Do lottery sales really fund education?

CINCINNATI (WKRC) - The odds of winning the Ohio Lottery are low, but that doesn’t stop millions of us from buying tickets.

While we pursue the lucky payout, we also rationalize our gamble by knowing that our money goes to a great cause: Education. But several viewers reached out to Local 12's Duane Pohlman, claiming that money is not going to fund education anymore.

So, here’s what you need to know:

By law, the net profits from the Ohio Lottery go to the Lottery Profits Education Fund, money that’s earmarked to fund kindergarten through 12th grade education in Ohio.

According to the Ohio Lottery, it has deposited $24.3 billion into that special fund. Last fiscal year (which ended in June), the lottery says nearly $1.1 billion from lottery proceeds were deposited into that fund, which were distributed to the state’s schools.

But that’s just a fraction of the overall cost of educating Ohio, which, according to the Ohio Department of Education, was $10.5 billion last year.

So, the billion-dollar contribution from the Lottery Profits Education Fund equals less than 10 percent of the overall cost of public education in Ohio.

It’s not easy to see, but the answer to the claim that Ohio Lottery money is no longer funding education is wrong.

[The.End.Begins]

The lotto is just another thing this country stole from my people. They made numbers running illegal, than started the lottery.

[sammysam]

The money goes to comptroller department to spread as they see fit and typically goes to political campaign donations, RNC/DNC, etc. Schools do not receive a dime. Tuition and local taxes go to the schools