BOISE, Idaho — The Idaho Lottery is celebrating a record-setting annual dividend, $73 million.
Dividends from the Idaho Lottery are used by Idaho school districts for maintenance, repairs and operational projects.
At a ceremony Tuesday, Rep. Scott Bedke and Idaho Lottery Commission Chairman Craig Corbett awarded the largest check ever from the Idaho Lottery to support education in the state.
“Every dollar matters when it comes to investing in Idaho’s future. Every dollar that is returned by the Idaho Lottery to local communities for schools is a dollar that did not come from taxes. After thirty-three years, that’s now $1.1 billion,” said Bedke.
At the ceremony, Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction Sherri Ybarra accepted a check of $45,625,000.
$27,375,000 of that amount will go to the School Building Fund Account for maintenance and operations projects and another $18,250,000 goes to the Department of Education’s Bond Levy Equalization Fund to pay the interest on Idaho’s Public School bonds.
The record-setting dividend comes after the largest sales year for the Idaho Lottery, with $376.3 million in revenue. It was also a record-setting year for prizes, with $257.1 million awarded to players.
