Sales and profits of lotteries in the U.S.

Pavel Prikhodko, Ph.D. Machine Learning

In the United States, lotteries are run by 47 jurisdictions, including 44 states plus the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. The most recent U.S. lottery to be legalized was in Wyoming, where it began operation in July 2013.

There are two major lottery games: Mega Millions and Powerball. These companies are offered in nearly all jurisdictions that operate lotteries. Among the states that do not have lotteries are Mississippi, Utah and Alabama (because of religious objections). In the modern technology era, plenty of new apps have been created for people to purchase lottery tickets on their gadgets (such as smartphones or laptops).

The graph below offers a look at some information on the annual sales of lotteries in the country by state (all figures have been rounded). In 2016, the annual sales of lottery tickets in the state of New York reached over $9.68 billion. California was home to the second-largest share of lottery sales: $6.28 billion last year. Sales of lotteries in Florida approximated to $6.06 billion in 2016. Massachusetts and Texas had lottery sales amounting to $5.22 billion and $5.07 billion respectively.

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Now, let’s analyze the data on the annual profits of lotteries in the U.S. Last year, the profits of lotteries in New York approximated to $3.3 billion. Florida was another large lottery profit source, generating $1.7 billion. In 2016, lotteries in the state of California made a profit of $1.58 billion, while Texas profits amounted to $1.39 billion. Pennsylvania rounded out the top five, seeing profits of $1.1 billion.

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About Pavel Prikhodko

Pavel Prikhodko, Ph.D. Machine Learning

Pavel has worked for many years as a researcher and developer on a wide range of applications (varying from mechanics and manufacturing to social data, finance and advertising), building predictive systems and trying to find stories that data can tell.

In his free time, he enjoys being with his family.

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