Iowa has resisted a trend adopted by other states of funneling lottery proceeds straight into public education, according to an article by an Iowa nonprofit news organization. 

Yet, a myth that the Iowa Lottery, which hits its 30th anniversary this year, directly supports public education is so prevalent that Mary Neubauer, the lottery’s vice president of external relations, said she regularly addresses the misconception.

“When I give speeches on behalf of the lottery, I always ask the audience where they think the money goes. ‘Education’ is always one of the answers,” Neubauer said. “I then explain that while it is true that lottery proceeds help education through the general fund, in fact, lottery proceeds have never gone directly to education in Iowa.”

Public education funding comprises the largest portion of the state’s general fund, which supports various state government functions. Some 55 percent to 60 percent of the general fund revenues are allocated for public education each year, budgets show.

But some of the confusion might come from the fact that Iowa Lottery’s advertising makes a point of saying public education is one of the entities profiting from its proceeds.

“Basically you can say every dollar you spend on the lottery, about 25 cents goes to state programs,” Neubauer said. The rest of the sales revenue goes to prizes and administrative costs. Less than 1 percent goes toward the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund, according to lottery data. Read more

This story was produced by Iowa Center for Public Affairs Journalism-IowaWatch.org, a nonprofit, online news site that collaborates with Iowa news organizations to produce explanatory and investigative reporting.