Massachusetts Lottery sales dip again, change to game expected to lead to increased sales, profits

• Colin A. Young

MAY 27, 2025…..All but one Massachusetts Lottery offering saw its sales dip in April, though agency overseers approved changes to one game Tuesday that the Lottery expects will lead to increased sales and profits.

The Lottery’s $454 million in sales last month fell $29.3 million or 6.1% below sales in April 2024, according to Executive Director Mark William Bracken’s report to the Lottery Commission on Tuesday. It was the fourth consecutive month featuring a year-over-year drop in sales. The only product to post an increase in April was Keno, which saw its sales climb by $5.9 million or 5.9% to $105.7 million for the month.

On top of the sales slump, the Lottery’s monthly profit was affected by a prize payout percentage higher than last April’s. The Lottery estimated that it paid out the equivalent of 76.2% of April revenue in prizes last month, compared to 74.64% a year prior. The Lottery’s estimated profit for April was $74.1 million, compared to $82.6 million in April 2024, according to Bracken’s report.

Through 10 months of fiscal year 2025, the Lottery has sold more than $4.89 billion worth of its scratch tickets, draw game numbers and more this year. That trails fiscal 2024 by $178.9 million or 3.5% through the same 10-month period. Keno and Lucky For Life are the only two Mass. Lottery games that have sold more in fiscal 2025 than they did to the same point in fiscal 2024.

The Lottery said Tuesday it is currently estimating a net profit of $876.5 million so far in fiscal 2025. After adjusting for differences in the calendar, the Lottery said that represents a $88.3 million drop compared to the same checkpoint a year ago.

Treasurer Deborah Goldberg has told lawmakers she expects the Lottery to generate $1.05 billion in profit for fiscal 2025, and has also projected “flat” retail sales and profit for fiscal 2026.

The Lottery Commission on Tuesday voted to give Bracken the authority to amend the Lottery’s regulations to facilitate a change to the drawing schedule for Mass Cash, a game first introduced in 1991, essentially expanding it by double. Drawings for that game happen daily at 9 p.m., but the Lottery is looking to begin holding two Mass Cash drawings a day starting July 20, one at midday and one in the evening.

“The Lottery anticipates this change will be welcomed by our players and will lead to increased sales and profits,” General Counsel Gregory Polin wrote in a memo about the change.

To play Mass Cash, a bettor pays $1 to select five numbers between 1 and 35. Matching three of the numbers drawn wins $10, matching four wins $250 and matching all five wins the player $100,000. The Lottery says the overall odds of winning are 1 in 72, or 1 in 324,632 to win the grand prize.

The Lottery had sold $67 million worth of Mass Cash tickets through April, according to Bracken’s report Tuesday. That’s down $1.9 million or 2.8% through the same 10 months of fiscal 2024.