Arizona Receives $141 Million in Lottery Funds

PHOENIX, Arizona – (PRESS RELEASE) -- Governor Janet Napolitano today announced that thanks to the Arizona Lottery's record-breaking sales year, the state will receive over $141 million in net profit -- the highest return in the Lottery's 25-year history.

Arizona Lottery ticket sales for fiscal year 2006 hit an all-time high of $468.7 million, $71 million more than last year's record-breaking $397.6 million.

As a result, the state will receive $141.1 million in net profits, a 21 percent increase over last fiscal year's $116 million. Additionally, Lottery retailers earned a record $31.3 million in commissions and Lottery players cashed in on almost $262 million in prizes.

"This is good news for our state, because so many programs benefit from the Arizona Lottery's revenues," said Gov. Janet Napolitano. "The list is long: from state parks, to programs that provide funds to put more health care workers in rural Arizona, to Court-Appointed Special Advocates."

Art Macias, executive director of the Arizona Lottery, said that a strong growth in ticket sales was led by an astonishing 48 percent increase in Powerball sales and a 13.7 percent in Scratchers sales.

"We can't talk about the Lottery's success over the past 25 years without talking about why the Lottery was created -- to generate revenues that improve the quality of life for all our residents. Lottery dollars fund a vast array of important programs -- from arts, culture and historic preservation, to preserving Arizona's natural environments, to programs that keep Arizonans healthy and others that support our schools and children," said Macias. "They are the reason for our existence. Through our beneficiaries, we touch people's lives everywhere in our state."

Macias also noted that all beneficiaries with statutory caps received their full allocation and that all other beneficiaries received an increase over last year.