No recession for state lottery

Despite the recession, Minnesotans are still buying lottery tickets.

Don Feeney, Minnesota State Lottery research and planning director, told members of the House State Government Finance Division on March 31 that the lottery is on track to break records this year, both for ticket sales and for profits to the state.

“This is unusual. This is not the case for most of the country,” Feeney said, adding that lottery officials are not exactly sure why Minnesota’s ticket sales are up at a time that many other state lottery sales are declining.

By the end of the current fiscal year, Minnesota is expected to sell $483 million worth of lottery tickets and collect $122 million in state revenues. Feeney also predicted that Minnesota would see its lottery sales and revenues increase in both years of the coming biennium.

Under state law, 60 percent of net proceeds from the lottery go into the state’s General Fund, and the other 40 percent go into the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund. In addition, lottery ticket sales generate in-lieu-of-sales tax revenue to the state, with 36 percent going to the game and fish fund, 36 percent to the natural resources fund and 28 percent to the General Fund. Last year, these combined lottery revenues generated $116 million for the state.