FY 2022 Results: Lottery Proceeds Top $97 Million, Near Previous Year's Record
Iowa Lottery sales top $400 million for second time in its history
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CLIVE, Iowa - The Iowa Lottery released its annual results on Friday, with sales, proceeds to state causes, and prizes to players all finishing near the previous year's record highs despite strong inflationary headwinds in recent months. Fiscal year 2022 ultimately yielded the lottery's second-highest results in its 37-year history.
"Fiscal year 2022 completes the most successful two-year period of sales, proceeds and prizes in the history of the Iowa Lottery," said Iowa Lottery CEO Matt Strawn. "Combined with last year's more than 20 percent increase in sales and proceeds, the Iowa Lottery continues to responsibly generate significant revenues for important Iowa causes – even in the face of increasingly challenging economic conditions.
"This performance doesn't happen without players who responsibly enjoy lottery products, a statewide network of retailers, and a public-minded Lottery workforce. They all deserve my gratitude and appreciation," he said.
However, Strawn noted that lottery results in recent months were - and continue to be - impacted by record fuel prices, larger inflationary pressures, and increased competition for consumers' discretionary dollars.
"While sounding a note of caution is part of our responsibility, so too is making sure that the lottery continues in as strong a position as possible so it can best deliver on its promise to the people of Iowa," he said. "By any measure, the Iowa Lottery is in a strong position entering fiscal year 2023."
The preliminary figures released Friday show that the Iowa Lottery generated $97.9 million in proceeds to state causes in the fiscal year that ended June 30. Annual lottery sales in FY 2022 were $432.7 million, while prizes to players totaled $274.2 million. Lottery sales commissions paid to the Iowa retail locations that sell tickets totaled $28.3 million for the year.
FY 2022 is just the second time that annual Iowa Lottery sales topped $400 million and the third time that its total proceeds to state causes exceeded $90 million.
Mary Rathje of Marion, chair of the Iowa Lottery Board, noted multiple positives for the lottery during the fiscal year in addition to its strong financial performance. Those included record statewide awareness messages to highlight National Problem Gambling Awareness Month in March, a clean audit from the State Auditor's Office, continued lottery security checks at retail locations, and annual operating expenses that were well below budget.
"As a citizen Board member, it is important for me to see the broad impact that the Iowa Lottery, its staff and retailers have achieved for our state," said Rathje, office manager and controller at Rathje Construction Co. in Marion. "As a business owner, I also recognize the challenging economic conditions of the past year and know the dedication and hard work that went into this success for Iowa."
The unaudited results released Friday show that Iowa Lottery sales in FY 2022 decreased 4.4 percent from the previous year's record total of $452.6 million.
Lottery proceeds to state causes in FY 2022 decreased 3.8 percent from the previous year's record total, and prizes to players were down 5.1 percent from the previous year's record.
With FY 2021 as an outlier due to the many unusual circumstances of that year, a comparison of the lottery's FY 2022 results with its FY 2020 figures show that its totals were up in all categories when measured against that earlier period.
Increased fuel costs, which historically have had the most direct impact on the sale of scratch games among the lottery's products, did so again in FY 2022. Fuel prices in Iowa began to climb in the spring of 2022 and by mid-May, the Iowa average retail diesel price was above $5 per gallon while the Iowa average price for retail unleaded gasoline was above $4 per gallon.
Scratch-game sales in May were down 17.5 percent compared to the same month in 2021. That trend continued into June, with the Iowa average price for retail unleaded gasoline topping $4.50 per gallon, and scratch-game sales down 14.7 percent for the month compared to the same time period the previous year.
Scratch-game sales were down 7.5 percent in Iowa for the year, with the product category representing about 68 percent of total Iowa Lottery sales.
Conversely, the lotto category was positively impacted by the Powerball® and Lucky for Life® game groups' decisions to increase the number of weekly drawings in those games. The changes were designed to decrease the wait time between drawings and achieve larger, faster-growing jackpots with more prize winners.
In July 2021, Lucky for Life moved from two drawings per week to daily drawings. The following month, Powerball moved to three drawings per week with the addition of Monday drawings.
Both games saw marked sales increases in FY 2022, with Lucky for Life sales increasing 45.3 percent and Powerball sales increasing 22.2 percent.
The Iowa Lottery believes that increased competition for consumer discretionary spending was a factor in its FY 2022 results. Any form of entertainment is a non-essential purchase that comes from consumers' discretionary dollars, and the Lottery recognizes that household budgets have been stressed in 2022 while leisure-activity options have expanded.
"The lottery will continue its efforts to produce innovative products, responsible promotions and efficient operations that will allow it to remain a meaningful source of proceeds for state causes in Iowa," Strawn said.
A highlight for FY 2022 was the $2.5 million the lottery raised for the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund to benefit our state's veterans and their families. The lottery now has raised more than $34.8 million for the Veterans Trust Fund since it began providing proceeds to that cause in 2008. In FY 2022, the lottery also provided proceeds to both the Public Safety Survivor Benefits Fund and Department of Corrections Survivor Benefits Fund, which help with insurance costs for the families of Iowa peace officers, fire fighters and corrections employees who die in the line of duty.
Here is a year-to-year comparison of annual lottery sales by product:
| Product |
FY 2022 Sales |
FY 2021 Sales |
| Scratch games |
$293.1 million |
$316.9 million |
| InstaPlay games |
$23.4 million |
$23.5 million |
| Pick 3 |
$9.3 million |
$9.5 million |
| Powerball |
$53.1 million |
$43.4 million |
| Mega Millions |
$20.4 million |
$29 million |
| Pick 4 |
$5.6 million |
$5.5 million |
| Lucky for Life |
$8.1 million |
$5.6 million |
| Lotto America |
$7 million |
$6.4 million |
| Pull-tab games |
$12.7 million |
$12.8 million |
The Top 10 retailers in Iowa for lottery sales in FY 2022 were in seven different communities:
| Retailer |
Address |
City |
FY 2022 Sales |
| Hy-Vee |
1843 Johnson Ave NW |
Cedar Rapids |
$1,223,853.50 |
| Jiffy |
111 S Third Ave |
Marshalltown |
$1,099,288.00 |
| Hy-Vee |
2323 W Broadway |
Council Bluffs |
$946,106.00 |
| Hy-Vee |
20 Wilson Ave |
Cedar Rapids |
$857,824.50 |
| Hy-Vee Drugstore |
1520 Sixth St SW |
Cedar Rapids |
$834,129.00 |
| Hy-Vee |
2540 E Euclid Ave |
Des Moines |
$821,712.00 |
| Dale's Corner Store |
231 Fifth Ave N |
Fort Dodge |
$808,259.50 |
| Porter's Convenient 66 |
1512 Lincoln Way |
Clinton |
$794,889.00 |
| Jiffy |
3718 SW Ninth St |
Des Moines |
$775,674.50 |
| Mad Ave Quik Shop |
405 S Madison Ave |
Ottumwa |
$765,374.50 |
Three Iowa Lottery players won prizes of $1 million or more during FY 2022:
| Winner |
City |
Game |
Prize |
Claim Date |
| Karla Elenz |
New Hampton |
Powerball |
$2 million |
Jan. 13, 2022 |
| Joshua Buster |
West Burlington |
Mega Millions |
$1 million |
April 18, 2022 |
| Susan Blazek |
Delhi |
Million Dollar $ummer Promo |
$1 million |
Aug. 31, 2021 |
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