where does all the lottery money come from?

[wtp]

i heard it comes from taxes, and if it does, i'd be outraged because that money should go to public education and stuff like that, but if it isn't taxes, where does it come from?

[Ptrper]

I believe that the funding for lotto comes from the purchases of lotto tickets. I'm not too sure if some or any fundings come from taxes. The big payoffs come when no one wins and the "pot" is rolled over.

Just an idea.

[SysOpt]

From sales of tickets.

Even if someone wins a large amount, the winner usually chooses whether to receive the money over 20-40 years, or a much smaller amount all at once. Either way, the state wins by holding on to more money for longer.

Take a look:
http://www.txlottery.org/faq/moneygoes.htm

[Gene C.]

from the poor people trying to get rich on there dreams. or take the household money and useing it to buy tickets. I know I have saw this done, here on the island. but, that is my opinion.

I don't believe in gambleing. except if I wake up or not. he he
here is some info from the fl. site: http://www.flalottery.com/edu/edu.htm
they did a show on how much the lottery higher ups make a year. and you wouldn't beleive it if I told you.

[desmocat]

Good link for info Scott. In reality, if you chose to get your money over time(20 years in Texas)you actually never see any of the "jackpot". What money you get is from an annuity that is purchased by the state with the funds from ticket sales. That's the reason the jackpot is always an "estimated XX million dollars". The state gets bids on an annuity,and the one with the highest return will get the money to invest. When you choose the"I want it all now"option,it is usually a little over half of the jackpot,because that amount is what is invested to get the long term return of the annuity, had you chosen to to take the money over the long term.

[Amarok]

Here in Canada it works a little different. We have one called the 6/49 where the whole country partakes in. If you win the jackpot you get the whole thing when you are a winner. And the best thing here it is all TAX FREE!!!!!!!!!! Thank goodness cuz we get it up that wazoo with taxes to begin with. The prizes here are strictly from ticket sales and unclaimed prizes (you have one year from the draw date to claim the prize or they get the $$$ back).

We get prize of 2 to 4 million on average. Some times up to 10 to 15 Million when they add unclaimed prizes. Largest I can remember is 20 million or something like that. More than I could spend in a life time that is for sure.

[barry glisson]

gene is right you wouldnt believe what the head of the fla lottery gets paid. probably in the top 200 incomes nationally. %of every ticket sold. barry

[wyvrn]

Can you imagine $40 mil. tax free? Yikes man, you could buy a large share in a sports franchise, or just buy the minnesota twins outright http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif

[SysOpt]

desmocat: yeah, which is why I would get the lump sum. I figure I can invest it better than the state government http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/wink.gif


[This message has been edited by SysOpt (edited 05-04-2000).]

[RobRich]

Scott has definitely got a point, I think I could invest money in much better ways than the government could. Even at 45-55% of the actual jackpt after US taxes, I believe the one time payout is a better option for those that can properly invest.

[U-96]

I concur - even with an index tracker unit trust or similar you would historically grow your investment by around 12% p.a. over the long term. At that rate it would double every 6-7 years.

Look at govt bonds to see what they would get you http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/wink.gif

For the record the UK national lottery works like the Canadian one - 6/49 with an average prize fund of £20m and jackpot of around £8m.
A proportion of the revenue goes to charities/arts/sport/community projects and we also have an unlimited rollover if the jackpot isn't won - so far I think the largest was a guy who singly won a triple rollover of about £18m!
Also, the administrators pay themselves (a little too) well. On the whole, it is a licence to print money for the company that runs it.

U-96

Karl Marx described capitalism too


[This message has been edited by U-96 (edited 05-04-2000).]

[Gene C.]

not bad for a few bucks invested. they said it would give them 7 million a year for 20 years to live off of. I think I could handle that. he he. maybe I should change my outlook on gambleing. http://news.lycos.com/headlines/TopNews/article.asp?docid=RTNEWS-LIFE-LOTTERY&date=20000510