Casino revenue in the Delaware may be dwindling, but there is a form of gambling that is adding to the First State’s bottom line.
The Delaware Lottery announced Friday that it saw record sales in fiscal year 2014, bringing in a just over than $148 million. That’s a 2.71 percent increase over last year.
"It’s been a very exciting and rewarding year for the lottery and the state," said State lottery Director Vernon Kirk/
Lottery officials say the record sales are due in part to a nearly 7 percent increase in the purchases of instant games, or scratch off tickets, the performance of Mega Millions and the addition of Keno to the Delaware Lottery’s slate of games. They also point to the growing number of lottery outlets. The state has added 120 new lottery retailers since 2011 for a total of 655 across the state.
Kirk says his office hopes to build on that success by continuing to expand its network of retail outlets, which also helped this year’s sales, and possibly bring new games to the market.
"You never stand still, if you stand still someone’s going to pass you." said Kirk.
The previous sales record for the Delaware lotto was in fiscal year 1999, when it raked in more than $145 million.