State lotteries are bringing in more money than ever, but states are paying more in prize money and keeping slightly less of it themselves, according to a new U.S. Census Bureau analysis.
State lottery ticket sales nationwide nearly doubled from $52.8 billion to $104.7 billion between fiscal 2008 to 2024, the bureau found in its Annual Survey of State Government Finances. Likewise, state lottery prizes went up 118% to roughly $70.2 billion.
The boost in sales meant more revenue for states overall. Net lottery revenue grew from $20.6 billion to $34.5 billion — a 68% increase — during that time.
But states gradually paid out more in prizes and kept less revenue for themselves, the bureau said. States kept 39% of ticket sales as net revenue in fiscal 2008, but that shrank to 33% in 2024.
Virginia paid out the biggest share of any state in 2024, awarding 80% of its ticket sales in prizes. Kentucky followed at 75%, while Missouri, Massachusetts and Idaho each paid out roughly 74%.
The states with the largest total sales revenue were those with large populations and long-established lottery systems. California, New York, Florida and Texas each sold more than $8 billion in tickets in fiscal 2024.
Arkansas, Wyoming, and Mississippi — the most recent states to create lotteries, all launching since fiscal 2010 — combined for about $1.1 billion in ticket sales.
After being widely banned in the 19th century because of moral opposition and scandals, lotteries were revived in 1963 when New Hampshire established one and have since expanded nationwide as a major revenue source. State-run lotteries have long been used as a way for governments to raise revenue without increasing taxes, and that revenue can be used for anything from education to infrastructure.
Currently, five states — Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah — do not have a lottery.
This story was originally produced by Stateline, which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network which includes Indiana Capital Chronicle, and is supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.