News writer; Opinion columnist
2023 was a record-setting year for the New Jersey Lottery. Officials announced that they had sold $3.73 billion worth of lottery tickets in the last year, an increase of 2.55% from the previous year.
While several players took home multi-million dollar jackpots, the biggest winner of all was the state of New Jersey, which collected $1.17 billion in revenue from the sales.
Mega Records
The success of Mega Millions was one of the biggest drivers of the state's sales record. Ticket sales for the game spiked to $293.7 million in 2023, almost double what they were in 2022. This massive increase was likely driven by two jackpots that exceeded one billion dollars.
Two of the five biggest lottery payouts in New Jersey were Mega Millions players, although neither won the biggest prize.
One player managed to match all five white balls for the January 31 drawing but missed the gold Mega ball. He did select the Megaplier option to push his prize up to $4 million. Their lucky numbers were 07, 09, 18, 29, 39.
A second player took home $3 million after they also matched the five white balls but missed the gold in the October 6 drawing. Fortunately, they also had the Megaplier in effect and cashed out for a total of $3 million. Their winning numbers were 12, 24, 46, 57, 66.
10/6 was a good day to be a Garden State Lottery player because one other player won $1 million from the same drawing.
Power players
Powerball sales also surged, but not by as much as Mega Millions. Sales for the multi-state game increased by 28.1%, possibly driven by October's $1.765 billion jackpot, the second-biggest lottery prize in U.S. history.
However, no players were among the state's top winners.
Scratch-Off
Interestingly, while revenue from draw games surged, scratchers saw a dip in sales compared to 2022, although they still accounted for $2 billion of the year's total.
State draw games also saw a dip, with Pick-4 sales decreasing by 8.7% and Pick-3 going down by 7.9% compared to 2022.
Big Winners
Of course, it wasn't only the state that took home a big haul in 2023. New Jersey Lottery players collected a total of $2.23 billion, including 58 players who took home prizes worth at least one million and 221 who walked away with six-figure payouts.
Licensed lottery retailers also did well for themselves, cashing in a cool $220 million in the year.
The year's biggest individual winner took home a $25.8 million jackpot from the August 14 Pick-6 drawing with the numbers 10, 12, 21, 30, 38, and 45. The winner's name has not been revealed, and since 2020, New Jersey has been among the states where lottery winners do not have to reveal their identity.
The state's second-biggest winner was another Pick-6 player who won $7.6 million from the February 16 drawing with the numbers 03, 07, 17, 18, 26, and 42. A Soda King in Manalapan sold the winning ticket.
The year's biggest scratcher winners were two players who each won $3 million playing Power 50X. The game gives players thirty numbers to match against ten winning numbers to win the corresponding prize. Uncovering a BOLT symbol means automatically winning the award in that square.
The ticket also features a bonus game where players can instantly win up to $500 and a section where players can uncover multiplier symbols that increase their prize anywhere on the ticket by up to 50 times. The game costs $30 to play.
In a press release, James Carey, the lottery's executive director, stated:
We are pleased with the successful year. For players, nothing compares to seeing jackpots reach previously unimagined heights. While multistate game sales surged this fiscal year, those gains must be kept in perspective with New Jersey-only game sales. We are constantly looking at new ways to improve the lottery's games and player experience.
The New Jersey Lottery has generated $35.5 million in state revenue since it was first launched in 1975. Revenue that the state collects from the lottery goes towards a pension fund for public employees, including teachers, police officers, and firefighters.
