Whenever the debate over school financing rises up, inevitably you will hear somebody complain, “I thought the lottery money was supposed to go to schools in Michigan.” Well, it may not be every penny you had hoped for, but for the third consecutive year, the Michigan Lottery has provided a record contribution – $924.1 million – to the School Aid Fund, boosting its total support for public education since 1972 to more than $21 billion.
In the previous two record years, the Lottery contributed $888.9 million (FY2106) and $795.5 million (FY2015). The record contributions for the three years total $2.6 billion, about 12-percent of the $21.4 billion that the Lottery has provided for Michigan schools in its 45-year history.
The Michigan Lottery set several other major records in 2017 as it remained the fastest-growing lottery in the nation:
- $3.3 billion in player purchases, eclipsing the previous mark of $3.1 billion from 2016
- Instant game purchases hit $1.3 billion, the third year in a row they have topped $1 billion and breaking the 2016 record of $1.1 billion
- Players won more than $2 billion in prizes for the first time after winning a record $1.9 billion in 2016.
- Lottery retailers, many of them small, family owned businesses, earned $249.2 million in commissions, an increase of nearly 8-percent from the previous record commissions of $231.7 million from 2016.
The Michigan Lottery’s record performance in 2017 was based primarily on a 16-percent surge in purchases for its instant games, the introduction of the popular Fast Cash family of games, a double-digit boost in Lotto 47 purchases from a jackpot run that reached $22.6 million, and continued strong growth from its online games.
Commissioner Aric Nesbitt says the 2017 results reflect the Lottery’s strategy of using continuous improvement and innovation to remain competitive in the entertainment marketplace.
Says Nesbitt, “The Michigan Lottery team embraces its mission of providing resources to public education and we’re proud that we provided a record $924.1 million for schools in 2017. That works out to more than $2.5 million per day for education.” He also notes that the Lottery’s 11,000 retailers provide the foundation for its ongoing success.
Nesbitt says, “Our team and the retailers already are working on the challenge of providing more funds for public education in 2018. To do that, we’re going to continue to implement our strategy of offering players a variety of entertainment options and games that are fun and exciting to play.”
Nesbitt says the 2017 highlights for the Lottery included re-certification of its responsible gaming program for online players by the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) and Responsible Gaming Verification of its overall responsible gaming program through the NCPG and the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries.
For each dollar spent on a Michigan Lottery ticket in 2017 approximately:
- 28 cents went to the School Aid Fund
- 60 cents went to prizes for players
- 9 cents went to commissions for vendors and retailers, many of them family-owned businesses
- 3 cents supported the Lottery’s ongoing operations and administrative costs
Under state law, all net proceeds from Michigan Lottery games go to the state School Aid Fund. The Lottery contributions comprise about 7.5-percent of the fund.
For additional information, follow the Michigan Lottery on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and online at www.michiganlottery.com.
