Florida #1 in Powerball Ticket Sales

And 3% of lottery sales go to fund K-12 schools, for good or ill

Florida is number one in the country on a few different measures, some of them not so awesome, but now you can add "Powerball tickets" to the list.

Fort Lauderdale's Sun Sentinel informs us that the state ranks first in the union in Powerball ticket sales, and third in lottery ticket purchases overall. "We've led the nation since we added Powerball in 2009, both in winners and in sales," said Shelly Gerteisen of the Florida Lottery. In the most recent game of Powerball, the Sunshine State's residents have shelled out for over $80 million worth of tickets.

A portion of the revenue gleaned from Florida's lottery ticket sales goes to fund the state's K-12 schools, which in 2009 received $660 million from gambling proceeds. (Lotteries fund public education in many other states, too.) But as the Sentinel's Michael Mayo notes in his column amusingly entitled "Mayo on the Side," that amounted to just over 3% of the overall education budget for that year. "It's better than nothing," he writes, "but it's hardly a jackpot for our kids."

Via the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Are state lotteries a good way of getting revenue for schools?

[DerivePI]

Taxes are a good way to collect money for running schools. Lotteries are a good way to collect money from people that aren't good with numbers.

[talkenhed]

At least with Lotto and Powerball the cut doesn't get placed in the general fund and split with the Indian Tribes and making millions off the casinos

[Keyjo]

@talkenhed
Yeah, which needs to change. Here in Oregon, the only legal casinos are Native. The voters rejected a bid to legalize a private casino. Every bar, most restaurants, have poker machines. The state is littered with "delis," which are simply "mini-casinos," filled with the machines. In some of them, the "deli" part consists of stale white bread, out dated lunch meat, and mustard and mayo.
I think it's time that in states which allow gambling, private casinos be legal.

[Dan_Tien]

Whenever a new way of garnering revenue is proposed by state governments, they always seem to say it is all about education. The 3% that Florida culls from lottery sales is a good example of how that is used as a lure for public approval.

[PoliticalSpice]

Well people that believe the state is using the funds for what they promise needs the edication...

[Dan_Tien]

@PoliticalSpice People who are trained to have faith in things that cannot be seen, heard or measured aren't that difficult to convince of more mundane miracles, like politicians who keep their promises.

[Fishbone345]

@Dan_Tien Without a doubt, one of the best comments I've seen on this site.

[PNWest]

Lotteries can be thought of as a voluntary tax on people who don't understand statistics. For a buck or 2 you can at least buy the fantasy that you'll win the big jackpot. That's cheaper than getting drunk or high.

[woodtick57]

why not have state run casinos to fund the schools? they seem to be packed 24/7...

[Kptpredsfan]

They are a good way to fund schools, its obvious that the money spent on lottery tickets wasn't getting saved for some other grand purpose so why not let the schools use it? I know there will always be a few who play beyond their means, but come on most people that buy tickets are just having a little fun.

[jessejaymes]

The money for schools from lotteries was supposed to be additional funding. But such is not the case. In state after state the politicians cut education spending by the amount they get from the lottery so it's a wash and the politicians have more money to funnel to their financial backers. Big surprise there huh?

[DARSB]

Considering the retiree population in the state, Florida might make more money taxing bingo. ;)

[Fishbone345]

They don't call it "God's Waiting Room" without a reason.

[PayThatCEO]

I was living in Florida at the time the lottery was introduced. It was pushed through under the guise that education would benefit tremendously. Liars. Once in place, that lottery money was used for everything from roads to prisons.

However, and this is a big one, Florida has no personal state income tax, so if it weren't for lottery funds, everyone might be paying a whole lot more in 'forced' taxation. At least with the lottery, it's voluntary.

[Thunderchicken]

In MO, the money goes exclusively for education but when it came into existance, the politicians gutted the regular education budget.

[MRMacrum]

Why shouldn't the state profit from people exercising their right to be stupid harmlessly - well for the most part harmlessly. For those who dump half their paychecks into lotteries of all kinds, well, at least there is some payback for their addiction.

[Malitia_Man]

My hats off to this marvelous PR stunt, that gets American zombies to spend their money just so the fat-cats can get fatter!!! Bravo!!!

Oh, and what's the chance of anybody winning? Ummm... Something like 1 in 175million??? Good luck...

[truthsayer]

Gambling should be illegal money belongs in the stock market where it's safe.