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History
Legislation creating Iowa's lottery was
signed into law in April 1985 and the
lottery began sales on Aug. 22, 1985, with a
kickoff celebration at the Iowa State Fair.
The first product sold by the Iowa
Lottery was an instant-scratch game called
"Scratch, Match and Win" and players bought
more than 6.4 million tickets during its
first week of play.
In the years since, the Iowa Lottery has
raised more than $1.1 billion dollars for
state programs while awarding more than $2.2
billion in prizes to players. Sometime in
March 2006, an Iowa Lottery player purchased
the ticket that helped push lottery profits
to state programs over that $1 billion
threshold.
Lottery profits have helped the state in
a variety of ways through the years. When
legislation authorizing the Iowa Lottery was
signed into law in 1985, lottery profits
were earmarked for the Iowa Plan, a
long-term economic development program. In
1991, lottery profits were designated for
environmental and cultural programs. But
after one year, lottery proceeds were
directed to the state general fund.
Today, lottery proceeds are used for four
main purposes in Iowa. They provide support
for veterans; help for a variety of
significant projects through the state
general fund; backing for the Vision Iowa
program; and assistance to the Iowa Gambling
Treatment Program.
The profits from two instant-scratch
games and two pull-tab games each year are
directed into the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund.
The Iowa Lottery estimates that the games
will provide about $2 million to $3 million
in proceeds annually for the Veterans Trust
Fund. The Veterans Trust Fund was created to
provide assistance to qualified veterans to
help pay for expenses such as job training
or college tuition assistance; some dental,
vision and hearing assistance; and
individual or family counseling programs.
Since 1992, a majority of lottery profits
have been directed into the state general
fund, where they are used to pay for
programs that benefit all Iowans. The
Governor and Iowa Legislature allocate money
from the general fund based on where they
believe those funds are needed most.
In addition to the commitment to the
general fund, lottery profits are linked to
the Vision Iowa program. Vision Iowa was
implemented in 2000 to create tourism
destinations in the state, assist with
community attractions, and build and repair
schools. Direct funding for Vision Iowa
comes from gaming revenues. However, as the
program was being initiated, investors
indicated there was a need to strengthen the
Vision Iowa bonds by dedicated $20 million
annually in lottery revenues as a backup.
Legislation was approved that dedicates
$15 million in lottery revenues to programs
for community attractions in Iowa and
another $5 million to Vision Iowa programs
to build and repair schools if gambling
revenues don't reach that amount. Lottery
funding will continue to be linked to Vision
Iowa over the 20-year payback period of the
program's bonds.
A portion of Iowa Lottery proceeds also
are dedicated each year to the Iowa Gambling
Treatment Program to inform Iowans about the
risks of gambling and provide help to those
for whom gambling has become a problem.
The Lottery sells tickets in three
general categories: instant-scratch,
pull-tab and lotto games. Lottery products
are sold at more than 2,700 retail locations
in Iowa.
The Iowa Lottery currently has 117
employees who work at its headquarters in
Des Moines and its regional offices around
the state in Council Bluffs, Storm Lake,
Mason City and Cedar Rapids.
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