“Much of this is attributable to the launch of our first $30 Scratch off ticket,” said Kentucky Lottery President and CEO Tom Delacenserie. “As we celebrated our 30th anniversary, we wanted to do something big to mark the occasion. Launching this new price point was a big hit with players with a first-time ever top prize of $3 million, and they really responded.”
NEWS RELEASE April 8, 2019
For More Information Chip Polston, Jennifer Cunningham, Sara Westerman (502) 560-1675
KENTUCKY LOTTERY HAS BEST SALES MONTH IN HISTORY
In March 2019, the Kentucky Lottery posted its highest sales month in history - and broke another record that had stood for nearly three decades.
March sales were $116.1 million. This beat the previous record of $115.5 million, set in October 2018 during a Mega Millions run that for the first time in the game's history saw a jackpot in excess of $1 billion.
Leading the way for this massive month was a marked increase in Scratch-off ticket sales. This category saw $70 million in sales, a full $9.7 million (16.1%) more than in March 2018. This also beat a record that had stood for nearly 30 years - previously the best Scratch-off ticket sales month in Kentucky Lottery history had been the first month of sales in April 1989, which finished at $68.1 million.
"Much of this is attributable to the launch of our first $30 Scratch off ticket," said Kentucky Lottery President and CEO Tom Delacenserie. "As we celebrated our 30th anniversary, we wanted to do something big to mark the occasion. Launching this new price point was a big hit with players with a first-time ever top prize of $3 million, and they really responded."
March was also highlighted by a Powerball jackpot run that reached as high as $768.4 million. This led to sales of $12.3 million for the game, an increase of $5.3 million (73%) from the same month in 2018.
Increased sales also meant increased prizes. March 2019 finished the month with prize expenses of $76.1 million, also a new record.
The Kentucky Lottery has earned over $5.3 billion for the Commonwealth since 1989. KLC dividends pay for college scholarships, grants and education programs. Visit kheaa.com to find out more about grants and scholarships paid for by the KLC.