The Arizona Lottery recently celebrated its 35th anniversary. And while that has meant 35 years of big dreams, winning tickets and some dashed hopes, it has also meant 35 years of increased revenue flowing into the state coffers.
Since the Arizona Lottery’s launch on July 1, 1981, its sales revenue has totaled $11 billion, with nearly $3.5 billion of that directed back into state funds and programs.
While a majority — and growing — portion of that money has gone into the general fund where the governor and Legislature can spend it as they choose, about $1.8 billion has been returned to Arizona communities through grants and programs that help people who are homeless, victims of domestic abuse and children in the foster-care system.
“Whenever you hear ‘lottery,’ people always think about jackpots and what they’re going to do with the dollars,” lottery executive director Gregory Edgar said. “But for us, it’s drilling into the numbers and seeing the impact we can have in our community. The investment of $3.5 billion over 35 years is a pretty significant impact.”
Arizona voters and the Legislature dictate how lottery revenue is spent. Over the past 35 years, both groups have set conflicting goals.
Voters have indicated they want the revenue to fund state parks, transit projects and social service programs.
Starting during the Great Recession and continuing once it ended, state leaders have siphoned more and more into the general fund.
An Arizona Republic analysis of 35 years of Arizona Lottery revenue and disbursements found that about $1.8 billion in lottery revenue has gone to the specific programs voters and lawmakers designated.
Local transportation projects got $782 million; economic development efforts got $201 million;;the Game and Fish Department Heritage Fund, which supports outdoor recreation and protects critical wildlife, got $384 million;;health and welfare programs like teen-pregnancy prevention; and food assistance for children and mothers got $219 million. Also, the Court Appointed Special Advocates program for foster children got $39 million;;homeless shelters got $8 million; a state program for problem gamblers got $3.6 million,;and a program to help law enforcement agencies fight internet crimes against children got $2 million.
“The dollars touch every corner of the state,” Edgar said. “My dream as director would be that every time someone puts down that dollar, they’ve got the thought that, ‘I’m having some fun playing a game, but also having some impact in our community.’”
The lottery, overseen by a five-member, governor-appointed commission and an executive director, controls the marketing.
But the Legislature has directed more money into the state’s general fund, where it is impossible to track how specific dollars are spent.
That revenue might have gone to schools and public welfare programs as lawmakers promised and the Lottery markets on its website, or it might have gone to private prisons and lawmaker pensions.
