In response to reader Dorothy Lachapelle’s Friday letter, Washington’s Lottery wanted to provide answers to “Where does the Lottery money go?”
It’s a good question, and one the Washington Lottery is frequently asked.
Most people are surprised to learn that the use of lottery revenues is determined by legislators and voters directly. When the lottery was formed in 1982, legislators made the decision to direct revenues to the General Fund. In 2000, voters passed I-728, which directed the majority of lottery net proceeds to education construction. Today, the majority of lottery revenues go to Washington’s schools — specifically to education construction projects for K-12 and higher education facilities.
Last year the lottery contributed $102 million for education — a small but important part of the state’s larger $6 billion education budget. Where are these projects? In Everett, Garfield Elementary, Eisenhower Middle School and the Everett High School Theater are just a few of the replacement or modernization projects supported in part by lottery dollars.
As for winners, more than 691,000 winning tickets in the last nine months have been validated from Everett — that’s an average of about 2,500 tickets a day for Everett. So far this fiscal year, more than $5.1 million in prizes has been paid to lottery winners in just the city of Everett alone. One Everett winner has set up college scholarships for high school students in the Everett area.
For more information about Washington’s Lottery winners, or to learn more about where the money goes, please visit www.walottery.com.
Michael Eggerling
Edelman Seattle, on behalf of Washington’s Lottery
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
