Billions for Good Causes
- Insights Online
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
Lotteries were created for the purpose of raising revenue for good causes, offering consumers fun and entertainment – and a chance of winning – for relatively small stakes.
By Patricia McQueen
Published April 22, 2025
Since the first modern U.S. lottery began in New Hampshire in 1964, American lotteries have generated nearly $645 billion in revenues for their beneficiaries over 60 years. In FY24 alone, 46 U.S. lotteries raised more than $30 billion for the good causes they support. That number include profits or tax revenue from lottery-operated or -regulated casino-style gaming and sports betting in some jurisdictions, as we attribute all of that revenue to the lotteries charged with gaming and sports operations one way or another.
In the last fiscal year, the lion’s share of proceeds, $21.4 billion, went to education and scholarships; many of the country’s largest lotteries send their proceeds to these programs. The largest revenue producer, the New York Lottery, benefits from both its traditional lottery operations and video lottery terminals, and sent almost $3.8 billion to education in FY24. In total, revenues from 29 lotteries go to education, either in full or in part.
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Seventeen lotteries support the seemingly undefined “General Fund” with at least some of their revenues; a total of just over $3 billion in FY24. Maryland sent the most of any individual lottery at $657 million. Beneficiary awareness is particularly difficult for these lotteries, as it’s often hard to put a face or a program on the dollars being raised. Yet these general funds raised by lotteries support so many things that benefit residents and businesses alike, with dollars allocated where they are needed the most. Top priorities are typically education, public safety, natural resources and the environment, infrastructure, health and social services, and senior and child services.
Localities such as cities and towns are the third largest group of lottery beneficiaries in the U.S., with six lotteries generating a combined $1.6 billion in FY24. Two lotteries, at opposite ends of the spectrum, send all of their profits to localities: Massachusetts at more than $1.1 billion and Wyoming at $6 million.
Two large lotteries have still other primary beneficiaries – Pennsylvania raised more than $1.2 billion for senior programs, while New Jersey’s nearly $1.2 billion revenue went to pensions for teachers, police and fire personnel, and other public employees.
Through FY24, Canadian lotteries have raised a combined C$86.7 billion for their beneficiaries since the first tickets were sold in 1970, a number that doesn’t include casino operations. Most of these operators evolved into large lottery and gaming entities, responsible for lottery games, sports betting, and casinos in their jurisdictions. The exception is Western Canada Lottery Corp., which manages only traditional lottery games and sports betting for its six partner provinces and territories. But like the others in Canada, all proceeds generally revert to government agencies for use as needed. Only in Saskatchewan (one of WCLC's partners) are all lottery proceeds used to support amateur sports, culture and recreation. In FY24 alone, Canadian lotteries produced more than C$3.3 billion in revenues for their governments.
Clearly the impact of lotteries is significant, and the revenues help fund so many different programs and services. To begin our extended feature on beneficiary awareness this month, we’ll start with a brief rundown of where lottery profits are allocated across the U.S. and Canada. The following summary of where the money goes for each lottery includes primary beneficiaries for lottery operations only, not including lottery-operated or -regulated casino-style gaming and sports betting. Revenues from those types of operations may go to the same beneficiaries as traditional lottery revenues, or they may go to other designated agencies or programs as per the enabling legislation. In addition to what is presented here, a small share of lottery revenues in a number of jurisdictions is by law allocated to problem gambling and supporting services. Historically, lotteries were the first gaming organizations to adopt responsible gambling initiatives and programs, whether legislated or not.
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Arizona Lottery
Multiple programs and organizations in four key areas: higher education, health and human services, environmental conservation, and economic and business development
Arkansas Scholarship Lottery
Scholarships
Atlantic Lottery
Lotteries Commission of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia Gaming Corporation, Prince Edward Island Lotteries Commission, Provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador
British Columbia Lottery Corp.
Government of British Columbia
California Lottery
Public education (K-12 and higher education)
Colorado Lottery
The great outdoors: parks, trails, open spaces and recreation projects
Connecticut Lottery
General Fund
DC Lottery
General Fund
Delaware Lottery
General Fund
Florida Lottery
Public education (Pre-K through higher education); scholarships
Georgia Lottery
Scholarships and pre-kindergarten programs
Hoosier Lottery
Lottery Surplus Fund (supporting reductions in motor vehicle taxes and the General Fund); local police and firefighters’ pensions; Teachers’ Retirement Fund
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Idaho Lottery
Public schools (K-12) and public buildings (including higher education facilities)
Illinois Lottery
Education (K-12); selected specialty tickets support a variety of charitable organizations
Iowa Lottery
General Fund; programs that benefit veterans and provide survivor benefits for the families of peace officers, firefighters and corrections employees who die in the line of duty
Kansas Lottery
Economic development; General Fund; prison construction and maintenance projects; local juvenile detention facilities; veterans programs; and mental health programs
Kentucky Lottery
College scholarships and grants
Loto-Québec
Government of Québec
Louisiana Lottery
Public education (K-12)
Maine Lottery
General Fund; conservation and wildlife
Maryland Lottery & Gaming
General Fund; school and stadium construction; veterans programs; and various economic development, humanities and sports funds
Massachusetts Lottery
Cities and towns
Michigan Lottery
Public education (K-12)
Minnesota Lottery
General Fund; environment and natural resources
Mississippi Lottery
Road and bridge construction and repair; education
Missouri Lottery
Public education
Montana Lottery
General Fund; scholarships for higher education STEM studies
Nebraska Lottery
Education (including scholarships); environment; Nebraska State Fair
New Hampshire Lottery
Education
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New Jersey Lottery
Pensions for teachers, police and fire personnel, and other public employees
New Mexico Lottery
Scholarships
New York Lottery
Public education
North Carolina Education Lottery
Education (scholarships, school construction and transportation, school staff, pre-kindergarten programs)
North Dakota Lottery
General Fund; Multi-Jurisdictional Drug Task Force Grant Fund
Ohio Lottery
Education (K-12, vocational and special ed programs)
Oklahoma Lottery
Education (including K-12 and higher education, career and technology education, teacher’s retirement system)
Ontario Lottery & Gaming
Province of Ontario
Oregon Lottery
Public education and scholarships; economic development; parks and natural resource programs; veterans services; debt service on lottery-backed revenue bonds; other allowed purposes as necessary
Pennsylvania Lottery
Older Pennsylvanians
Puerto Rico
Programs including education, sports, housing and development and social services
Rhode Island Lottery
General Fund
South Carolina Education Lottery
Education (K-12, higher education, scholarships, and community education)
South Dakota Lottery
General Fund; Capital Construction Fund (water systems, environment and highways)
Tennessee Education Lottery
Education (scholarships and grants, after school programs)
Texas Lottery
Public education; veterans’ programs
Vermont Lottery
Education
Virginia Lottery
Public education (K-12)
Washington’s Lottery
Education (grants and scholarships, work-study programs, early childhood education); General Fund; economic development
West Virginia Lottery
Public education (schools and scholarships); senior citizens services; tourism and state parks; General Fund; various other programs benefiting the people and communities of West Virginia
Western Canada Lottery Corp.
Member provinces and territories
Wisconsin Lottery
Property tax credits
Wyoming Lottery
Cities, towns and counties
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