Lottery ticket sales soar - See how much players won in your state

They say "you gotta be in it to win it" – and, more and more, people are in it. The question then becomes where are they winning it. 

What we know:

The amount people are spending on lottery tickets is soaring, nearly doubling over a 16-year-span. New numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau show players spent $53.8 billion on tickets in 2008, and that number has steadily climbed until it reached $104.7 billion in 2024, the most recent figures included.

What we don't know:

The Census Bureau only listed the amount sold in dollar value, so it did not show how much of that increase was driven by higher prices versus higher sales.

How much states paid out in lottery winnings

By the numbers:

The agency broke down how much each state collected in 2024 – and, more importantly, how much it paid out. Because the Census Bureau’s figures were in absolute dollars, the bigger states tended to dominate the list, with California, which sold $9.28 billion in lottery tickets, taking the top slot followed by New York and Florida. 

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Dig deeper:

Just because the people are spending so much more on tickets does not mean the states’ cut of the revenue is going up proportionally. The Census Bureau pointed out that the percentage states are paying out in prize money has steadily increased over the past 16 years. 

Its figures show that in 2008, the states, on average, kept around four out of every ten dollars spent on tickets. By 2024, they were only keeping around a third of the revenue.