CONCORD, N.H. – The New Hampshire Lottery set an all-time sales record during Fiscal Year 2018, with total sales exceeding $331.8 million, marking an increase of more than $33.9 million or 11.4 percent from Fiscal Year 2017, according to preliminary sales figures. The New Hampshire Lottery also generated a nearly 20-percent increase in net profits to a record $86.5 million, which supports education in New Hampshire. Since its inception in 1964, the New Hampshire Lottery has delivered more than $1.9 billion in revenue to support education in New Hampshire.
“The New Hampshire Lottery is a critical resource for the state in delivering millions of dollars each year to support our education system,” said Governor Chris Sununu. “With its sales success, its growing variety of entertaining, innovative and exciting games and its commitment to the highest standards, the New Hampshire Lottery is clearly an industry leader dedicated to fulfilling its mission. In New Hampshire, when you play the lottery, we all win.”
In driving record overall sales this past fiscal year, the New Hampshire Lottery generated $238.3 million in scratch ticket sales, a nearly $15.4 million or 6.9-percent increase from last year. Bolstered by major jackpots over the past year, Mega Millions sales jumped by nearly 60-percent, from $10.7 million in Fiscal Year 2017 to nearly $17 million in Fiscal Year 2018. In addition, Powerball sales increased by nearly 13 percent from $32.4 million to $36.6 million this past Fiscal Year.
“We are pleased with sales over the past year and we are particularly pleased to be able to deliver more than $86.5 million in critical revenue to support public education in New Hampshire—at a time when funding for public education is needed now more than ever,” said Charlie McIntyre, executive director of the New Hampshire Lottery. “Our success is driven by a variety of factors, including our expanding array of fun and exciting games at all price points, strategic marketing and advertising initiatives, a dedicated staff and a commitment to innovation and creativity that few lotteries in the nation can claim. We constantly strive to offer new and exhilarating opportunities for our players to experience the fun and excitement of playing the lottery.”
Further driving the sales increase, the New Hampshire Lottery’s newest game, KENO 603, which launched in December 2017, generated nearly $8.3 million in sales. With more than 130 establishments in 65 cities and towns offering KENO 603, sales are averaging $400,000 per week. As more communities adopt KENO 603, more eligible establishments will sign up to offer the game, supporting continued sales growth.
Thanks to its variety of unique and fun games, and a dedicated effort to reach players at all price points, scratch ticket sales in New Hampshire have risen steadily in recent years. Since Fiscal Year 2010, instant ticket sales have climbed by $77.7 million, a nearly 50-percent increase during that time period.
New Hampshire Lottery players can try their luck at about 60 scratch ticket games, with tickets selling from $1 to $25, and prizes ranging from $50 to $2 million. In recent years, the New Hampshire Lottery has emphasized new and exciting games in its scratch ticket options, with a dual focus of providing plenty of appealing options for core Lottery players, while at the same time taking steps to entice new players.
The top-10 performing scratch tickets, by number of tickets sold, from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018 were:
- Money Puzzle Plus – 2,027,082 tickets sold
- $500,000 Fortune – 1,736,269 tickets sold
- Granite State Gold – 1,563,882 tickets sold
- 5X Patriots – 1,245,265 tickets sold
- 5X the Cash – 1,204,962 tickets sold
- Frogger – 1,196,295 tickets sold
- Black & Gold – 1,177,057 tickets sold
- Hot $ – 1,166,451 tickets sold
- Fast 5’s – 1,135,304 tickets sold
- Holiday Classic - 1,103,403 tickets sold
The top-10 performing scratch tickets, by sales dollars, from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018 were:
- Granite State Gold - $39,097,050
- $500,000 Fortune - $17,362,690
- Mega Cash - $9,338,060
- 50X the Money - $7,136,020
- 5X Patriots - $6,226,325
- Win Big - $6,133,680
- Money Puzzle Plus - $6,081,246
- Cash Craze Double Doubler - $5,889,750
- Black & Gold - $5,885,285
- Double Diamond Spectacular - $5,882,600
About New Hampshire Lottery
Since 1964, the New Hampshire Lottery has had a significant financial impact on the state. For the past 54 years, the New Hampshire Lottery has recorded more than $6.6 billion in lottery sales and other earnings, with over $4.4 billion paid in prizes and other cost of sales. Net proceeds to education total more than $1.9 to date.
The New Hampshire Lottery Commission, located at 14 Integra Drive in Concord, currently manages all lottery operations in the state, including instant games, New Hampshire Powerball®, New Hampshire Mega Millions®, Tri-State Megabucks℠ Plus, Tri-State Pick3®/Pick4® Daily Numbers games, Gimme 5, Fast Play games, Lucky For Life® and KENO 603.