Revenues for Rhode Island Lottery declined 1.9 percent for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2017, or .1 million less than the year before.
The revenues are calculated after prizes, commissions and operating expenses are subtracted. The audit report was released by the General Assembly’s Auditor General Dennis E. Hoyle. Online revenue decreased 5.4 percent and Instant Ticket revenue declined 2.1 percent while PowerBall and instant ticket sales declined by $6.9 million and $2.1 million respectively.
The audit report attributes this to the lack of a large jackpot in the last fiscal year, compared to the $1.6 billion jackpot that had been won the year before.
Beginning this month, the newer Mega Millions game will increase to a $2 price point and offer larger starting jackpots and bigger average jackpots with improved odds for winning a second level prize of $1 million. These changes are expected to drive higher revenues.
State-sponsored gaming, which includes the Lottery and two casinos is still the third largest source of revenue for the state. That total was $362.7 million.
The report indicated that a decline in video gaming accounted for $6.3 million of the revenue drop, and attributed at least some of that to competition from casinos in neighboring states. This was not a surprise since Plainridge Park Casino opened two years ago in Massachusetts and it has seen increased betting activity this summer and a $10 million increase in the live handle of the racetrack there since 2014.
The report did show one increase in Rhode Island gaming activity, at the table games at Twin River and the Newport Grand. For example, live-play revenue at the Twin River increased 11.3 percent.
