Retailers' take from lottery sales
tops $121 million

by Commissioner Gary Peters

The Michigan Lottery recently wrapped up fiscal year 2003, and what an exciting year it was! On November 13, 2002, the Michigan Lottery began its 30th year of operation.
Over the past three decades, the Lottery has seen many changes, but the one thing that has never changed is the Lottery’s dedication to supporting kindergarten through 12th grade public education in the state of Michigan.

In the Lottery’s 30-year history, over $11 billion has been transferred to the state School Aid Fund, and we are very proud of our continuing role in helping the state invest in the future of Michigan’s children.

In order to keep players interested in the Lottery’s products, the Lottery’s staff works hard to ensure that the game lineup is always fresh, fun and exciting.

That is why players were so excited in January when the Lottery kicked off the new year with the introduction of its new WINFALL game. WINFALL replaced the Lottery’s Michigan Millions game.

Since its debut on January 19, 2003, the WINFALL game has created thousands and thousands of big money winners all across the state. Players love the new game because it offers so many ways to win and there are lots of prize winners in each drawing.

Sales for WINFALL in the past fiscal year show just how much players love the game, as they have increased by more than 10 percent over Michigan Millions sales in the previous fiscal year.

The WINFALL game wasn’t the only strong performer in the Lottery’s lineup in fiscal 2003. We also saw significant sales increases in instant games, the Daily 3 & 4 Games and Keno.

Instant games play a very important role in generating new revenue, as they comprise more than 40 percent of the Lottery’s annual sales. In the past fiscal year instant ticket sales increased by more than 4 percent.

The Daily 3 & 4 Games are also a very important part of the Lottery’s lineup, comprising over 42 percent of the Lottery’s overall sales. These games have been a part of the Lottery’s lineup for over 25 years, and sales for both games increase each year. They are a player favorite that saw a combined sales increase of over 2.4 percent this past fiscal year.

The game that produced the largest percentage sales increase in fiscal year 2003 was Keno. This game has been part of the Lottery’s lineup for the past 13 years. In the past fiscal year the Lottery saw an increase of over 30 percent in Keno sales, as drawings for the game were expanded to seven days a week when Sunday drawings were implemented for the first time in October 2002.

Sales of tickets for all of the Lottery’s games generated hundreds of thousands of cash prize winners. In total for fiscal year 2003, the Lottery awarded over $918 million in prizes to lucky Lottery winners all over the state.

For all of this great success, I want to thank you—the Lottery’s hard-working retailers. Your reward for helping increase sales for the Lottery’s games is the more than $121 million in commissions that Lottery retailers collected this past fiscal year.

As we close the books on fiscal 2003, let me thank each of you for your continued hard work and support of the Michigan Lottery. I look forward to working with you in fiscal year 2004, and I am confident that our combined efforts will serve to make the coming year another very productive one.

Seasons Greetings
It’s time again to make your customers jolly with Michigan Lottery holiday-themed instant game tickets. Holiday instant tickets make great stocking stuffers, and by offering an appealing array of these games, you will be able to maximize your commissions. The holiday instants:
• November 6: $10 “Winner Wonderland” ($500,000 top prize)
• November 13: four new instant games including:
• $1 “Merry Money” ($5,000 top prize)
• $2 “A Wreath of Cash” ($25,000 top prize)
• $5 “Sleigh Bills” ($250,000 top prize)
• $2 “Cash Flurries” ($15,000 top prize)

This great lineup offers your customers an opportunity to stuff their pockets with a lot of extra dough this holiday season. I encourage you to prominently display the colorful point-of-sale materials the Lottery has provided for you to promote these holiday instant games, and be sure to ask for the sale.

Other New Instants
• November 6: $2 “Wild Time Doubler” ($30,000 top prize)
• November 20: $1 “Triple Your Luck” (more than 400 top prizes of $333)

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