Here's how the Kentucky Lottery crushed its sales record despite COVID-19 pandemic

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Kentucky Lottery smashed its sales record in its just-completed fiscal year — and the boon was largely due to a lack of other entertainment options during the coronavirus pandemic, according to the head of the 32-year-old organization.

The Kentucky Lottery announced this week that during Fiscal Year 2021, or July 2020 through June 2021, the organization saw total sales of $1,586,325,000. This marked a 31.8% increase, or $382.9 million in additional sales, from the prior fiscal year.

Mary Harville, Kentucky Lottery president and CEO, said in an interview with The Courier Journal that during the start of the pandemic in March 2020, "things started to close, including a lot of entertainment venues."

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"Fortunately for us, places that sell lottery tickets — grocery stores, convenience stores and gas stations — stayed open, so folks were still able to come into those stores," said Harville, the first female head of the organization and the first Kentuckian to hold the role in three decades.

She added that while other items sold out at retailers during the early months of the pandemic, her team ensured ticket dispensers and vending machines were "fully stocked." This helped out retailers, who received more than $90 million in commissions through Kentucky lottery sales. 

The record-breaking year for sales also paid its dividends for Kentucky, as proceeds to the commonwealth totaled a historic $354.8 million — which is $76.3 million, or 27.4%, more than last year.

Lottery proceeds help to fund a variety of college scholarships and grant programs. And with lottery sales reaching an all-time high, Harville said, "more scholarship dollars than ever will be available for Kentucky college students.

"We're very pleased that our college students that choose to remain in the state and go to Kentucky colleges and universities are experiencing the fruits of the labor here," she said.

Across the board, from scratch-off tickets to multi-state Powerball and Mega Millions games, Kentucky Lottery saw an increase in product sales. The largest growth, though, came from internet sales, which Harville attributed to digital platforms becoming more popular amid the pandemic.

The Kentucky Lottery made $137.1 million — an increase of 204.6% from the year prior — in internet sales during fiscal year 2021, and that segment comprised 9% of total sales for the year.

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Despite entertainment complexes coming back online over the course of the pandemic, the Kentucky Lottery increasingly gained momentum throughout fiscal year 2021.

According to Howard Kline, the company's chief financial officer, the fourth quarter, or April through June, of fiscal year 2021 provided the biggest boon for Kentucky Lottery sales.

And the company is betting its momentum will carry into the new fiscal year: The budget, approved by the Kentucky Lottery's board of directors in June, calls for for $1.59 billion in sales.

Harville, who was appointed president and CEO in September 2020, said the Kentucky Lottery has built "loyalty" throughout the pandemic.

"We'd like to think that we have a little something out there for everyone, and now that (customers) have rediscovered us, they're going to stay with us," she said.

Contact Ben Tobin at bjtobin@gannett.com and 502-377-5675 or follow on Twitter @Ben__Tobin.