Massachusetts Lottery sets a new sales record, fueled by $50 scratch ticket
BOSTON - A scratch ticket slump in Massachusetts appears to have turned around, thanks in part to a new $50 game.
Last fall the interim executive director of the Massachusetts Lottery, Mark William Bracken, said he was "very concerned" about shrinking sales for games other than Mega Millions and Powerball. But a report Bracken presented Tuesday to the Lottery Commission shows improvement.
Scratch ticket sales were up $82.3 million in February, which is when the state introduced its first $50 ticket called "Billion Dollar Extravaganza." The game features three top prizes of $25 million, none of which have been claimed yet.
Bracken's report notes that in the game's fifth week in existence, it collected over $35 million in sales. That contributed to an all-time single-week record for the Lottery of nearly $99 million in total instant game sales. There have been six-straight weeks of instant ticket sales over $90 million; the Lottery had only seen sales surpass $90 million in a week three times before.
So far, the $50 game has raked in north of $216 million while paying out $170 million in prizes, including two $1 million winners.
The Lottery also notes that there was a $23.9 million drop in prizes paid out in February, contributing to a net profit of $94.3 million. Keno sales were down slightly for the month.
March is also Problem Gambling Awareness month. The Lottery said is recorded more than 800 radio spots valued at more than $124,000 to let people know that help is available for gambling problems.
