Lottery ends the fiscal year sending near-record amount to state

Indiana’s lottery sent a near-record $370 million to state coffers in the 2023 fiscal year.

The Indiana Lottery Commission closed out the books last week, also sending a $19.7 million incentive payment to IGT Indiana.

IGT Indiana is the contract operator of the Hoosier Lottery, handling product development, marketing, sales and distribution services.

The lottery made $1.75 billion in sales for the year, topping last year by 2.6%.

Scratch-offs made up the bulk of those sales at $1.3 billion. Draw games, in contrast, were just $440 million of total sales.

Surplus money returned to the state goes toward retirement and pension funds for police, firefighters and teachers, as well as to lower the motor vehicle excise tax by as much as 50%.

The highest return was $375 million in 2021.

Though gaming officials celebrated the year’s high revenue and sales, they cautioned that three multi-state, billion-dollar jackpots — which boosted revenue — weren’t stable elements for future budgeting and planning.

IGT Indiana said it plans to focus on launching new games, using pop-culture and holiday themes to get “light” and lapsed players participating more often, and so on, according to a presentation of the operator’s 2024 business plan.