The Powerball jackpot’s climb to and above the $1 billion mark in August fueled sales that kept the Massachusetts Lottery in the black for the month, officials said Tuesday.
Executive director Mark William Bracken told the Lottery Commission that August sales totaled $570.2 million, an increase of $16.9 million or 3.1 percent over August 2024. Driving the month’s results were $30.3 million worth of Powerball tickets purchased here as the game’s jackpot topped $1 billion by the end of the month. The jackpot continued to grow into September, and tickets sold in Missouri and Texas split a $1.787 billion grand prize from the Sept. 7 drawing. August Powerball sales here were up $22.7 million or about 296 percent over a year earlier.
Bracken said the lottery’s estimated profit for August was $114.1 million — compared with $96.7 million in August 2024 — and its estimated prize payout for the month was 72.97 percent, lower than August 2024’s 74.46 percent payout rate. Lottery profits in Massachusetts are steered to cities and towns in the form of local aid.
Through two months of fiscal year 2026, lottery sales have hit $1 billion and are up $20.5 million or 2.1 percent. Bracken said the lottery’s estimated profit for the year is so far running $6.6 million ahead of last year and the year-to-date prize payout percentage is virtually unchanged from a year ago.
The lottery’s long-sought online platform is expected to launch sometime next summer. Treasurer Deborah Goldberg, who had her chief of staff chair Tuesday morning’s Lottery Commission meeting in her place, has said she expects a net profit of more than $70 million from online sales in year one, more than $180 million by year three, more than $230 million in year five, and almost $360 million in year 10.
The Lottery Commission on Tuesday morning also got a look at the Christmas and winter holiday themed scratch tickets the lottery will put into the market on Oct. 14. The “Winter Winnings” series has tickets at the $1 (top prize $10,000), $2 (top prize $100,000), $5 (top prize $1 million), and $20 (top prize $250,000) price points. The lottery said the $20 ticket features the “best chance in MA Lottery history” to win $250,000.
The Oct. 14 scratch ticket launch also features a $10 “Merry-mint Blowout” ticket that features only prizes of $50, $100, and $500, and two “Elf Cashword” crossword-style $5 tickets.
