FY 2007 RESULTS: LOTTERY RAISES $58.2 MILLION
FOR STATE PROGRAMS

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Watch Dr. Ed Stanek Discuss FY 2007 Results

Combined Sales & Profits From Lotto, Scratch and Pull-Tab Games Hit Records

DES MOINES, Iowa - Strong sales of instant-scratch, pull-tab and Hot Lotto tickets helped the Iowa Lottery raise more than $58 million for state programs in its latest financial year.

Preliminary figures released Tuesday show that lottery sales totaled $235 million in fiscal year 2007, which ended June 30. That mark is the highest combined sales total for lotto, instant-scratch and pull-tab games since the lottery's start in 1985, but is down from total lottery sales of $339.5 in fiscal year 2006, which included TouchPlay revenue.

The unaudited figures show the lottery raised more than $58.2 million in profits for state programs during FY 2007, again the highest profits total achieved from the sale of lotto, scratch and pull-tab games. The total was down from the $80.9 million in lottery profits in FY 2006, which again included TouchPlay revenue.

Dr. Ed Stanek, chief executive officer of the Iowa Lottery Authority, said two product categories had particularly strong results for the lottery in its latest year: instant-scratch games and the Hot Lotto game.

“The lottery continues to offer a diverse range of instant-scratch tickets, and our results show that our players appreciate the variety of play styles and price points from which they can choose,” Stanek said. “Hot Lotto also saw tremendous growth this past year, due in large part to its record jackpot of nearly $20 million, which was won in Iowa.”

Stanek also noted that the lottery received strong support in the past year from Ankeny-based Casey's General Stores Inc., which has more than 400 convenience stores in Iowa and is in the process of increasing the number of scratch games carried in its stores from 12 to 16.

Sales of instant-scratch tickets, the first product introduced by the Iowa Lottery and always one of its top-selling items, rose nearly 18 percent to a record $125.1 million in FY 2007. The lottery's previous record for instant-scratch sales had been set in FY 2006, when $106.6 million in scratch tickets were sold.

Hot Lotto sales rose 50 percent to $14.5 million in FY 2007, which saw the largest jackpot in the game since its start in 2002 go to a central Iowa man. John Hall, a small-business owner from Indianola, claimed a $19.97 million Hot Lotto prize in February. Hot Lotto sales in FY 2006 had totaled $9.6 million.

Stanek noted that Hot Lotto, which offers Powerball-style play but with easier odds, should continue to grow in the coming years. The game currently is offered by Iowa and nine other lotteries, with three additional states slated to join the game by early 2008.

Sales of pull-tab tickets also saw a double-digit increase in FY 2007, rising to more than $21 million compared to $18.3 million in FY 2006. Stanek said that while the lottery already offers a variety of pull-tab games, it will diversify its offerings even further in the coming year by beginning to regularly offer pull-tab games with top prizes of more than $600.

“The lottery's success has been built by offering variety in our products and entertainment for our players,” Stanek said. “That will continue to be our focus to ensure strong lottery revenues for the programs that benefit all Iowans.”

Powerball sales continued at a strong rate in the lottery's latest year, totaling $61.5 million, but were down from $71.1 million in FY 2006, which saw a record jackpot of $365 million in the game. That prize was claimed in February 2006 by eight co-workers from a Nebraska meat-packing plant.

The lottery's FY 2007 results were impacted by the discontinuation of the TouchPlay program, which ended in May 2006. TouchPlay sales had totaled $121.4 million in FY 2006. The lottery had no sales in that category in FY 2007, but redeemed TouchPlay tickets through their expiration date in August 2006, resulting in a loss of about $78,000 from TouchPlay for the year after transferring almost $30 million in TouchPlay profits to the state during FY 2006.

Since its start in 1985, the Iowa Lottery has raised more than $1 billion for the state programs that benefit all Iowans. Through the years, lottery funds have been used for a variety of initiatives, including projects to create new recreation areas, support research at Iowa's public universities, develop new products and techniques for agriculture, and promote tourism in Iowa.

Iowa Lottery profits currently are deposited in the state general fund, where they are used to pay for a variety of programs. Some of the programs that receive money from the general fund include education, natural resources, health and family services and public safety.