The Pennsylvania Lottery this week launched new $5 games featuring the Pirates and Phillies in the "second go-round for each club," both of which are "tops among the state's professional sports teams in the amount earned through lottery licensing fees: about $2.45 million each," according to Jason Cato of the Pittsburgh TRIBUNE-REVIEW. The Pirates and Phillies "shared an instant-win game in 2008, the lottery's first foray into games featuring professional franchises," and lottery officials said that the game sold $28.9M in tickets. The Steelers and Eagles both introduced $5 games in '09 and '10, and "sales over the two-year period were $53.8 million for the Steelers tickets and $38.9 million for the Eagles." Both the Steelers and Eagles "earned a little more than $2 million each through licensing fees." The Penguins and Flyers meanwhile "entered the fray" in '09, and their "shared $2 game sold $11.1 million in tickets, and the teams split $360,000 in licensing fees." Cato notes "no game ever has been introduced for the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers, the state's only other major pro team" (Pittsburgh TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 3/25).
