Illinois Lottery announces record sales of $1.8 billion

The Illinois Lottery Tuesday, Feb. 21, announced record results, including sales of $1.8 billion and estimated returns to the State of Illinois of $468 million, for the first six months of the 2023 fiscal year.

"I'm proud to announce another record sales period, leading to increased returns to public education in Illinois," said Lottery Director Harold Mays. "The Illinois Lottery is a valuable state asset with the core purpose of generating essential funding to the State of Illinois to support K-12 education and good causes across Illinois."

The first six months of the year were notable for the Lottery, with two jackpots exceeding $1 billion - with the Mega Millions jackpot rolling to $1.34 billion in July 2022 and the Powerball jackpot rolling to $2.02 billion in November 2022.

Two players ended up splitting the largest prize ever won in Illinois.
In total, Illinois Lottery players collected nearly $1.2 billion in prizes (excluding the Mega Millions jackpot) during the first six months of the year. That includes 32 Illinois players who won prizes of $1 million or more.

During the half-year, the Illinois Lottery's responsible gaming program was recognized for demonstrating industry best practices. The Lottery's program received the highest level of certification from both the World Lottery Association Responsible Gaming Framework and the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries. 

"Ensuring we offer our players a responsible playing environment is at the foundation of everything we do at the Illinois Lottery," said Mays. "We are proud to see our efforts validated as best practice by industry bodies. But our work doesn't stop here. We believe in continuous improvement and will continue to build our approach to responsible gaming to support our players and retailers."

Camelot Illinois has been the private manager of the Illinois Lottery since 2018. Working together, the Department of Lottery and Camelot have laid the foundations for continued lottery growth over recent years.