For the past several years, the U.S. Census has analyzed lottery spending to see which states spend the most on tickets (per 1,000 people) and which provide the most benefit from prizes. We looked at income from ticket sales, prize money payments, population, etc.
Massachusetts ranks first in lottery spending, with residents spending $858 per year on lottery tickets per 1,000 people.
Florida ranks 11th, with residents spending $395 per 1,000 people annually on lottery tickets. The state’s revenue from ticket sales is $9,236,850 and its population is 23,372,215. Florida has the 10th highest prize return rate in the nation at 70.97%, with $6,555,700 in prizes returned from total ticket sales.
In 1986, the Florida Lottery was created as a means to generate funds for state education.
The state of Florida says 25 cents of every dollar spent on the Florida Lottery goes toward education funding, and the lottery has raised more than $49 billion in education funding since its inception.
Each year, the Florida Department of Education releases an annual report showing where lottery funds are going.
This funding was directed to K-12 public schools. Bright Futures Scholarship Program. Financial aid programs, workforce development initiatives, state universities that support school recognition programs, and other programs.
A spokesperson for online gambling site Pulsz.com said the statistics meant some states were short on winnings and could cause residents to reconsider how much they were spending.
