Connecticut residents spend more on the state’s lottery system than most other states, having the sixth highest sales per capita in the nation, according to a study conducted by the investment publication Motley Fool, which notes that residents could likely make better use of that money by investing it.
According to the study, the Connecticut Lottery Corporation (CLC) — the quasi-public agency that runs Connecticut’s lottery games — sold $445 in lottery tickets for every man, woman, and child in the state, generating roughly $1.6 billion in revenue. Connecticut also had the fourth highest payouts to lottery winners, amounting to $311 per person, meaning $134 per person goes into state coffers.
Connecticut’s spending on lottery tickets was well above the national average of $321 per capita, which generates $103 billion in sales among the 45 states that offer a state-run lottery. Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah do not participate in state-run lottery systems.
Interestingly, Connecticut’s two next door neighbors, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, topped the lists of states for sales per capita and lottery sales as a percentage of the state budget, respectively. Massachusetts sold a whopping $867 per person in lottery sales, paid out winnings totaling $635 per capita, and its lottery sales amounted to 3.5 percent of the budget.
“Massachusetts Lottery Executive Director Mark William Bracken has suggested that one reason the Bay State may punch above its weight, in terms of lottery sales, is due to residents of neighboring states hopping across the border into Massachusetts to take advantage of bigger payouts for the same prices they would pay in their home state,” wrote study author Jack Caporal. “Massachusetts residents also have among the highest median household incomes in the country, which means they may have more disposable income to spend on lottery tickets.”
Rhode Island saw lottery contributions make up nearly 8 percent of its budget and saw the highest losses per capita in the country, residents spending $543 in lotto sales, but only winning $182 per person.
According to the CLC’s annual report for 2024, the agency had total revenues of $1.68 billion, and sent $386 million to the state’s General Fund, $3.9 million to the Office of Policy and Management, and $3.3 million to Chronic Gamblers’ Fund for a total of $400 million in state contributions for that year.
The Motley Fool numbers are based on 2023 figures, which saw CLC sales reach a peak of $1.7 billion following year-over-year increases. According to the CLC’s annual reports, lottery revenue has grown steadily since at least 2017, when the CLC took in $1.2 billion, except for a dip in 2020 when the pandemic hit, and the 2024 fiscal year, which saw a decrease in lotto sales of nearly $54 million.
The CLC has been expanding the number of games offered, including moving into online lottery sales following legislation passed in 2021. Connecticut’s iLottery launch was delayed several years, however, due to the CLC installing a new central system and issues between the vendor and the Department of Consumer Protection.
The iLottery officially launched in July of 2024 and has resulted in $8.4 million in revenue as of the end of April, according to the CLC board’s latest meeting. The CLC has also expanded into online sports betting at select locations, also because of the 2021 legislation that allowed online sports betting and casino gambling.
As of June, the CLC was reporting lottery sales coming in $92.7 million below budget, a “result of multi-state games and lower jackpot amounts,” according to the June 2025 meeting minutes.
Despite the ample revenue generated by CT Lotto, the Motley Fool report notes that in general, lottery revenue is generated by small portion of the population.
“In reality, a small minority of Americans who are consistent players make up the majority of lottery ticket spending,” Caporal wrote. “The most recent polling data shows that roughly 50% of Americans buy a lottery ticket at least once a year and the majority of those only play rarely, when jackpots are enormous.”
CT Lottery revenue that goes to the state is mostly used to support education, state employee fringe benefits, debt service, human services and health and hospitals, according to the CLC.
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