.jpg)
LINCOLN — Sales from a near-record Powerball jackpot run contributed to more than $14 million in proceeds that the state forwarded this week to Nebraska Lottery beneficiaries.
The $14,014,624 derived from Scratch and Lotto game ticket sales over the past three months was the sixth-largest quarterly transfer since Nebraska launched its lottery in 1993, the Nebraska Lottery said in a statement.
The amount brought overall lottery proceeds transferred to beneficiaries — such as the Nebraska State Fair and state funds for education, the environment and problem gamblers — to $1.051 billion since Nebraska’s lottery started.
A significant factor in the hefty transfer this week was a Powerball jackpot run that started June 1, state lottery officials said. The multistate jackpot reached $1.787 billion, the second-largest U.S. lottery jackpot, before two tickets sold in Missouri and Texas won Sept. 6.
Swelled sales of Powerball tickets in Nebraska during that run accounted for about $3.9 million in proceeds for the groups and causes Nebraska voters chose.
“It’s said that a rising tide lifts all boats.” said Nebraska Lottery Director Brian Rockey. “Powerball is obviously very popular, and the interest generated by a large jackpot has a positive impact on beneficiary programs supported by the sales of all Nebraska Lottery products.”
Roughly 25 cents of every dollar spent on Nebraska lottery tickets goes to beneficiaries. A constitutional amendment passed by Nebraska voters in 2004 established a funding distribution formula.
The breakdown and amount of the latest transfer: 44.5% to the Nebraska Environmental Trust Fund, or $6 million; 44.5% to Education as directed by the Legislature, $6 million; 10% to Nebraska State Fair, $1.35 million; and 1% to Problem Gamblers Assistance, plus the first $500,000 in fund proceeds each fiscal year, for $635,146.
