Here’s an oldie-but-goodie question that just came our way from a man asking about the breakdown of the money for every $1 spent on lottery tickets in Iowa.
It goes to show that even though we can recite the details from memory here the lottery, it can be completely new information to someone else!
We keep a chart showing the details involved on our website. For every $1 spent on lottery tickets in Iowa, the money flows into four categories. The biggest is prizes. Without prizes to players, there obviously wouldn’t be a lottery for long!
Prizes are followed by proceeds to state programs, commissions to the local businesses that sell lottery tickets, and the daily costs of running the lottery.
In addition to that bigger picture, we also pinpoint the state programs that currently receive lottery proceeds in Iowa, and how lottery proceeds have been used over time. The use of the money raised by the lottery for state causes has changed several times through the years, so we keep a historical list as well as a current list.
We do our best to break things out into clear categories with direct links where you can learn more.We know it’s our job to provide transparency, and the totals involved are significant.
Since the Iowa lottery’s start in 1985, its players have won more than $5.6 billion in prizes while the lottery has raised more than $2.4 billion for the state programs that benefit all Iowans. And, those numbers increase every day as more tickets are sold!
Comments