Ever wonder what percent of ticket sales in a state lottery actually gets payed out to winners? The answers from various states’ lotteries may shock you. The data below from NPR details the income of each state lottery and the percent that actually gets paid out to winners. Though some states, like Massachusetts, pay more than 70% to their winners, some states, like West Virginia, reportedly pay only 15% of the revenue out!
| State | Lottery income (2012) | Share paid out to winners |
|---|---|---|
| Arizona | $602,885,000 | 66% |
| Arkansas | $446,867,000 | 71% |
| California | $4,075,662,000 | 63% |
| Colorado | $503,663,000 | 69% |
| Connecticut | $1,021,000,000 | 65% |
| Delaware | $415,324,000 | 21% |
| Florida | $4,208,504,000 | 66% |
| Georgia | $3,335,602,000 | 69% |
| Idaho | $162,110,000 | 67% |
| Illinois | $2,676,996,000 | 61% |
| Indiana | $795,549,000 | 67% |
| Iowa | $310,852,000 | 59% |
| Kansas | $231,759,000 | 60% |
| Kentucky | $716,961,000 | 64% |
| Louisiana | $405,827,000 | 56% |
| Maine | $213,448,000 | 68% |
| Maryland | $1,807,299,000 | 59% |
| Massachusetts | $4,462,613,000 | 76% |
| Michigan | $2,207,472,000 | 63% |
| Minnesota | $488,618,000 | 69% |
| Missouri | $1,030,891,000 | 70% |
| Montana | $49,471,000 | 58% |
| Nebraska | $160,068,000 | 55% |
| New Hampshire | $240,092,000 | 66% |
| New Jersey | $2,605,242,000 | 64% |
| New Mexico | $114,651,000 | 65% |
| New York | $7,402,515,000 | 56% |
| North Carolina | $1,484,460,000 | 65% |
| North Dakota | $25,273,000 | 53% |
| Ohio | $2,566,938,000 | 66% |
| Oklahoma | $213,088,000 | 48% |
| Oregon | $848,726,000 | 28% |
| Pennsylvania | $3,240,661,000 | 65% |
| Rhode Island | $539,661,000 | 29% |
| South Carolina | $1,055,296,000 | 68% |
| South Dakota | $138,572,000 | 21% |
| Tennessee | $1,224,679,000 | 55% |
| Texas | $3,964,939,000 | 69% |
| Vermont | $95,012,000 | 68% |
| Virginia | $1,525,328,000 | 63% |
| Washington | $501,813,000 | 62% |
| West Virginia | $783,163,000 | 15% |
| Wisconsin | $547,641,000 | 59% |