Columbia, SC - (April 10, 2008) - Have you ever wondered how the South Carolina Education Lottery’s (SCEL) funds are appropriated by the General Assembly? Lottery funds support education, including college scholarships, K-12 programs, and county libraries. An updated county distribution of lottery appropriations from the Education Lottery Account is available online at our website, www.sceducationlottery.com. Simply select a county and then you can view the funds appropriated to that county since SCEL commenced ticket sales in January 2002.
The Legislature distributes lottery proceeds as follows:
• K-12 funding is generally based on pupil population in each county
• Scholarship appropriations are based on the number of applicants who meet the statutory eligibility criteria
• County libraries funding have been generally formula based.
The South Carolina Commission on Higher Education, the South Carolina Department of Education, and the South Carolina State Library collaborated with SCEL to compile this information.
For every dollar of lottery tickets sold, approximately 59.5% is paid as prizes to winners, 7% is earned by the retailer as a commission, 4.8% finances all aspects of SCEL operations including all gaming vendor contracts, and the residual portion, 28.7%, is transferred to the Education Lottery Account (ELA). Monthly, SCEL’s net proceeds are deposited into the ELA.
The General Assembly of South Carolina determines the allocation of lottery proceeds through the budget process. Through June 2008, the General Assembly has appropriated more then $1.74 billion from the ELA to support education in the Palmetto State.
For the current fiscal year ending June 30, 2008, SCEL anticipates exceeding the original transfer estimate set by the General Assembly and Board of Economic Advisors. Since inception in 2002, SCEL has either met or exceeded all legislative transfer goals.
The online calculator is available at www.sceducationlottery.com/educationwins/county.aspx. Please contact Julie Huffman, Communications Coordinator, at julie.huffman@sclot.com for additional information.
The Legislature distributes lottery proceeds as follows:
• K-12 funding is generally based on pupil population in each county
• Scholarship appropriations are based on the number of applicants who meet the statutory eligibility criteria
• County libraries funding have been generally formula based.
The South Carolina Commission on Higher Education, the South Carolina Department of Education, and the South Carolina State Library collaborated with SCEL to compile this information.
For every dollar of lottery tickets sold, approximately 59.5% is paid as prizes to winners, 7% is earned by the retailer as a commission, 4.8% finances all aspects of SCEL operations including all gaming vendor contracts, and the residual portion, 28.7%, is transferred to the Education Lottery Account (ELA). Monthly, SCEL’s net proceeds are deposited into the ELA.
The General Assembly of South Carolina determines the allocation of lottery proceeds through the budget process. Through June 2008, the General Assembly has appropriated more then $1.74 billion from the ELA to support education in the Palmetto State.
For the current fiscal year ending June 30, 2008, SCEL anticipates exceeding the original transfer estimate set by the General Assembly and Board of Economic Advisors. Since inception in 2002, SCEL has either met or exceeded all legislative transfer goals.
The online calculator is available at www.sceducationlottery.com/educationwins/county.aspx. Please contact Julie Huffman, Communications Coordinator, at julie.huffman@sclot.com for additional information.
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