotto, instant-scratch and pull-tab games
since the lottery's start in 1985.
Preliminary figures show that lottery
proceeds to the state in fiscal year 2009
increased 7.2 percent from a year earlier,
although lottery sales were down during the
same period. Unaudited figures show that
lottery sales totaled $243.3 million in FY
2009, down 2.4 percent from sales of $249.2
million in fiscal year 2008.
Another highlight of the FY 2009 results was
the $2.8 million the lottery raised for the
Iowa Veterans Trust Fund. Legislation
dedicating some lottery proceeds to
veterans' causes was signed into law by Gov.
Culver in March 2008.
When the idea of games dedicated to veterans
was initially discussed, the lottery
estimated it could raise $2 million to $3
million annually for the Iowa Veterans Trust
Fund. The total for FY 2009 reached the
upper end of that range and demonstrates
Iowans' support for the cause. Our thanks go
out to our players for recognizing this
important cause and helping us provide a
stable, ongoing source of revenue for the
Iowa Veterans Trust Fund.
It's clear that Iowa Lottery employees
deserve a lot of credit for this year's
success. This was a challenging year for
workers everywhere and I'm proud of the
success achieved by the lottery team.
The lottery's authority status also played a
key role in the positive proceeds results
for the year. In 2003, the lottery was
remade from a state agency into the Iowa
Lottery Authority, a corporate-model lottery
with the business flexibility to function as
an entrepreneurial enterprise.
As the Authority, the lottery for the first
time was able to purchase property, and did
so in 2004 by issuing revenue bonds to
purchase both its headquarters building in
Des Moines and the vending machines
currently used to sell instant-scratch and
pull-tab tickets in retail locations across
the state. The long-term savings achieved by
the purchase of property and the decreased
annual property costs that took effect this
year would not have been possible without
creation of the Iowa Lottery Authority. Our
state's leaders should be commended for
providing the lottery with the tools it
needed to increase profits at this critical
time.
The lottery's business flexibility also
allowed it to move quickly to develop the
"Keep Your Ticket Handy" campaign this
spring with the Iowa Tourism Office, which
helped raise awareness not only of the
Lottery, but travel destinations across the
state.
Due to the 2008 floods and the national
economic recession, lottery sales and
proceeds early in FY 2009 had trailed
results from the year before. The work of
producing the travel initiative was just one
of the many ways that lottery staffers were
able to respond to make a big improvement in
the numbers as the year continued.
The Keep Your Ticket Handy initiative really
demonstrated how the lottery can expand its
reach by utilizing its huge promotional
power to help other businesses in Iowa.
We've been gratified to help build homegrown
success in our state. And, we will continue
to investigate new game ideas and innovative
projects to drive player interest so the
lottery will remain a strong source of
optional revenue for the state of Iowa.
The lottery's positive impact in Iowa also
extends beyond the proceeds it provides for
state programs. Iowa businesses received
nearly $15.3 million in commissions from the
lottery for their daily work in selling
lottery products in FY 2009, and the state
of Iowa received $1.2 million in withholding
tax revenue from lottery prizes.
While we're excited about this fiscal year's
accomplishments, we must continually look
ahead. As we move forward, our business
focus is on profits: to maximize revenues
and minimize expenses for our state; while
our game focus will be on new entertainment
for our players. Both have bottom-line
impact. We will continue to evaluate and
adjust plans to do our best to meet our FY
2010 proceeds goal in these tough economic
times.
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