CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia Lottery topped the $1 billion mark in total sales in the recently completed fiscal year.
Total sales were approximately $1.27 billion, as reported by lottery officials during Wednesday’s meeting of the state Lottery Commission.
“When we hit that we feel pretty comfortable we’ll make our statutory obligations for transfers to state agencies,” state Lottery Director John Myers told commission members.
The near $1.3 billion is the highest total sales number in at least the last five years, Myers said.
“We are just higher than (FY 19). We had several years of declining revenues as a result of competition coming into surrounding states and that drove the Racetrack Video Lottery revenues down over that period of time but since we’ve bottomed out we’ve started to go the other way,” Myers said.
Gambling revenue growth in the recently completed fiscal year came in Racetrack Video Lottery, Limited Video Lottery, table games, sports wagering, iGaming and lottery revenues from the casino at The Greenbrier Resort.
Overall gambling revenues dropped in the past year in on-line games and instant (traditional) games. Lottery officials believe instant games did better in the 2021 fiscal year because of stimulus payments to residents in connection with the pandemic and the pandemic-related extension of unemployment benefits.
MORE WV Lottery revenue numbers
Overall sales for lottery products in West Virginia was $1,17 billion at the end of fiscal year 2021.
LVL sales in June of $38.8 million in June ranks as the 18th highest sales month for LVLs.
The Lottery Commission reelected Ken Greear as chairman and Roy Shrewsbury II and vice-chairman Wednesday.
The commission plans to go on the road for its Aug. 31 meeting with visits planned to Mountaineer Racetrack Casino in Chester and Wheeling Island Racetrack Casino in Wheeling.