(WJW) — Lottery jackpots at record levels in recent months have more and more people flocking to the corner gas station for a chance of getting that winning ticket.
So what does that mean for the $2 ticket you buy?
After factoring in prize money, operating costs and employee salaries, the rest is profit.
The Ohio Lottery says it’s contributed profits of more than $29 billion to education since 1974.
About 24 cents of every dollar spent on Ohio Lottery games goes to education and every penny of that, goes to Ohio schools in what’s called the Lottery Profits Education Fund, according to Danielle Frizzi-Babb, Communications Director for the Ohio Lottery.
“One hundred percent of Ohio Lottery profits go to the Lottery Profits Education Fund,” Frizzi-Babb said. “The lottery is tasked with generating money for that fund, but we do not disperse the funds.”
Once the funds are sent over to the Ohio Department of Education, it’s up to the department how the money is spent, she explained.
“During fiscal year 2022, the Ohio Lottery generated $1.4 billion for the Lottery Profits Education Fund,” an annual report from the Ohio lottery says. “This represents an increase of $46.3 million compared to fiscal year 2021. Through fiscal year 2022, the Ohio Lottery has provided over $29.5 billion in profits to the State of Ohio.”
According to the Ohio Department of Education, state funding for primary and secondary education totaled $10.88 billion in 2021 and is estimated at $11.4 billion in 2022 and $11.65 billion in 2023.
Ohio lottery’s annual report, below, lists the amount the lottery has sent to Ohio schools for the past 10 years:
Notice the gradual rise in funds starting in 2013, then a jump in 2021 and 2022? When asked why lottery jackpots are reaching record levels more frequently, Frizzi-Babb said it’s “ultimately a matter of luck.”
“If you take Mega Millions for example, the $1.3 billion jackpot hit on January 13 in Maine,” she said. “Since then, there have been three more jackpot hits in January.”
Click here for Mega Millions jackpot history and here for Power Ball winner stories.
See the Ohio lottery’s annual financial report in full here.
