Email Update: Another lottery record
State Representative Tom Hackbarth
Feb. 1, 2013
The Minnesota State Lottery set a sales record for the fifth straight year. The $520 million in 2012 sales surpassed the former record by nearly $16 million.
House District 31B – including Linwood Township and the cities of Columbus, East Bethel, Ham Lake and parts of Oak Grove and Andover – contributed $2.7 million in lottery sales last year. Those sales included $1.8 million in scratch games and more than $848,000 in million in lotto games.
The lottery is one source of state revenue which not only stayed level during the recession, but has increased each year. This has helped Minnesota continue to fund important natural resources and environmental projects during tough economic times.
A total of 17 businesses in District 31B served as lottery retailers in 2012, earning nearly $160,000 in commissions and incentives. Those sales resulted in estimated contributions $347,577 to the General Fund, $158,141 to the Environmental and Natural Resources Trust Fund and $62,323 to each the Game and Fish Fund and the Natural Resources Fund.
The $520 million in statewide sales eclipsed the former record of $504.4 million, set in fiscal year 2011. The 2012 total resulted in contributions of $124 million to state programs, with $68 million to the General Fund, $31 million to the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund, and $12 million to both the Natural Resources Fund and the Game and Fish Fund.
A chart illustrating the details of how lottery revenue is appropriated can be found at www.mnlottery.com. Select the “Where the Money Goes” dropdown under the “News and Info” tab.
Sincerely,
Tom