Cheyenne, Wyoming
WyoLotto’s official tenth anniversary, based on its Aug. 24, 2014 launch of ticket sales, may be just shy of a year away, but CEO Jon Clontz has been on the job now for 10 years—since Sept. 23, 2013.
Recently, under the leadership of Clontz, WyoLotto reached a major milestone of giving back over $200 million to Wyoming.
“When you add our quarterly transfers to what players have won and what we have paid retailers in commissions, we have given over $200 million to Wyoming. That is a milestone we are very proud of and worked very hard to achieve in the short 9 years that we have been around,” said WyoLotto CEO Jon Clontz.
Since the launch of WyoLotto, over $35 million has been transferred to the state, more than $17 million has been paid in retailer commissions and another $154 million has gone to Wyoming players in winnings.
Clontz helped navigate not only the establishment of WyoLotto, but also the success over the last 10 years. In the 10 years since he began with WyoLotto, Clontz has led the way for:
- Launching lottery sales with Powerball and Mega Millions
- Adding WyoLotto’s in-state game, Cowboy Draw, in 2015
- Adding Lucky for Life to the portfolio in 2016
- Launching WyoLotto’s own raffle game in 2018, Ragtime Raffle
- Adding WyoLotto’s first daily game, 2by2, in 2021
- Adding KENO to the portfolio in 2022
The list of achievements is not short. Thanks to Clontz and the support of Wyoming, WyoLotto will celebrate 10 years of sales next year on August 24, 2024.
Clontz also shared that the October 2023 revenue transfer to Wyoming is another record amount of $2,284,120.78. This brings the running total to $35.64 million going directly back to the state.
The large transfer amount is due in part to high jackpots from Powerball and WyoLotto’s in-state game, Cowboy Draw. The other reason for the transfer amount is the recent addition of KENO to the portfolio. The new game, added in September 2022, has created a steady stream of revenue, as most games in Wyoming are jackpot driven. This is because state statute restricts the types of lottery games allowed to only draw games.
WyoLotto launched its first sales on August 24, 2014, one year after becoming established as a corporation by a bill passed by the Wyoming Legislature and then-Governor Matt Mead. The bill allowed for the creation of a lottery, but it also outlined that the creation could not be carried out with any state funding.
In order to launch the company, the WyoLotto Board of Directors, which are appointed by the Governor, hired Clontz as CEO to start something from nothing. So the WyoLotto Board of Directors and Clontz secured a start-up loan from a Wyoming bank, Jonah Bank, that was supportive of the corporation’s mission, which is to maximize giving back to Wyoming.
The start-up loan was paid off early, in January of 2016, allowing WyoLotto to make its first net revenue transfer in April 2016 of $1 million. State statute mandates a quarterly net revenue transfer of 75 percent or more. WyoLotto has been able to transfer each quarter more than 75 percent, sometimes reaching over 90 percent given back to the state. That money is then distributed to Wyoming’s cities, towns and counties based on sales. In the Wyoming way, each municipality gets to decide how to use those dollars for their community.
For more information about WyoLotto or to receive player updates and notifications about KENO, Cowboy Draw, Mega Millions, Powerball, and Lucky for Life, visit wyolotto.com/signup or download the WyoLotto app for free today.