NJ Lottery Report Shows Decline In Powerball, Mega Millions Sales

New Jersey Lottery Executive Director James Carey announced late last week the unaudited sales figures for Fiscal Year 2025 (July 1, 2024-June 30, 2025), and the numbers revealed a contrast between local games and the major multi-state draw games.

According to a press release, Jersey Cash 5 sales and Cash Pop sales increased significantly and scratch-off sales were flat compared to FY2024, but Powerball and Mega Millions fell off.

There appears to be a straight-forward reason for the decline in those sales: In FY2024, jackpots in one game or the other broke the billion-dollar mark five times, whereas in FY2025, it only happened once — with a $1.22 billion winner drawn two days after Christmas in Cottonwood, California.

Powerball sales in New Jersey went down $202.3 million in FY 2025, and Mega Millions sales dropped by a more modest $69.6 million.

Combined, those two games account for most of the $288 million overall decline in lottery sales in New Jersey in FY2025. Total lottery sales in the state were $3.3 billion, down 7.9% from the prior fiscal year.

The New Jersey Lottery press release partially pointed the finger for the overall dip toward external factors, stating: “The Lottery also had to adjust to an evolving gambling environment as online sports betting and casinos grow in popularity.”

Over $1 billion for the pension fund

Despite the decline, the press release still trumpeted the lottery’s important financial contributions to the state. The lottery contributed $989.5 million to the state pension fund in FY2025 and “total profit and contribution to the State will exceed $1 billion for fiscal year 2025, with end-of-year accounting expected to add at least an additional $40 million to the contribution. The additional $40 million includes more than $20 million in interest income.”

Scratch-offs remain the most popular lottery play in New Jersey, accounting for $1.8 billion of the total $3.3 billion in sales.

Jersey Cash 5 sales saw the steepest increase, improving 26.4% to just over $176 million. Cash Pop sales rose 10.1% to $67.5 million.

The story of the year in lottery play is, of course, incomplete without mention of the prizes won by the public. According to the release, players in New Jersey took home $2 billion in prizes, including 180 wins worth $100,000 or more, with 50 of those exceeding $1 million. Notable among those were a $32 million Pick-6 winner and a $5 million scratch-off winner — the state’s highest instant-game prize.

As for New Jersey retailers, they earned $195.7 million in commissions and $2.1 million in bonuses in FY2025.