Massachusetts and Rhode Island See Big Declines in Lottery Sales

Has our love affair with the Massachusetts Lottery withered? Rhode Islanders appear to be losing lottery fever as well. Recent reports continue to show sagging lottery sales in both states.

When casino gaming was only on the drawing board, some feared legalized gaming halls might provide stiff competition to the lottery in both states and perhaps even threaten their existence.

The Massachusetts and Rhode Island lotteries are watching their profits continue to shrink. Both states now offer full-fledged casinos with table games, slot machines and sports betting.

Get our free mobile app

State officials aren't the only ones watching lottery revenues sink. Both states provide aid to local communities with revenues raised through lottery sales. City and town officials who depend on local aid to balance their budgets are paying close attention and hoping sales pick up soon.

State House News Service reported, "March was a down month for the Massachusetts Lottery, and the gap between last year's profit level and this year's pace widened considerably, a potentially concerning development for cities and towns."

SHNS reported, "March 2025 sales of $462.4 million were down $44.8 million or 8.8% compared to March 2024, and only two Lottery products (Keno and Lucky for Life) were in the black for a second consecutive month."

Scratch ticket sales were down $19.5 million or six percent in March.

The lottery paid out $11 million more in prize money in March 2025 than
March last year.

Last October, the Massachusetts Lottery reported sales were down by six percent while the prize payout percentage was hovering at a five-year high.

The Newport Buzz reported in October 2024, the most recent sales figures available, that the Rhode Island Lottery revenues were down 8.2 percent from the same time the year before, with sports betting and scratch tickets among the genres suffering losses.