Ohio Lottery mints 30 new millionaires, supports education
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — For Ohio lottery players who feel like they never seem to win, a lottery announcement regarding the impact ticket purchases are making in the Buckeye State might provide a small consolation.
According to the Ohio Lottery, Ohio students were big winners, with a $1.447 billion contribution to the Lottery Profits Education Fund for fiscal year 2025. In a news release, the lottery stated the money supports grades K through 12, vocational, and special education programs in the state. The commission thanked “enthusiastic players” for making the profit transfer possible. Overall, the lottery said it has contributed more than $33 billion to education since 1974.
Despite a whopping $4.38 billion in traditional lottery sales for FY 2025, Ohio Lottery Director Michelle Gillcrist said the year was not without obstacles.
“This was a challenging year as Lottery products faced competition from new gambling products, and multi-state jackpot runs that generated millions in sales in years past did not occur; however, sales began to rebound in the last half of the year and we’re proud to have surpassed our budgeted commitment to education by $7.7 million,” Gillcrist said.
The main soft spot in sales was for multi-state draw games, most recognizable to players as the Powerball and Mega Millions. The lottery noted that fewer record jackpots this fiscal year contributed to slower purchases. Mega Millions changed its structure in April, including a rise in wager price from $2 to $5 and improved odds of winning. The lottery did not point specifically to these updates as the reason for the retail slump. Sales for the Lucky for Life game, which is also in the multi-state category, declined 40% from FY 2024.
Overall, Ohio Lottery players won nearly $3 billion in prizes. According to the lottery, 30 new millionaires were created, topped by the winner of a $112 million Mega Millions jackpot. Nearly 70 people won prizes of $500,000. Outlets selling tickets received $286.9 million in bonuses, incentives, and commissions.
The most popular purchase was the $10 scratch-off, with sales of $552.3 million. That ticket helped the lottery reach a record $2.43 billion in scratch-off sales, an increase of $46 million over past years.
Additionally, Pick 5 led the daily draw games with a $2.8 million increase over previous years. When added up, $747.5 million was spent on Pick 3, Pick 4, and Pick 5 games. Players bought $77.9 million worth of Classic Lotto and Rolling Cash 5 tickets, which are in-state draw games. The lottery attributed the total to higher jackpots in FY 2025.
Coming in at sales of $1.39 billion were video lottery terminals, resulting in a total profit of $457.8 million from VLT games. The Lottery’s share of revenue from Lottery Sports Gaming was $415,822.
The lottery stated that these figures are preliminary and unaudited. Audited figures are expected in October.