Nebraska Lottery Sends $9.6 Million to State Causes, With Its Environmental Fund Now in Court

Nebraska's lottery just sent $9.6 million to a handful of state causes, its quarterly cut of Scratch and Lotto ticket sales. But part of that money, the share headed for the state's Environmental Trust, is now tangled in a court fight over whether lawmakers were allowed to spend it the way they did.

Where the $9.6 million went

The Nebraska Lottery, a division of the state's Department of Revenue, said the payments went out the week of July 3 and covered ticket sales from the previous three months. The exact figure was $9,622,092, split by a formula Nebraska voters wrote into the state constitution back in 2004:

• $4.28 million each to the Nebraska Environmental Trust Fund and to education programs (44.5 percent apiece)
• $962,209 to the state fair's support and improvement fund (10 percent)
• $96,221 to a problem gamblers assistance fund (1 percent)

About 25 cents of every dollar spent on a Nebraska lottery ticket goes to these state beneficiaries. Since the lottery started in 1993, it has handed out more than $1 billion, and officials say all 93 of the state's counties have seen projects funded by the money.

The court fight over the Environmental Trust

Here is the wrinkle. In recent years the state had been moving money out of the Environmental Trust to help patch budget shortfalls. Two former state officials sued, arguing that $28.52 million in those transfers was unconstitutional because the money was diverted for purposes voters never intended when they approved the funding formula.

On June 29, a district court judge granted a temporary order blocking the state from spending Environmental Trust money that had already been moved, along with roughly $8 million more that was set to be transferred this year and next. The block stays in place until the lawsuit is resolved.

So while this quarter's $4.28 million still flowed to the Environmental Trust under the normal formula, the bigger question of how freely the state can redirect that fund is now up to the courts.

Why this matters beyond Nebraska

Every state lottery makes the same basic pitch: buy a ticket, and even when you lose, a slice of your money goes to schools, parks, or other public causes. Nebraska's formula just happens to be spelled out in its constitution, which is part of why the spending dispute ended up in front of a judge. It is a good reminder that "the money goes to good causes" is not always a simple story once the checks are cut. If you have ever wondered where lottery dollars actually end up, we get into that in what happens to lottery money nobody claims and where unclaimed prizes go. Nebraska players can also compare the state's current scratch-offs on our Nebraska page.

For now, the causes got paid. The Environmental Trust got its $4.28 million, the state fair got its cut, and the counties keep their projects. Whether the state can keep shifting that trust money around is the part still waiting on a judge.

Sources

Nebraska Examiner: $9.6M slice of Nebraska lottery proceeds goes to state entities