Illinois Lottery breaks new sales record in fiscal year 2011

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois -- (PRESS RELEASE) -- The Illinois Lottery ended fiscal year 2011 on June 30, with another record-breaking year – its ninth consecutive year of increasing sales. During fiscal year 2011, which ran from July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2011, the Lottery generated $2.278 billion in sales, an increase of 3% over last year. Over the past five-year period, since fiscal year 2007, Lottery sales have increased by more than 11%.

"The success of the Lottery is due in large part to the great team of professionals who work here and also our incredible retailer base. Their efforts have allowed us to show steady growth, even during a tough economy. That is something we are very proud of," said Jodie Winnett, acting superintendent of the Illinois Lottery.

In FY 2011, the Lottery transferred $632 million to the Common School Fund and $54 million to the Capital Projects Fund.
In addition, the Lottery generated more than $4 million to four "cause-specific" funds. In FY11, the Lottery raised more than $1.12 million for Illinois veteran groups, $748,528 for the battle against breast cancer, $905,286 to improve the lives of people living with AIDS and nearly $1.2 million to help create a world free of Multiple Sclerosis.

All totaled, the Illinois Lottery contributed approximately $690,000,000 to good causes in Illinois during fiscal year 2011. "Our goal is to responsibly grow funding for both the Common School Fund and the Capital Projects Fund. This is the highest amount of money transferred from the Lottery in our 37-year history," said Winnett.

In FY 2011, the Illinois Lottery also began the transition to a first-of-its-kind private manager model. On March 1, Northstar Lottery Group took over daily management of product development, marketing and sales operations. "We are excited about the investment, expertise and private-sector focus that Northstar brings to the business. Players and retailers are already feeling a new energy from our refreshed brand and more winning experiences," said Winnett. "Northstar is taking our already successful business to levels beyond what we have seen before and will be able to continue to grow it through methods that would not have been possible as a purely state-run entity," said Winnett.

Already the new energy and excitement brought by Northstar is yielding results. Five of the final six months of FY 2011 were the highest instant ticket sales months in Illinois Lottery history.