2 metro-east counties among top 10 in IL for lottery spending. Here’s how much
Two metro-east counties landed among the top 10 for state lottery ticket spending in fiscal year 2025, according to the Illinois Lottery.
St. Clair County landed in seventh place for lottery ticket sales, while Madison County followed closely in eighth. Each county saw more than $62 million in Illinois Lottery sales.
In total, the Illinois Lottery sold nearly $3.76 billion worth of lottery tickets in fiscal year 2025, which ran July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025. This figure includes online and app sales, as well as in-store purchases.
“The Illinois Lottery continues to do its part by responsibly generating essential funding for the Common School Fund and other good causes, such as the Special Olympics and veterans’ programs in Illinois,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said in an Oct. 14 Illinois Lottery news release. “We continue to champion Illinois-generated education revenue, especially considering federal funding for education is at risk.”
Lottery officials said the more than $3.7 billion in sales represents the Illinois Lottery’s second-highest sales year and its fifth best for net income.
“These results were achieved despite a general slowing of lottery sales across the United States during fiscal year 2025, largely driven by the lack of multiple $1 billion+ jackpots in multi-state games like Mega Millions and Powerball,” Illinois Lottery staff said in the release.
Several metro-east residents won big in 2025, including a $1 million-winning scratch-off in Fairview Heights in November and a $14.6 million win in East St. Louis in September.
The odds of winning a major lottery jackpot in any state are very low. The Powerball reports players have a 1 in 292,201,338 chance of winning a grand prize, while the odds are 1 in 290,472,336 to win a Mega Millions jackpot.
Illinois Lottery officials recommend customers take precautions when gambling, including setting a spending limit and sticking to it, taking breaks and never giving tickets to minors.
Top 25 Illinois counties for lottery spending
Here’s how the top 25 counties that spent the most on Illinois Lottery tickets in the fiscal year 2025 compared:
1. Cook County: $1.5 billion
2. DuPage County: $222.1 million
3. Will County: $164.9 million
4. Lake County: $153 million
5. Kane County: $98.7 million
6. Winnebago County: $75.1 million
7. St. Clair County: $64.1 million
8. Madison County: $62.8 million
9. McHenry County: $60.5 million
10. Adams County: $40.9 million
11. Sangamon County: $38.7 million
12. Peoria County: $31.8 million
13. La Salle County: $29.1 million
14. Champaign County: $27.5 million
15. Rock Island County: $26.4 million
16. Kankakee County: $25.9 million
17. Macon County: $24.3 million
18. Tazewell County: $24 million
19. Kendall County: $23.8 million
20. McLean County: $22 million
21. DeKalb County: $16.9 million
22. Vermilion County: $13.5 million
23. Grundy County: $12.5 million
24. Whiteside County: $11 million
25. Williamson County: $10.7 million
Calhoun County residents spent the least among Illinois’ 102 counties, with $200,000 in ticket sales, according to the state lottery.
This list doesn’t include online and app lottery sales, which totaled $701.7 million in Illinois in fiscal year 2025.
Where do Illinois Lottery proceeds go?
The Illinois Lottery reports about 21 cents from each dollar spent on the state’s lottery fund public education and “other special causes.”
“Since 1985, the Illinois Lottery has contributed more than $25 billion in revenue to the State of Illinois,” the Illinois Lottery website says.
Here’s where Illinois Lottery proceeds went in fiscal year 2025, according to the organization:
- 68.9% of proceeds, or $2.539 billion, were prizes paid to winners
- 21.2%, or $796 million, went to “good causes,” including the Common School Fund and others
- 5.3%, or $201 million, went to other expenses, including operations
- 4.6%, or $172 million, went to retailer commissions/selling bonuses
If you or someone you know has a problem with gambling, help is available by calling 1-800-522-4700.
Note: An AI tool assisted with organizing the data for this story. A BND reporter reviewed the data and wrote the story, in accordance with our AI policy.
Do you have a question about the lottery in Illinois for the News-Democrat? We’d like to hear from you. Fill out our Metro-east Matters form below.
