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Joshua Johnston

Washington Lottery Surpasses $1 Billion in Annual Sales

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2 years ago

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It’s usually lottery players who get to celebrate big dollar wins, but now the staff at Washington’s Lottery had two of their own big money achievements to commemorate on behalf of the state and those who benefit from lottery proceeds:

  • For the first time ever, Washington’s Lottery has surpassed $1 billion in annual sales, and,
  • With that record sales number, Washington’s Lottery will also set another record for the most money contributed to its beneficiaries during a single year, when its disbursements go out later this year. The Lottery’s primary beneficiary is the Washington Opportunity Pathways Account, which funds early childhood education, college grants, and other vital education programs across the state.

“We’ve been celebrating our 40th anniversary all year long, but this is definitely icing on the cake. Our mission is simple: generate sales that grow contributions to our beneficiaries, so being able to hit records on both fronts is truly incredible. This means more money for college scholarships, more for early childhood education, more for economic development, more to combat problem gambling and more for other important state projects. It’s really fulfilling for all of us here at Washington’s Lottery to know that we had a hand in helping make those things happen,” said Joshua Johnston, acting director of Washington’s Lottery.

The billion-dollar mark was not a foregone conclusion by any means. Washington’s Lottery hit that milestone with just 30 hours to go in the state’s fiscal year, which ended June 30, 2023.

While exact numbers for the historic beneficiary contributions and sales won’t be released until they’re audited, the previous sales record was $953.4 million, set in 2021, and the contributions record was $229 million, also set in 2021.

Other notable milestones, achievements and stories that happened during the Lottery’s 40th anniversary year include:

  • Auburn’s Becky Bell was the sole winner of the $754.6 million Powerball jackpot, the fifth largest in history.
  • A Lynnwood couple playing HIT5 thought they won $360 but actually won $360,000.
  • A retired Navy Chief from Stanwood picked a Scratch ticket because “it looked pretty interesting” and won $1.5 million.
  • A father gave his 18-year-old son a lottery ticket as a high school graduation present and it ended up winning him $50,000.
  • A Seattle man tried playing a game he’d never tried before, didn’t win, but decided to give the game one more chance…and won $595,000.
  • A convenience store operated by Chehalis Tribe Enterprises in Rochester, sold an $8.6 million Lotto prize, one of the largest ever for this in-state game.
  • Washington’s Lottery began accepting debit cards in its Lottery Vending Machines, deploying the technology to thousands of terminals across the state.

“It’s been a terrific year for Washington’s Lottery and our beneficiaries. Everyone here is really proud and motivated to see what we can do in the year to come,” added Johnston.

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jackpot multiplier

New Mega Millions Game Delivers 300% Increase in Non-Jackpot Prizes in First Month Since Launch

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2 days ago

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May 12, 2025

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Since the new version of Mega Millions held its first drawing on April 8, players have continued to win big and the game has continued to deliver on its expectations that the game enhancements would benefit players. In the nine Mega Millions drawings over the course of the first month since launch:

• 1.89 million players won $51.3 million in non-jackpot prizes. That’s a 308% increase from the $12.5 million those prizes would have been valued at in the old game.

• $18.8 million in prizes have been won by players matching only the Mega Ball. That’s more money awarded for the ninth prize tier alone in the new game than the $12.5 million that would have been awarded across all non-jackpot prize tiers in the old game matrix.

• More than 587,000 players have won the minimum prize for a winning ticket, $10 ($5 base prize with 2X multiplier), collecting $5.87 million in prizes. The winnings at just that $10 prize level – not including the 3X ($15), 4X ($20), 5X ($25), and 10X ($50) prize winners who also matched just the Mega Ball – are more than double the $2.5 million that would have been won by all the 1.25 million winners who each would have won just $2 in the old game.

• Nearly 60,000 winners at the 10X multiplier level have won more than $3.8 million across the various prize tiers. The 10X multiplier level was introduced with the new Mega Millions on April 8. In the previous version of the game, players could pay $1 extra to add a non-jackpot multiplier to their play that maxed out at 5X.

• Prizes at every non-jackpot level are paying out at a combined 2.6X to 7.5X the value they would have under the old game matrix, meaning prizes being awarded at every level are outpacing the game’s price adjustment.

• Five people have become millionaires by matching the five white balls during a drawing. Three of them won $2 million, one won $3 million and another won $4 million. Winners bought tickets in Michigan, New York (2), Virginia and Washington.

• The first jackpot under the new matrix was won just four drawings into the new game. On April 18, a $112 million jackpot was won on a ticket sold in Ohio. Under the new game rules, the jackpot was reset to $50 million and is already up to $100 million again for the Friday, May 9, drawing.

“It’s exciting to see how players are reacting to the new game, especially when they win. The more they see their winnings multiply, the more they’re understanding the value of the new game and why we made the changes we did,” said Joshua Johnston, Lead Director of the Mega Millions Consortium.

Compared to the old game, the new Mega Millions features bigger prizes at every non-jackpot prize tier, improved odds to win the jackpot, better odds overall, a larger starting jackpot, faster-growing jackpots, and no break-even prizes. Prizes in the new game range from $10 to $10 million vs. the $2 to $1 million in the old game.

The post New Mega Millions Game Delivers 300% Increase in Non-Jackpot Prizes in First Month Since Launch appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.

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