The fiscal year that ended last month was a record one for the Massachusetts Lottery, which set new benchmarks for revenue, profit, prize payments, commissions and bonuses for retailers, scratch ticket sales and keno sales, the agency announced Tuesday.
The lottery generated an estimated profit of $1.105 billion for local aid, using $5.827 billion in revenue, while paying out $4.283 billion in prizes and distributing $333.3 million in commissions and bonuses in fiscal year 2021. There were $1.104 billion in profit from the previous record $5.509. Billions in revenue awarding $3.987 billion in awards in fiscal year 2019.
“Despite the pandemic, the lottery experienced record sales this year. “Thanks to our lottery team, retail partners, and especially our customers, we will again be able to deliver vital resources to every community in the state,” said Treasurer Deborah Goldberg, who chairs the Lottery Commission.
US home prices surge 17% in May
US home prices rose faster in May than in 17 years as rising housing demand outpaced supply.
The S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller 20-City Home Price Index, released Tuesday, rose 17% in May from a year earlier, compared with a 15% jump in April. May’s increase was the biggest since August 2004.
The hottest markets were Phoenix (where prices rose 25.9%), San Diego (24.7%) and Seattle (23.4%).
The US housing market has been heating up. Many Americans, tired of being locked up at home during the pandemic, have traded apartments and smaller homes in the city for larger homes in the suburbs.
