Lottery officials told MLive that they've seen a 3% increase in funds they're able to contribute back to the K-12 funds so far this year over last year's contributions.

Lottery officials say that when the pandemic first started in March, and everyone was staying home, they saw Powerball sales drop 53%, Club Keno went down 43%, and Mega Millions along with Fast Cash dropped 26%. Although Lotto officials told MLive they actually saw a 32% increase in their instant win games. Now that people are heading back into work and school, they're seeing the sales of all games increase around the state.

According to MLive,

David Zin, chief economist with the nonpartisan Senate Fiscal Agency, said the state has “had some of the most spectacular months we’ve ever had from the lottery during the pandemic” during a Monday presentation at the Consensus Revenue Estimating Conference.

Which is all good, because the Lottery and casino taxes help make up the K-12 Funds, and with the state's casinos just recently being able to open and now at a limited capacity, their contribution reach hasn't been what it was in the past.

MLive talked with state officials that believe the increase in spending with the lottery is because people aren't able to do their normal entertainment options - concerts, hanging at the bar, casinos, etc., so they're spending more with lottery items.  So far, the lotto has contributed $968.2 million to the K-12 Fund this year.

So basically, keep trying to get rich with scratchers and Club Keno, because it's for a good cause, helping school the children.  (Of course, gamble responsibly.)

 

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