Lotteries worldwide forge ahead in 2012; Q1/2012 sales up 13.4% globally compared to Q1/2011.

Shrugging off the ongoing financial crisis in Europe, major world lottery markets kept up the strong growth in global lottery sales seen at the end of 2011. Africa, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and North America all witnessed first-quarter-on-first-quarter increases in sales of more than 10% over the corresponding period in 2011.

Asia Pacific lotteries participating in the Quarterly Sales Indicator enjoyed a remarkable 27.9% increase in sales in the first quarter of 2012, as against the first quarter of 2011. The increase in sales in Asia Pacific was driven yet again by the participating mainland Chinese lotteries, which collectively witnessed an increase in sales of 30.1% for the first three months of 2012 over the first three months of 2011. Sales in Asia Pacific were further boosted by the performance of the Japanese lottery, which recorded an increase in sales of 52.6% for the first three months of 2012 over the first three months of 2011. The massive increase in sales at the Japanese lottery was due in part to a second special all-Japan reconstruction lottery for the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011.

Participating lotteries in North America also witnessed a strong surge in sales, with a first-quarter-on-first-quarter increase in sales for 2012 of 16.3% over the corresponding period of 2011. The increase in North American sales was driven largely by the two block games, Powerball and Megamillions. For its part, Powerball saw its price point increase from USD 1 to USD 2, as part of a revamp of the game in answer to calls for bigger jackpots and more chances to win. On the other hand, Megamillions saw a historic USD 640 million jackpot that led to unprecedented scenes around the US, as players queued for a chance to participate in the biggest lottery jackpot in US history. As a result of these block game developments, several US lotteries enjoyed their best ever first quarters.

In Latin America, sales among participating lotteries also continued their steady rise, with an increase in sales of 11% recorded for the period January–March 2012 over the period January–March 2011. Once again, growth in the Latin American region was driven by Argentina’s Lotería Nacional Sociedad del Estado, which enjoyed a first-quarter increase in sales in 2012 of 11.2% over the corresponding period in 2011. Brazil’s Caixa also contributed to the region’s strong showing, with a first-quarter increase in sales in 2012 of 11.9% over the same timeframe in 2011.

Participating African lotteries also performed robustly, but here the picture was more nuanced. In the first three months of 2012, participating African lotteries recorded an increase in sales of 14.5%, as against the first three months of 2011. This continued the momentum of the last quarter of 2011, where an increase in sales of 9.6% for the October–December period of 2011 was recorded against the corresponding three months of 2010. This reversed the trend of the third quarter of 2011, where disappointing sales were largely responsible for the full-year-on-full-year decrease in sales of -0.5% in 2011 over 2010 reported in the previous edition of the Quarterly Sales Index. Growth in the African market in the first quarter of 2011 was driven in large measure by the performance of the two participating Moroccan lotteries, La Marocaine des Jeux and Loterie Nationale, which collectively recorded an increase in sales of 31.8% for the first quarter of 2012 over the first quarter of 2011.

The picture in Europe was also more complex. Across Europe, participating lotteries recorded an increase in sales of 4.3% for the first quarter of 2012, as compared to the first quarter of 2011. The increase in sales across Europe was again driven by the growth in VLT sales at Italy’s Lottomatica. Also performing strongly was Norway’s Norsk Tipping, which enjoyed an increase in sales of 10.9% in the first three months of 2012, as against the first three months of 2011. On the other hand, the parlous economic situation in Greece contributed to the moderation in sales recorded in Europe as a whole for the first quarter of 2012, as against the fourth quarter of 2011.

For full year 2011 results, see here.

The WLA will continue to track the progress of global lottery sales in future editions of the Quarterly Sales Indicator. Once again we wish to thank all WLA member lotteries that participated in this initiative, and we look forward to bringing you the second quarter results shortly.

Jean Jørgensen
WLA Executive Director

All WLA members receive the WLA Quarterly Lottery Sales Indicator. Individual sales figures are confidential, and are available only to participating lotteries. Participating lotteries receive a separate, more detailed breakdown of quarterly sales figures. For enquiries regarding participation in the WLA Quarterly Lottery Sales Indicator, please contact Dr. Matthew Spinks ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) at the WLA Basel business office.