“Lottery Week provides us a platform to shine a light on our beneficiaries and the contributions made to them, which is the whole reason Washington’s Lottery exists,” said Marcus Glasper, director of Washington’s Lottery. “Each lottery ticket purchased generates funds that support our communities. Our team works hard to make Lottery fun for our players, and beneficial for our citizens.”

WASHINGTON’S LOTTERY CELEBRATES CONTRIBUTIONS TO COMMUNITIES DURING SECOND-ANNUAL LOTTERY WEEK, JULY 13-17

$215 million generated for beneficiaries in fiscal year 2019

Olympia, Wash. (July 6, 2020) – Continuing the tradition set last year, Washington’s Lottery will join lotteries across North America in celebrating contributions made to their respective communities with the second-annual Lottery Week throughout the week of July 13, 2020.

In fiscal year 2019 (which ended 6/30/19), Washington’s Lottery generated $215.8 million for its beneficiaries, an increase of more than $32 million over FY2018. In Washington, after prizes are awarded to winners (60% of sales) and retailer commissions are paid (5%), the primary beneficiary of Lottery sales is education through the Washington Opportunities Pathway Account, or WOPA, (20%).

In FY2019, beneficiary distributions from Washington’s Lottery were as follows:

• $166.7 million went to WOPA. WOPA supports education in Washington State, including access grants and state work study awards, as well as merit scholarship programs and early learning programs.
• $30.9 million to the General Fund. Contributions to this fund were generated from excess funding between the in-state and Powerball games.
• $13.1 million to the Stadium & Exhibition Center. Funds go towards paying principal and interest payments on bonds issued to construct CenturyLink Field and Exhibition Center.
• $4.6 million to the Economic Development Account to make expenditures for the economic good of the state. This includes preventing the closure of a business or facility, preventing relocation of a business or facility outside the state or to recruit a business or facility to the state.
• $406,800 to the Problem Gambling Account. This account was created for the prevention and treatment of problem and pathological gambling and the training of professionals in the identification and treatment of problem and pathological gambling.

“Lottery Week provides us a platform to shine a light on our beneficiaries and the contributions made to them, which is the whole reason Washington’s Lottery exists,” said Marcus Glasper, director of Washington’s Lottery. “Each lottery ticket purchased generates funds that support our communities. Our team works hard to make Lottery fun for our players, and beneficial for our citizens.”

“We’re happy to be celebrating Lottery Week and the contributions Washington’s Lottery makes to education,” said Michael Meotti, executive director of Washington Student Achievement Council. “With current and future students as the major beneficiary, the funds generated help us provide Washingtonians access to financial aid and support services.”

On average, about 95% of funds generated from traditional U.S. lottery games goes directly back into the economy through prizes, public beneficiaries and retailer commissions. In fiscal year 2019, U.S. lotteries generated $25.1 billion for those good causes and transferred about $5 billion to their approximately 216,000 retailer partners.

But there’s more, beyond the numbers. Lottery organizations and their partners are often involved in directly supporting local causes as well, by hosting events like food drives and community cleanups. They team up with responsible gambling groups to educate their retailers and consumers, to help encourage safe, responsible play. And, of course, they provide a fun, exciting source of entertainment for all their players – not to mention a big payout for the lucky winners.

About Washington’s Lottery: Since 1982, Washington’s Lottery has generated more than $4.2 billion to support important state programs including the Washington Opportunity Pathways Account, which provides grants to help college students statewide achieve their higher education dreams, and supports early childhood education learning programs. The state’s Lottery offers consumers several types of games, including Mega Millions, Powerball, Lotto, Hit 5, Match 4, Daily Game, Daily Keno and Scratch. For more information, visit www.walottery.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @walottery.

Keep it fun. Know your limit. Washington’s Lottery is an advocate for responsible gaming and collaborates with the Evergreen Council for Problem Gambling to provide resources for those in need. More information is available at www.walottery.com/Responsibility.

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Press Contact Delaney Berreth (Curator on behalf of Washington’s Lottery) E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.