The Virginia Lottery has added new crossword and blackjack options to its list of popular Print ‘n Play games.
The commonwealth’s official lottery recently announced the new additions to its lineup.
Even before the announcement, though, the VA Lottery already offered three variations of the games, including blackjack, bingo, and crossword.
The new variations of the games include four options for crossword games and two new blackjack games. And as with previous offerings, the “instant win games” also come at various price points.
New Print ‘n Play games
Print ‘n Play games are printed right at the Virginia Lottery terminals. They are available at more than 5,300 convenience stores, groceries, pharmacies, and other retail outlets across VA.
With Print ‘n Play, the winning status of the tickets is determined immediately. Therefore, lotto players know if they won or lost as soon as they look at the printed ticket.
Most players like to purchase their tickets and then follow along with the printed game to see if they’re winners, for a little more suspense. However, they also have the option to scan the ticket at the lotto terminal to get an instant result if a player is in a hurry.
The new Print ‘n Play lineup includes:
- $2 Lucky Day Crossword
- $3 Lucky Clover Crossword
- $5 Lucky Horseshoe Crossword
- $10 Lucky Star Crossword
- $2 Blackjack Showdown
- $5 Casino Blackjack
The new games bring the total number of Print ‘n Play options to 10. There are four bingo games, four crossword games, and two blackjack games.
The $10 High Roller Bingo game and the $10 Lucky Star Crossword each offer a top prize of $75,000. All other games have jackpots of at least $10,000. Payouts and prizes start at just $2, and most games have a 1-in-4 chance (or better) of winning at least something.
Boost to VA lottery sales
The Print ‘n Play games are among many recent new additions to the VA Lottery lineup. Players have received those new options warmly.
During the Virginia Lotto’s most recent fiscal year, which ended on June 30, it registered more than $2 billion in overall sales and more than $595 million in revenue.
During a recent presentation to the Virginia House of Delegates Appropriations Committee, VA Lottery Executive Director Kevin Hall said he expects that momentum to continue. In fact, the VA Lotto is projecting increases in sales for all three of its longtime primary categories:
- Scratch-off tickets
- Daily draw games (Pick 3, Pick 4, Cash 5)
- Jackpot draw games (Powerball, Mega Millions)
However, the games are part of the quickly growing “Other” category for the lottery, that also includes online instant games, keno, and raffles:
| Fiscal Year 2020 Sales | 2021 Projected Sales | |
|---|---|---|
| Scratch-off games | $1.17 billion | $1.24 billion (+6%) |
| Daily draw games | $691.5 million | $770.3 million (+11%) |
| Jackpot games | $204.9 million | $213.3 million (+4%) |
| Other (iLotto, Print 'n Play, keno, etc.) | $83.5 million | $678.1 million (+712%) |
As you can see, the lottery expects the category to explode in sales in 2021. After tallying $83.5 million in sales in 2020, officials expect the category to contribute $678.1 million to the ledger in the current fiscal year.
If they meet those projections, the “Other” category, including the Print ‘n Play games, will account for approximately 23% of total sales with the Virginia Lottery.
