American retailers earned more than $6.2 billion in lottery commissions during FY24, for an average of 6.2% of sales of traditional lottery products.
By Patricia McQueen, NASPL
Published February 18, 2025
Retailers provide the most important link between a lottery’s products and the end consumer, and are therefore a lottery’s most critical partner. And with more big winners declining any publicity (whether or not they can remain anonymous), retailers have become even more engaged with winner awareness than in the past. Not able to celebrate many winning players, lotteries are shifting the media focus to the retailers that sell the big prizes. The Illinois Lottery is one that has embraced this option, such as this recent example.
There are more than 222,000 retailers across the U.S. that sell traditional lottery games, and in total they earned more than $6.2 billion in commissions on traditional lottery games during FY24. More than half are convenience stores, with or without gas. About 15% are grocery stores. Liquor stores make up another chunk, as do restaurants, bars and taverns. Lottery tickets may also be sold in news and smoke shops, pharmacies, department stores and a variety of other outlets, depending on the jurisdiction. The current in-lane efforts are geared to attracting even more retail types and/or making lottery sales easier for existing retailers.
This year Insights Online will offer a series of articles focusing on retailers. We will take a deep dive into retailer commissions and the incentive programs that encourage best practices for selling lottery games. We’ll look at the in-store lottery experience, and how makeovers or even just tips from lottery sales reps can make a big difference. We’ll also highlight retailer recruitment and recognition programs, and explore the latest tools that make their lives easier. Also on the agenda is an update on alternative ways to sell tickets in retail locations, including in-lane options and modern self-service/vending machines.
Clearly there are a lot of things happening on the retail front! We encourage lotteries to reach out to Patricia McQueen at NASPL with any retail success stories or recent developments in your jurisdiction.