The Ohio lottery claims to support the Governer’s initiative of building schools and providing a great quality of life to those who need help. The game’s main mission is to support education by offering an entertaining gaming experience. A share of their proceeds from the lottery every year is invested in K-12 public schools. A recent post by the lottery authorities states that during the fiscal year 2010, they generated approximately $2.49 billion in sales. Out of which the profits earned were $728.6 million. By law, the General Assembly distributes 100% of the profits from the sale of the lottery games Lottery Profits Education Fund in support of schools, K through 12.
But in 2012 there were critics that alleged that the state government would give the money from one hand and would take it away from the other. They raised questions GOP Gov. John Kasich's administration which had taken one dollar from general fund revenue to schools.
The critics also stated that the numbers given for the profit margins were just numbers and was quite a small portion of it. At the beginning of the year, the record Mega Millions jackpot threw some spotlight onto the extra funding that the Ohio lottery ticket-frenzy would supposedly provide to schools across the state. But in some of the states, the revenue of lottery isn't what it seems in terms of how much it helps schools.
The majority of the lottery funds are performing the role of school funding advocates of supplanting school revenues instead of acting as gravy that supplements them. But again there were some state officials that denied these allegations, lamenting that the school officials do not understand how the process or the system of the lottery works.
At this, the Tax Foundation pointed out that the lotteries are regressive as a large number of poor people are responsible for generating revenue. But all of us do not believe in this viewpoint But to the extent that the state education policies are formulated to redress local funding inequities and level the playing field for less affluent students. Lotteries to a large extent can be viewed as a mechanism for wealth transfer within poorer communities, from relatively poor adults to relatively poor children. This system kind of makes the local tax shadowy, which means the one that is less transparent and relies on people's willingness to use small amounts of liquidity, rather than their home values.
But the time has changed now and the Ohio Lottery is very transparently funding the local school education. They thrive to support the students of their community by the lottery proceeds through gaming innovation. The lottery strives to exceed the annual commitment to the Lottery Profits Education Fund by aptly managing revenues and expenses. The lottery also supports the personal and professional development of a diverse workforce and also commits to responsible gambling and community outreach programs.
