Online lottery sales are proving to be the bridge that’s helping some US state lotteries get over pandemic shortfalls in retail sales.

This week, the Georgia Lottery announced that it had booked a record $1.24b profit in the 12 months ending June 30, up from $1.21b in FY19, despite FY19 featuring a record $1.5b MegaMillions jackpot. The FY20 profit marked the fifth straight year in which the Lottery’s annual profits topped the $1b mark and the ninth straight year of annual growth.

Lottery CEO Gretchen Corbin said sales dipped in March as COVID-19 forced some lottery retailers to close and kept customers at home under pandemic lockdown. But sales rebounded in the final quarter of the fiscal year, thanks in part to the Lottery’s efforts to promote its online offering, which includes not only draw ticket sales but instant win games.

A similar ‘online to the rescue’ narrative was recently issued by the Pennsylvania Lottery, which saw overall sales drop 25% in March after nearly one-third of the state’s lottery retailers were forced to close due to COVID-19. As of May 31, traditional Lottery sales were down $60m from the same period last year.