Estonian lottery sales up 20 percent

The state-owned AS Eesti Loto sold 116.8 million kroons' (7.46 million euros' ) worth of lottery tickets in January-September, up 19.5 percent from the same period last year.

In the nine months this year Eesti Loto has paid out 58.7 million kroons, 16.6 percent more than during the same period last year, the Estonian lottery consortium said this week. Six people have become lottery millionaires in Estonia this year, and the total number of lottery millionaires in the country is 18.

Eesti Loto paid 13.4 million kroons in gambling tax to the state, 14.5 percent more than the same period last year.

In 2001, Eesti Loto posted sales of 138.3 million kroons and a profit of 10.2 million kroons.

Last year Eesti Loto paid out 69.7 million kroons in lottery prizes and 16.5 million kroons of gambling tax to the state, half of it to support activities of the Estonian Olympic Committee.

Estonia's biggest lottery organizer forecasts that this year it will pay to the state a total of more than 28 million kroons gambling tax and profit.