Yesterday was Veterans Day at the Capitol here in Iowa, and there was a huge crowd of veterans at the Statehouse!
The lottery had a booth there to provide information about the proceeds that we raise for the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund. And we added to the fun of the day by giving some lottery prize packs away in contests we held at our booth. Here are shots of some of the lucky contest winners! We hope they have fun playing the scratch tickets in their prize packs and enjoy the lottery swag we included, too.
Since 2008, the Iowa Lottery has raised nearly $20 million for the Veterans Trust Fund to help Iowa veterans and their families. We proud to be able to help such a noble cause and truly mean it when we say: Thank you, veterans, for your service!
Many thanks to the Iowa Energy, which gave us the chance to be part of the team’s Military Appreciation Night this month. We got to do a center-court presentation to call attention to the grand total in lottery proceeds raised so far for the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund (IVTF)!
I'm shown here with Colonel Bob King, Executive Director of the Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs and Director of the Iowa Veterans Cemetery. Colonel King served in the Iowa National Guard for nearly 36 years prior to his September 2004 retirement.
He got the ceremonial check showing that the lottery has raised nearly $20 million since 2008 to help Iowa veterans and their families through the IVTF. The precise total with our transfer for fiscal year 2016, which we made to the Trust Fund in late October, is $19,852,121.
On Wednesday, a new state law will take effect that’s designed to stabilize the amount raised by the lottery each year to help Iowa veterans and their families.
The Iowa Lottery requested the change, which I first blogged about this spring after Gov. Terry Branstad signed the proposal into law.
Since 2008, the proceeds from the sale of two scratch games and two pull-tab games each year have been dedicated to the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund. But annual proceeds to the IVTF have been on the decline for the past few years. In FY 2014, for the first time since the lottery started raising money for the cause, we didn’t reach our publicly stated goal of providing between $2 million and $3 million to the IVTF. (The annual total that year was $1.8 million.) We think there’s a main reason for that decline.
While overall lottery sales and proceeds have repeatedly exceeded budget projections, we’ve seen a long-term decline in the sale of our pull-tab games. Pull-tabs have been closely tied to our efforts to help the Veterans Trust Fund, making up half the games for that cause. And if pull-tab sales kept falling, that would pull down our efforts to support the IVTF.
The law that takes effect on Wednesday will eliminate a certain number of lottery games each year dedicated to the cause and instead allocate $2.5 million in lottery proceeds annually to the IVTF. That’s the midway point of our publicly stated goal for the project and also is the yearly average of the total we’ve raised so far.
Under current law, the majority of lottery proceeds each year go into the state General Fund, where they help pay for the variety of programs that receive money through it. A smaller portion of lottery proceeds goes to the Veterans Trust Fund. That will continue to be the case under the new law, it’s just that the way we raise money for the IVTF will be changed, with $2.5 million in lottery proceeds going to that cause each year.
As of next week, a portion of the proceeds from the sale of all Iowa Lottery games will be dedicated to the Veterans Trust Fund.
We’ll of course continue to spread the word about the Veterans Trust Fund and the help it provides to Iowa veterans and their families. And I’m sure we’ll still sell patriotic-themed games from time to time. We did that even before we started helping the IVTF and they’ve always been popular.
We’re gratified to announce some important upcoming changes in the help that the Iowa Lottery provides for the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund.
A proposal from the lottery has been signed into law by Gov. Terry Branstad. The legislation will stabilize the proceeds that the lottery raises each year to help our state’s veterans and their families through the IVTF. Senate File 323 will take effect July 1 and will mean changes in the line-up of games that the lottery offers in retail locations – changes designed to ensure a stable, ongoing source of revenues for the IVTF.
The proposal was approved March 9 in the Iowa Senate and March 10 in the Iowa House before being signed into law Tuesday.
You’ve likely heard me reference before that the lottery has raised proceeds for the IVTF since 2008. I’m proud to report that through February of this year, we’ve provided a total of more than $17 million to this worthy cause.
Under current law, the proceeds from the sale of two scratch games and two pull-tab games each year are dedicated to the Veterans Trust Fund. But annual proceeds to the IVTF have been on the decline for the past few years. In FY 2014, for the first time since the lottery started raising money for the cause, we didn’t reach our publicly stated goal of providing between $2 million and $3 million for the IVTF. (The annual total from the lottery for the Trust Fund in FY 2014 was $1.8 million.) There’s one main reason for the recent decline.
While overall lottery sales and proceeds in recent years have been strong and repeatedly exceeded budget projections, the lottery is seeing a long-term decline in the sale of its pull-tab games. Right now, pull-tabs are closely tied to the lottery’s efforts to help the Veterans Trust Fund, making up 50 percent of the games dedicated to the cause. A continued decline in pull-tab sales would negatively impact the lottery’s ability to support the IVTF.
To stabilize ongoing proceeds to the Veterans Trust Fund, the legislation we introduced will eliminate the requirement for a certain number of lottery games each year dedicated to the cause and instead allocate $2.5 million in lottery proceeds annually to the IVTF. That amount is the midway point of the lottery’s publicly stated goal for the project and also is the yearly average of the total we’ve raised so far.
Under current law, the majority of lottery proceeds are dedicated each year to the state General Fund, where they help pay for the variety of programs that receive funding through it; with a smaller portion of lottery proceeds dedicated to the Veterans Trust Fund. That will continue to be the case with the change in law on July 1 – it’s just that the method by which the lottery raises money for the IVTF will be changed to $2.5 million in lottery proceeds being dedicated to the cause each year.
As of July 1, a portion of the proceeds from the sale of all lottery games will be dedicated to the Veterans Trust Fund. The set of games we introduced in January that provide 100 percent of their proceeds to the IVTF will be the last in that series that we’ll release.
We’ll of course continue to spread the word about the Veterans Trust Fund and the help it provides to Iowa veterans and their families. And we’ll also offer patriotic-themed games over time – we did that even before the lottery started helping the IVTF and those games have always been popular.
The amount keeps going up a little bit at a time, but every once in a while, the numbers jump out at you, just like they did this week. With the help and support of lottery players across the state, we’ve now raised more than $16 million to help our state’s veterans and their families through the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund!
The lottery’s latest quarterly transfer to the fund brings the proceeds total to that cause to more than $16.2 million. Now THAT’S a number worth writing home about!
The lottery has raised money to help our state’s veterans and their families since 2008. Legislation was approved that year authorizing the lottery to dedicate 100 percent of the proceeds from select games each year to the Veterans Trust Fund.
Our newest games to benefit the cause are the $3 "15X" scratch game and the $1 "Say Uncle" pull-tab game. All games dedicated to veterans’ causes here in Iowa have the Veterans Trust Fund logo on them so they’re easy to identify.
The Veterans Trust Fund provides state help to veterans and their families. If you’d like more information about how to apply for assistance through the fund, please contact your county V.A. representative or the Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs in Johnston.
Here’s a question to ponder as we head into the weekend. It came to us from a man named Matt on Facebook. He posted, “Random question that has always bugged me. Why is it called ‘Iowa Lottery’ when it’s the exact same lottery as other states?”
Now, that’s a good one! I think Matt is partly right and partly wrong. Here’s why:
It is true that you can buy tickets in Iowa in games that are sold in multiple states, including Powerball®, Mega Millions®, Hot Lotto® and All or Nothing™. But you also can buy lottery games here in our state that are completely unique to Iowa, including most of our scratch games and pull-tab games.
And bottom line, all of the proceeds from the sale of lottery tickets in the state of Iowa stay right here to benefit worthy Iowa causes. Since its start in 1985, the Iowa Lottery has raised more than $1.5 billion for the state programs that help us all. Today, lottery proceeds in Iowa have three main purposes: They provide support for veterans and their families through the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund; help for a variety of significant projects through the state General Fund; and backing for the Vision Iowa program, which was implemented to create tourism destinations and community attractions in the state and build and repair schools.
And that is why it’s called the Iowa Lottery. Great question, Matt!
Our lucky “Veterans Victory” winner took possession of her motorcycle today! Tracy Schultz of Peterson and her husband, Randy, met us at Van Wall Powersports in Indianola to pick up the bike. They said it was even more beautiful in person.
Ray “Bubba” Sorensen II, the artist of The Freedom Rock® who painted the motorcycle, also was on hand for the presentation. He talked with the Schultzes about his artwork and showed them some of the special touches he worked into the artwork on the bike’s gas tank.
Tracy, 49, teaches high school business classes and is the athletic director at St. Mary’s High School in Storm Lake. She and Randy both have a motorcycle license and say they’re looking forward to riding the custom-painted 2013 Victory® Boardwalk. They’ve already gotten invitations to take it to some rides for special causes and have made a banner thanking veterans that they plan to take with them, as you can see here. We predict they’re going to be very popular!
Congrats again, Tracy! And happy riding to you!
The drawing results are in for our “Veterans Victory” promotion, and a northwest Iowa lottery player is finding out right now that they’re the winner of the custom-painted motorcycle!
We held the promotion drawing this morning, selecting Tracy Schultz of Peterson as the motorcycle winner. Peterson, population 334, is in Clay County.
Our players made nearly 97,000 entries in the promotion from its start on Jan. 6 through the end of the entry period at noon yesterday. The $1 “Ride To Riches” game was the entry vehicle for the promotion, and all proceeds from the sale of tickets in that game benefit Iowa veterans and their families through the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund.
The lottery had teamed up with artist Ray “Bubba” Sorensen II on the motorcycle project. It was the first time that Sorensen, the artist best known for his annual artwork on the huge “The Freedom Rock®” boulder near Greenfield in western Iowa, had painted a motorcycle. Since our first games to benefit the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund debuted in July 2008, the Iowa Lottery has raised nearly $15 million for the cause.
Thanks to everyone who entered! We’ll announce a new promotion in April that you’ll be able to enter with nonwinning tickets in a new scratch game.
Iowa Lottery staff met with hundreds of veterans, legislators and Statehouse staff Wednesday during Veterans Day at the Capitol to spread the word about our lottery games that benefit veterans and their families.
We handed out free tickets in the "A 10 Hut" instant-scratch game along with informational brochures about our efforts to raise proceeds for the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund. The first floor of the Statehouse Rotunda was filled to Capacity by the big crowd on hand to discuss veterans’ issues with lawmakers. We were proudly able to tell all in attendance that the lottery has raised more than $12 million for the Veterans Trust Fund so far!
We also held five contests throughout the morning for prize packs of veterans-themed merchandise and additional scratch tickets. The contest winners were a good indicator that the Veterans Day activities brought in supporters from across the state.
Contest Winners
9:30 a.m. – Gary Boseneilon from Iowa City
10:00 a.m. – Sandra Otto from Albert City
10:30 a.m. – Tom Dorsey from Fort Dodge
11:00 a.m. – Bonnie Raso from Spring Hill
11:30 a.m. – Jane Hughes from Urbandale
We’ve just gotten some great news here at the lottery, and we know that in the end, we owe it all to you, our players.
Sales of the Iowa Lottery’s core products set records in February, led by continued strong sales of instant-scratch tickets and $2 Powerball. Lottery proceeds to state causes also were strong for the month, hitting nearly $7.8 million. That’s a 69 percent increase from February of last year, and these latest results keep the lottery on pace for another record year.
We’re always proud to know that the proceeds raised by lottery sales will make a difference for the vital programs that benefit us all. And we also know we couldn’t have done it without you! Our goal is to provide you with fun games to play and prizes to win while raising as much money as we can as responsibly as we can. We hope the record shows we’ve been doing that.
But while we’re celebrating this good news, we’re still keeping an eye on fuel prices. If you’ve followed our blog for awhile, you’ve heard us say before that fuel prices are one of the biggest issues that can impact lottery sales. And with predictions for the possibility of $4 to $5 gas heading into summer, we know our sales in the coming months may be affected. Hey, we all feel it when prices head up!
February was the lottery’s highest sales month ever for its core products. The monthly total of $30.2 million in combined sales from lotto, scratch and pull-tab tickets topped our previous monthly sales record for core products set back in March 2011 by more than $3 million and kept the lottery on pace for a double-digit sales increase over our previous fiscal year.
February also saw the lottery’s highest monthly sales in its history for instant-scratch tickets, which totaled $17.5 million, an increase of nearly $500,000 from the previous record, which had just been set in January. And January’s figures had topped the previous record high that had just been set in December, so Iowa scratch sales have now set records for three months in a row. You’ve also given $2 Powerball a good reception since its January debut. Powerball sales saw a double-digit increase in February.
So what do we think is contributing to these strong numbers? It’s several things, actually. We’ve got a strong mix of games and themes out there; there continue to be a lot of big winners here in Iowa, including three players who have claimed $1 million prizes so far this calendar year; the entry numbers tell us you’ve enjoyed our latest promotions (Don’t forget to get in on the “Warehouse Dash” right now!); and you know that when you buy a lottery ticket, some of the money you spend goes to good causes, like Iowa veterans and their families through the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund.
With approaching Veterans Day celebrations, we thought we’d do our part by honoring our vets with a Twitter contest.
We’ll be giving away tickets in our $1 “Veterans Hot $50” scratch game. Proceeds from the sale of this ticket go to the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund, which helps Iowa’s vets in many ways.
Another great thing about this ticket for you VIP Club members: it will earn you triple points in the month of November! So if you’re trying to build up points for a special item in our Points For Prizes™ store, this just might help you get there.
The contest is set for Tuesday, Nov. 15 at noon. We found that most of you liked the noon time slot better than 10 a.m., so we’re sticking with it until you tell us differently!
To be eligible to enter, just follow us on Twitter – it’s free to create an account. Then give us the correct answer to our super-easy contest question and you’ll be entered for a chance to win one of the ticket prize packages.
At noon next Tuesday, we’ll pose our question on Twitter. Reply with your answer within the 15-minute time limit and you’ll be entered in the contest! Reply to @ialottery on Twitter. (Don’t direct message us on Twitter, as direct messages aren’t eligible for entry.)
As always, we’ll record a video after the contest and post it on our website and YouTube. We’ll also post a list of the winners’ names here on our blog, and a link to that blog on Twitter.
If you win, you’ll need to contact us with your name, date of birth and mailing address so we can send out your tickets. Winners will have until 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 22, to contact us with their information in order to claim their prize.
A few other details:
• You must be at least 21 years old to enter.
• You must live in Iowa.
• There’s no purchase necessary to enter or win!
And now for the fine print: This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Twitter. You understand that you are providing your information to the Iowa Lottery and not to Twitter. The information you provide will only be used for the lottery’s Twitter Contest. The risk of loss for electronic misdelivery, late delivery or failure of receipt for information entered electronically remains with entrant regardless of the cause of the transmission failure.
Thank you for helping Iowa veterans to the tune of nearly $9 million – and thank you for giving us a huge, warm welcome Saturday night in Ames!
The folks at Iowa State University invited us up Saturday night to help spread the word about the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund by having a ceremonial check presentation before the Texas-Iowa St. game. I got to present a check on the field for nearly $9 million to Kate Myers with the Iowa Commission of Veterans Affairs. The check represents the total amount that has been raised for veterans’ causes since 2008 from the sale of select lottery games dedicated to the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund.
But instead of just doing a standard check presentation, we decided to jazz things up this year by having a double-sided check. The front side showed the oversized check to the Veterans Commission, but when we flipped it around, the other side had a message asking the crowd at the game to get on its feet and show its appreciation for veterans. We held the sign way up and jogged it up and down a bit so it really caught people’s attention on the new video scoreboard at the north end of Jack Trice Stadium. The crowd gave a big cheer for our state’s veterans, which was great to see!
The next time you’re at your local lottery retailer, be sure to ask for the games that help veterans. And for more information about the help available through the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund, click here.
Read on to find out how you can have a chance to win $1,000 and support our state’s veterans at the same time during our next Twitter contest!
Our newest veterans scratch games is called “Veterans Hot $50” and we’re celebrating the $1 game’s debut with a Twitter contest! We’ll be giving away three prizes of $20 in tickets in the Veterans Hot $50 game that boasts a $1,000 top prize!
To be a part of the Twitter contest, just follow us on Twitter, give the correct answer to an EASY question during the contest, and you'll be entered for a chance to win one of the sets of tickets. It all kicks off at 10 a.m. next Tuesday (July 26) and the contest will only last for 15 minutes!
To start the contest, we’ll pose our question on Twitter. If you don't know the answer off the top of your head, you'll be able to find it on our website!
Reply with the right answer within 15 minutes and you’ll be entered into our contest! Please be sure to reply to @ialottery on Twitter. (Don't direct message us on Twitter, as direct messages aren't eligible for entry.)
We’ll have a friendly in-house game to determine the winners of the three ticket prize packs. Be sure to check out the video contest results afterwards to see who won! It’s always interesting and fun around here.
We'll post the video on our website, YouTube and Facebook. We'll also provide a link to the video from Twitter and we'll post an announcement with the winners' names on Twitter. If you win, you'll need to contact us by 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 28.
A few requirements:
• You must be at least 21 years old to enter.
• You must live in Iowa.
• No purchase necessary to enter or to win!
The risk of loss for electronic misdelivery, late delivery or failure of receipt for information entered electronically remains with entrant regardless of the cause of the transmission failure.
We’re excited to announce our two latest Veterans games to raise money for the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund.
First up we have “Give Me $20,” a $1 instant-scratch game with a top prize of $2,000! This ticket features the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund logo repeated in the background as part of a red, white and blue theme.
Then we have the new $1 pull-tab game, “American Pride.” This pull-tab features artwork of several patriotic symbols, including the bald eagle and Liberty Bell.
The first lottery games to benefit the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund began sales in July 2008. We estimated that the new games will raise between $2 million and $3 million in proceeds annually for veterans’ causes. Total lottery proceeds to the Veterans Trust Fund since the project’s start are nearing $7 million.
The Iowa Veterans Trust Fund was created to assist qualified veterans in paying for expenses such as:
• unemployment or underemployment assistance due to service-related causes
• assistance with vision, hearing, or dental care
• durable medical equipment and prescription drugs
• counseling and substance abuse services
• emergency housing repair and transitional housing in an emergency.
To learn more about the Veterans Trust Fund, visit http://www.iowava.org/.