(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Lottery C-E-O Matt Strawn says sales for the new fiscal year are off to a good start in the first two months of the fiscal year at more than 75 million dollars. “An eight-point-one percent increase from last year, and exceeds projected and budgeted sales by eight-point-five-four percent (8.54%),” Strawn says. Strawn gave a report to the Iowa Lottery Commission and says part of the increase is due to Instaplay sales.

” Year over year Instaplay sales are up sixty-nine-point-seven percent (69.7%) through August, and I know we’ve discussed in previous Commission meetings, but improving the performance of this product category has been part of the Lottery’s strategic portfolio management plan,” Strawn says. The other driver of sales in July and August was the huge Powerball jackpot.

“While the fiscal ’26 sales and proceeds totals that are shared with the Commission today do not include the final week of sales for that one-point-seven-eight billion dollar Powerball jackpot that was won on September 6th, they do reflect an increase in sales as the grand prize jackpot approached that billion dollar figure toward the end of August,” he says. Strawn says that mega jackpot pushed Powerball sales 103 percent higher than August of last year. Strawn says the increase in gross sales led to proceeds sent to the state of more than 14 million dollars.

“This amounts to a twenty-point-four percent increase in lottery proceeds compared to last year at this point, and exceeds budgeted proceeds targets by thirteen-point-oh-eight percent,”he says. Strawn says there’s a little concern in the scratch ticket numbers. He says sales were down more than two percent for the same time period last year, including a nearly six percent drop (5.85%) drop in August sales.

“This trend of softer scratch ticket sales did continue into the month of September and is something that the executive management team is closely monitoring, because the scratch ticket category traditionally and historically is the one that is most affected by external economic factors in overall consumer confidence,” Strawn says.

Iowa Lottery Chief Revenue Officer John Roth says lottery sales nationwide have been down, as have sales for lotteries similar in size to Iowa.