Iowa Lottery C.E.O. Terry Rich says they’ve seen better sales through October, but not enough to keep the profit from dropping slightly. Rich says sales are up a little more than four-percent over last year, but profits are down a little as they’ve paid out some big jackpots.
“That’s good news in that people are winning more,” Rich says. Rich says the profits are down slightly, but he is confident things will pick up. He says proceeds to the state were down about 3%, which he says is running a little bit better than what most lotteries and other types of gaming across the U.S. are experiencing. Rich says he expects holiday sales to improve profits.
Rich says the holiday campaign has been strong, with the holiday bingo game already selling out. Rich is confident they’ll remain in a good position through the rest of the year. Rich says they have the holiday sales and they’ll begin selling the Mega Millions game in January, so he believes both will allow them to finish strong this year. The lottery has generated $18.6 million in the first four months of the fiscal year with ends June 30th.