Sales of multistate lottery tickets have all but collapsed compared to last year and the culprit is clear, according to the Lottery Commission.

According to data provided by the Massachusetts Lottery Commission, Powerball ticket sales declined by about three-fifths through April and May when compared to the previous year’s sales, while Mega Millions ticket sales fell by about a quarter from their fiscal 2024 level.

The sharp downward trend, according to Mass Lottery Executive Director Mark William Bracken, can be traced directly to the size — or rather the lack thereof — of the jackpots made available for players over the last year.

“Compared to the first 11 months of last fiscal year, fiscal year 2025 sales for Powerball are down 58.5%, and Mega Millions are down 26.9%. This trend is directly driven by jackpot sizes. For example, looking back at the last two fiscal years, there were five jackpots that reached a billion or higher in FY 2024, compared to only one in FY 2025,” Bracken told the Herald.

Over the course of the first 11 months of fiscal 2025, just one game saw a more-than $1 billion jackpot — a Mega Millions prize worth $1.22 billion hit in late December — and the lack of a huge payout has apparently kept casual lottery players away. And it’s not just the Bay State that’s seeing the impacts of slightly-more-diminutive potential riches, according to Bracken.

“This is a national trend,” he told the Herald. “Sales of Powerball and Mega Millions are jackpot driven.”

As a result of the slowed sales, the amount of money heading back to the commonwealth’s 351 cities and towns — the Lottery is their largest source of unrestricted aid — will be somewhat reduced, Bracken said. Overall unadjusted sales are down $182.4 million from last year, according to the Executive Director’s June report to the Lottery Commission.

“Due in part to the decrease in jackpot game sales, we anticipate our return to the General Fund will be down slightly from last fiscal year, consistent with projections that we have shared with the Legislature,” Bracken said.

The reduction in sales, according to the lottery director, does not necessarily bend back to the state’s legalization of sports betting. However, that doesn’t mean the lottery isn’t trying to compete with the new business on the block. The Mass State Lottery is due to launch “iLottery” next year, and Bracken said that he expects it will bring fresh revenue into the state’s coffers.

“The Mass Lottery is excited to implement iLottery so we can give players a modern playing experience. In addition to the new revenue stream, iLottery has proven to result in growth of traditional lottery sales in states where it has been introduced. We continue to evaluate all of our product lines for ways to engage our customers and grow our retail sales,” Bracken said.

The Powerball jackpot broke the $1 billion mark three times in fiscal 2024 — a $1.07 billion prize was won on July 19, 2023, $1.76 billion the following October 11, and $1.32 billion on April 6, 2024. The Mega Millions reached $1.58 billion before it was hit on August 8, 2023, and $1.13 billion before the game was won on March 26, 2024.