TORONTO — The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. says lottery sales were down $115 million in 2014-15 due to fewer big jackpots and higher ticket prices.
Overall, the OLG says in its annual report that lottery, charitable gaming, slots and casinos generated $6.6 billion in revenue in that fiscal year.
That's down about $26.2 million from the previous year, mostly due to the lower lotto sales, with that decrease somewhat offset by an increase in charitable gaming — sites that offer various games such as tabletop bingo and "classic paper-based play."
Lottery revenue decreased from $3.4 billion to $3.3 billion, which OLG says is primarily due to fewer high-value jackpots and lower national lottery sales of Lotto Max and Lotto 6/49, as well as the introduction of a more expensive Lotto 6/49 ticket.
OLG says only seven per cent of adults under 35 play the lottery at least once a week, and while people have been able to buy lottery tickets online since January 2015, most still purchase in person.
Of the total gaming revenues, OLG provided $2 billion to the province, roughly the same as in the previous year.
