The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. says lottery sales were down $115 million in 2014-15 due to fewer big jackpots and higher ticket prices.
Overall, the OLG says in its annual report that lottery, charitable gaming, slots and casinos generated $6.6 billion in revenue in that fiscal year.
That's down about $26.2 million from the previous year, mostly due to the lower lotto sales, with that decrease somewhat offset by an increase in charitable gaming — sites that offer various games such as tabletop bingo and "classic paper-based play."
Lottery revenue decreased from $3.4 billion to $3.3 billion, which OLG says is primarily due to fewer high-value jackpots and lower national lottery sales of Lotto Max and Lotto 6/49, as well as the introduction of a more expensive Lotto 6/49 ticket.
OLG says only seven per cent of adults under 35 play the lottery at least once a week, and while people have been able to buy lottery tickets online since January 2015, most still purchase in person.
Of the total gaming revenues, OLG provided $2 billion to the province, roughly the same as in the previous year.
This content appears as provided to The Globe by the originating wire service. It has not been edited by Globe staff.