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When the Texas Lottery launched in 1992, one of its most prominent selling points was its ability to generate revenue for public education and other state programs.
Curious Texas has received several questions about the state lottery and how the money is regulated by the Texas Lottery Commission. The most frequently asked is: “How much money does the Texas Lottery actually put toward education in a given year?”
Since its start, the lottery has generated over $31 billion in revenue for state programs, including education and veterans’ services, according to the Texas Lottery Commission website.
Here’s the breakdown of revenue based on the agency’s 2020 fiscal year financial results as determined by the commission:
- $4.52 billion was doled out for prize winners.
- $1.66 billion went to Texas education through the Foundation School Fund.
- $347.9 million went to retailer compensation — the commission rate on all lottery sales and any incentive payments made to retailers.
- $243 million went toward administration costs.
- $22.2 million went to the Texas Veterans Commission Fund for Veterans’ Assistance and other state programs.
In fiscal 2020 (through August 2020), the Texas Lottery had $6.7 billion in operating revenue, according to the agency’s annual financial report.
The lottery has contributed $25.7 billion to the Foundation School Fund from 1997 through August 2020. Before that, the money was allocated to a general revenue fund for all state programs.
Money from the Foundation School Fund funnels into the Foundation School Program, the primary source of funding for Texas school districts. The Texas Education Agency then distributes the money through the program to Texas schools.
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