SD Lottery sales are still growing, just not as much

After a decade of explosive growth, the South Dakota Lottery’s sales are still increasing, albeit at a slower pace.

In the past decade, the SD Lottery has seen an average annual rise of more than 13 percent in total sales, according to data from the South Dakota Department of Revenue. However, in the last fiscal year, total sales increased just 8.2 percent compared to the 2017 fiscal year.

The decrease in sales growth has been mainly attributed to a decline in scratch-off ticket sales. Specifically, scratch-off sales fell more than 7 percent in the 2018 fiscal year compared to the prior year. Lottery officials have hypothesized that the dip in scratch-off sales could be due to an increasing number of players using the lottery’s online gaming platform.

Lottery executive director Norm Lingle believes the SD Lottery is still in a strong position, however.

“We are still seeing sales growth, just at a slower rate than we have seen in the past,” Lingle said. “The South Dakota Lottery remains the most efficient form of gaming available in the state, with an average return to players of around 90 percent.”

This fiscal year, the SD Lottery is expecting a slight uptick in sales growth, estimated to be around 10 percent. This is due in large part to the launch of two new scratch-off tickets and the continued success of the lottery’s online gaming platform.

Lingle remains optimistic about the future of the SD Lottery, noting that the organization will continue to seek out innovative ways to engage with players and attract new customers.

“We are confident that the SD Lottery will continue to be a strong and vital contributor to South Dakota’s economy for years to come,” Lingle said.