SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Record jackpots led to record income for the Illinois Lottery.
The Lottery on Thursday reported its numbers from the 2023 fiscal year, which ended on June 30th. They include a record amount of net income at $882 million, a 5.7% increase from the year prior.
Three separate billion dollar multi-state jackpots with Mega Millions and Powerball increased revenue from those games by around 53% percent from the previous year to $70 million.
“A record year like this allows us to meet our mission to responsibly deliver revenue to the Common School Fund, which is the primary source for state funding of K-12 education in Illinois, in grand fashion,” said Illinois Lottery Director, Harold Mays.
The Lottery also announced $9 million dollars was raised in scratch off ticket games to eight causes across Illinois. Those who benefited include the Special Olympics in Illinois, The Alzheimer’s Association in Illinois, MS research, police memorials, Illinois Veterans services, HIV/AIDS support programs, the fight against breast cancer, and homelessness prevention.
The largest prize won in fiscal year 2023 was two people from Des Plaines who split the $1.34 billion Mega Millions jackpot in July of 2022. $2.36 billion was won in total by players in the fiscal year, which included 61 new millionaires in total.
