Waiting for a ticket: budget lottery revenues increased by a third in 2025
Budget receipts from lotteries in January–December increased by almost a third compared to 2024, to 6 billion rubles, Izvestia found out. The increase in fees is associated with an increase in ticket purchases, as confirmed by the Ministry of Finance and major operators. People tend to compensate for financial stress with "fast" winning chances, experts say. However, with very large expenditures, this can lead to a decrease in the financial stability of households. Izvestia figured out what Russians expect from participating in lotteries.
Why do people buy lottery tickets
Budget revenues from lotteries have amounted to about 5.6 billion rubles since the beginning of the year, according to the data from the Electronic Budget (Izvestia analyzed them). This is almost a third more than last year, when it was about 4.8 billion. In addition, fees exceeded the forecasts of the financial plan by 25%. The editorial board sent a request to the Federal Tax Service with a request to comment on the reasons for the change in this indicator.
The increase in federal budget revenues from lotteries is associated with an increase in ticket sales and the development of competition in the lottery market of the Russian Federation, the press service of the Ministry of Finance told Izvestia.
There are two major operators in Russia. Almost 40 million people participated in lotteries from Stoloto for the year — this is more than 30% of the adult population of the country and 80% of solvent citizens, the press service of the operator noted. According to Vladimir Chernov, analyst at Freedom Finance Global, the main part is accounted for by regular players.
The total amount of the prize pool drawn in state lotteries from this platform for the first half of 2025 amounted to more than 35.5 billion rubles, which is about 200 million per day.
According to the National Lottery, the total number of tickets sold has increased by almost 45% over the past 11 months, said Deputy General Director Zhanna Shalimova.
— The lottery market grew faster in 2025 than many other segments of the Russian economy. The growth driver was largely the increase in the convenience of lottery purchases: the availability of tickets in large grocery chains within walking distance from customers' homes, at the post office, on marketplaces and digital platforms of lottery operators," she explained.
In addition, according to Zhanna Shalimova, interest in lotteries has grown this year with the introduction of new products with gamification elements, as well as with increased confidence in games, taking into account regular draws of large prizes.
Tickets compete in the consumer's wallet with online cinemas and computer games, Stoloto told Izvestia. At the same time, the trend towards the purchase of electronic lotteries remains.
— Today, the share of ticket purchases distributed by Stoloto online is more than 70%. Offline, a fairly large share of sales is accounted for by the purchase of lotteries as gifts for various holidays — March 8, February 23, and New Year's Eve," the press service added.
Many Russians buy tickets in November and December to participate in the New Year's sweepstakes, which are broadcast live, said Lamiya Mammadova, an expert at the RUDN University Faculty of Economics.
The demand for lotteries is also linked to the general uncertainty in the world: the worse the situation, the more purchases, says Ekaterina Kosareva, managing partner of the analytical agency VMT Consult. During periods of uncertainty and weak wage dynamics, some households begin to treat tickets as a surrogate for investment, Vladimir Chernov added. According to the results of the first nine months of this year, real wages of Russians increased by 4.5% compared to the same period last year (in 2024 they added 8.6%).
Revenue growth was also influenced by changes in fiscal rules. Until 2025, 10% of the difference between revenue and the prize fund was allocated to the budget, the expert recalled. Now the organizers transfer a fixed percentage of the total revenue, and this rate will gradually increase according to the law — this year it amounted to 4.2%, and by 2028 it will reach 5.5%. The expert added: the new mechanism, in which the budget receives a fixed percentage, makes the income item more predictable.
Do lotteries improve economic well-being
Investments provide higher returns in the long run than lotteries, said Linda Ryzhykh, associate professor of Management at the Presidential Academy in St. Petersburg. According to her, uncontrolled spending on lotteries reduces a person's reserves in case of a crisis. However, if their expenses do not exceed 1% of income, the burden on the family budget is negligible.
At the same time, according to the Stoloto press service, Russians have been planning ticket purchases in advance for the past few years - about half of lottery participants determine a monthly budget for ticket purchases. For a certain category of citizens, participation is entertainment that allows them to get emotions and possibly win money, said Linda Ryzhykh.
In addition, lottery deductions also increase revenues to the treasury, and this money is redistributed mainly to the development of physical education and sports, infrastructure and support for social projects, she explained. Therefore, such receipts are a convenient source of funds that allows you to finance projects without attracting additional funds. Izvestia sent a request to the Ministry of Sports about the increase in lottery revenue.
For the most vulnerable groups, such spending can displace spending on health, education and the formation of an airbag, said Vladimir Chernov. In this case, Linda Ryzhykh added, it is important to protect vulnerable groups from excessive spending and find a rational balance between the entertainment and social functions of lotteries.
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