By Misty Castile | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – The Louisiana Lottery Corporation sent more money to the state last fiscal year, but the share of each revenue dollar reaching a fund dedicated primarily to public schools fell for a second consecutive year.
The lottery’s annual financial report, released Tuesday, shows transfers reached $194 million in the fiscal year ended June 30, up $12.5 million from the previous year. The state received approximately 30.8 cents of every dollar in total lottery revenue, compared with 31 cents in fiscal 2025 and 31.9 cents in fiscal 2024.
The proceeds support the Minimum Foundation Program, Louisiana’s main state funding program for public elementary and secondary schools. That constitutional dedication has been in effect since July 1, 2004, and has no expiration date. State law also requires an ongoing annual transfer of $500,000 for services addressing compulsive and problem gambling.
For scale, the $194 million transfer equals approximately 4.5% of the program’s $4.27 billion fiscal 2026 appropriation. The $204.8 million transferred two years earlier equaled approximately 4.8% of that year’s $4.23 billion appropriation. Those comparisons measure the transfers against the program’s size, rather than tracing when the proceeds were spent. The constitution prohibits spending lottery deposits in the same calendar year they are received.
The lottery had announced the $194 million transfer Aug. 27, saying it exceeded its initial budget by approximately $7.2 million.
“Though our players continue to win big, Louisiana’s students and classrooms are the real winners,” lottery President and CEO Rose Hudson said in the announcement.
The annual report provides a fuller accounting of the revenue and expenses behind the transfer.
Total revenue increased $44.9 million to $630.1 million, while operating expenses increased $32.5 million to $436.1 million. Transfers grew approximately 6.9%, compared with revenue growth of approximately 7.7%. The revenue figures include ticket sales, investment income and other income.
Prize expenses accounted for most of the additional operating costs, rising $28 million to $368.4 million. Retailer commissions and incentives increased $2.4 million to $35.3 million, while other direct costs increased approximately $1.1 million.
Administrative expenses rose approximately $965,000 to $22.5 million. Despite that increase, administration consumed a slightly smaller share of total revenue, approximately 3.6%, compared with 3.7% the previous year.
Powerball drove much of the sales rebound. Louisiana sales for the game increased from $49.2 million to $81.3 million, accounting for approximately 69% of the overall increase in ticket sales.
The report says Powerball had two separate jackpots of approximately $1.8 billion during fiscal 2026. Total ticket sales across all games rose approximately 8.1% to $628 million.
Even with that growth, both sales and state transfers remained below fiscal 2024 levels. Ticket sales that year totaled $639.6 million, and transfers were $10.8 million higher than in fiscal 2026.
A smaller lottery transfer does not, by itself, establish that schools received less funding. The Division of Administration’s fiscal 2025-2026 State Budget, describing appropriations enacted under Act 1 of 2025, identifies a $5.17 million reduction in budgeted lottery support and a $5.21 million reduction from another dedicated fund. The enacted budget offset those forecast-based reductions with approximately $10.37 million in additional state general fund support for the school funding program.