More people playing the lottery, but profits are down

BOSTON (WWLP) - State lottery sales are up, but profits are down. Still, Treasurer Steve Grossman says you won’t hear any lottery winner complaining.

The money being paid out to lottery winners is higher than months past, and that is leading to a $19 million drop in net profits for the month of August, compared to the same time last year. For every $100 received in tickets sales in July and August, an average of $74 has been paid-out to winners.

Grossman, who oversees the state lottery, says profits should bounce back over a full year period.

“So we’re down a little bit in the profits from the first two months of last year, but our sales are up by more than $44 million dollars through September 20, so we’re having a very good year,” Grossman said, “and I would never want to read into the first two months a trend for the whole year.”

During the last fiscal year, which ended June 30, the Lottery reported a $30 million increase in net profits, for a record total of $981 million.

Grossman says the real winners of the Lottery will be cities and towns across the Commonwealth, as they’ll receive a bulk of the Lottery profits.