Lotto Paper

As stated in the explanation on revenue, the Virginia Lottery has always been a money making enterprise. With a surplus of 444 million dollars plus in 2011, it is hard to ignore the monetary successes Virginia’s game. Initially, in 1989, the General Assembly designated lottery profits to go to state construction projects. From 1990 to 1998, the lottery proceeds were transferred to the state’s General Fund. http://www.valottery.com/money/. Starting in 1999, the legislature sent an amendment to be voted on that would send all monies to a Virginia education fund. In the year 2000, a large majority of voters said yes to the creation of the State Lottery Proceeds Fund. This law is now a permanent part of Virginia's Constitution and “directs all Virginia Lottery profits be used solely for educational purposes.” http://www.valottery.com/money/ Like many other states, Virginia uses lottery money to provide scholarships with college students. In Georgia, the Hope Scholarship provides tuition reimbursement to high school students with a 3.0 GPA during their high school career. They have to attend a Georgia state-supported university and maintain the 3.0 GPA in college also. http://www.radicalmath.org/docs/Lottery_Allman.pdf This benefits good students who typically live in municipalities with a higher income per capita. Virginia uses lottery funds to help support the Virginia College Savings Plan. These 529 savings plans are based upon 401k plans so families who are less fortunate contribute less money to the plan in order to have their children’s tuition paid if they attend in-state colleges and universities.

On the opposite side, people criticize the lottery and feel that state lotteries like Virginia’s, are a backwards regressive tax system. A regressive tax is a uniform tax that takes more from lower income individuals and starts to tax less as income rises. http://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/regressivetax.asp#axzz1khhWGMAy Most lottery players...