Colorado Lottery reports record sales year of over $900M

DENVER (KDVR) — The Colorado Lottery is more popular than ever, reporting another year of record sales for the 2024 fiscal year.

This is the fourth year in a row that lottery sales have set a new record, with $900,756,363 for the fiscal year from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, according to a release from Colorado Lottery . This is the first time the total sales have exceeded $900 million.

Sales across all jackpot games exceeded $300 million for the first time in history, with $312.1 million sold in the 2023-2024 fiscal year, a 6.5% increase over the 2022-2023 fiscal year, according to data released by Colorado Lottery. Those sales were driven by record-setting jackpots, with two Mega Millions and one Powerball Jackpot exceeding $1 billion each.

According to Colorado Lottery, the other $588,655,647 in lottery sales came from scratch tickets, a 1.4% decrease from the fiscal year 2022-2023.

“Our goal to become a $1 billion lottery is in our sight with this year’s tremendous revenue success,” Tom Seaver, the director of the Colorado Lottery, said in a release. “We’ll soon surpass the $200 million mark for our proceeds partners that support our state’s parks, recreation, open space, and wildlife preservation projects.”

Here is how much sales have increased over recent years:

Where does lottery money go?

According to the Colorado Lottery, 65 cents of every dollar spent on lottery games goes back to winners, and about 22 cents goes to beneficiaries.

Colorado Lottery said in the release that $196.3 million of the fiscal year’s sales will be distributed among beneficiaries, which is also a record high. Here’s a breakdown of that distribution:

• Great Outdoors Colorado: $81 million
• Conservation Trust Fund: $78 million
• Colorado Parks and Wildlife: $19 million
• Outdoor Equity Fund: $3 million
• Wildlife Cash Fund: $2.6 million
• Parks/Outdoor Recreation Cash Fund: $2.6 million
• Building Excellent Schools Today: $3 million
• Building Excellent Schools Today’s overflow: $5.2 million

Gambling health, player safety

This year, Colorado Lottery said it has grown its problem gambling and responsible gambling initiative.

“As our revenue grows, so does our responsibility. Our new player health manager will help us ensure that we grow responsibly with our players’ health at the forefront,” Seaver said.

In January, the Colorado Lottery announced that it hired its first player health manager , who is solely dedicated to player safety and making sure the lottery operates with best practices.

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If you or someone you know is struggling with a gambling problem, help is available. Find resources from the Problem Gambling Coalition of Colorado , or call the National Problem Gambling Helpline Network at 1-800-GAMBLER.
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