The Connecticut Lottery saw a dip in sales for fiscal year 2024.
It is anticipating that the launch of its iLottery product will change that for FY25.
Earlier this month, Connecticut reported $1.4 billion in total sales for FY24. That was slightly behind the $1.45 billion it did in FY23 and a 1% setback from what was budgeted by the state.
However, after joining the states with online lotteries last month, Connecticut is hoping new sales from the online product can aid in erasing that gap.
Connecticut targeting $10 million in yearly iLottery sales
After multiple delays getting the product off the ground, the Connecticut Lottery had a soft launch of its online platform from June 10-24.
During that period, gameplay was restricted by certain hours of the day, while new registrations were also capped daily.
The CT Lottery launched its iLottery fully on June 25 and began marketing the online product. Currently, seven different lottery draw games and Keno are available for purchase online.
On July 15, full marketing support began, which led to $20,000 in sales. That pushed the platform toward the proposed daily goal of $28,000 per day for the year.
If Connecticut hits that average sales goal, its total sales over a year would be $10.2 million.
Profit expectations for iLottery in its first year in Connecticut are $2 million.
Online registration issues cause setbacks
Registrations were a point of concern in the early phases of the iLottery launch.
The Connecticut Lottery was seeing new downloads of its app, but players not registering for an account. Others were registering and verifying a new account, but not placing wagers.
The Connecticut Lottery also requires new users to prove that they are human and not robots by taking a confirmation quiz. That’s an extra step that not all states have used.
A report from CT Insider indicated that prior to the official launch, 8,256 patrons had begun the registration process, but only 4,059 had completed verifying their accounts.
Connecticut is also facing some roadblocks with its app in terms of availability and recognition. The app is not active on Google Play as of yet, and it’s also not available for Androids. Once those two hurdles clear, it should lead to improved sales, as well.
Still, Connecticut Lottery officials said during their August commission meeting that iLottery is seeing continued growth in new registrations. The state currently has over 19,000 downloads of its mobile lottery app.
FY25 sales maintaining similar pace in CT
During the August meeting, the Connecticut Lottery also provided an early look into FY25 sales.
Through June and a week into August, the state was at $131 million in sales.
That pace would put it in the same $1.4 billion window for the year.
However, expectations are for iLottery sales to continue to grow. The state is also hoping that more mobile users will lead to an increase in second-chance drawing games at retail locations.
Thus far in FY25, Connecticut is seeing a 5.5% increase in instant ticket sales.
Photo by Rawpixel.com via Shutterstock
Graphic from the Connecticut Lottery
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