The Virginia Lottery set a record with $6.36 billion in sales in the fiscal year ended 30 June, powered by nearly $4 billion in online sales and a steady retail network that kept the money flowing on both sides of the business.
That surge mattered because more than $914 million went to Virginia’s K-12 public schools, while players collected more than $5 billion in prizes. In other words, nearly 80 cents on the dollar went back to players even as the lottery delivered its second-highest profit year for schools and its third straight year above $900 million.
The online results were the strongest in the Virginia Lottery online program’s six-year history, a mark that helps explain why FY26 landed as the lottery’s biggest sales year yet. The digital platform, powered by NeoPollard Interactive, runs through the Virginia Lottery mobile app and valottery.com, and it has become a larger part of how customers engage with the game since online sales began in 2020.
Kevin Hall said the FY26 numbers reflected an exceptional Lottery team, outstanding retail partners, innovative digital products and exciting jackpots, along with a mission centered on serving Virginians. He said every ticket purchased and every game played helps support public education, and that the digital offering has expanded customer choice while complementing the thousands of Virginia retailers that remain at the heart of the business.
The retail side still carried real weight. More than 5,300 Virginia businesses sold lottery products in FY26 and earned more than $128 million in commissions and bonuses, a reminder that the state’s lottery model still depends on storefront sales even as online play grows faster. The record sales total also leaves the same unresolved point that has followed the lottery’s digital expansion: the online program is clearly driving growth, but the available figures do not show how much of the $6.36 billion came from online sales versus retail tickets.
What is clear is that the Virginia Lottery has now produced three consecutive years of profits above $900 million for Virginia’s K-12 public schools. With online sales at their strongest level yet and retail partners still central, FY26 looks less like a peak than a test of how far both channels can carry the business together.
