SC lottery brought in nearly $600M for education last fiscal year

COLUMBIA, SC (WSPA) – If you don’t bring home Monday night’s jackpot, students in South Carolina are still benefiting.

State officials said last year the lottery generated a near record amount of revenue for education.

The South Carolina Education Lottery brought in $598.3 million for education in Fiscal Year 2023. According to spokesperson Holli Armstrong, that’s the second largest contribution to education since the lottery was started in 2002.

Roughly 25 cents for every dollar spent on the lottery goes towards education in South Carolina. Every day, officials estimate the lottery generates about $1.5 million for education.

Armstrong said the money supports K-12 programs, school buses, your local library, and higher education scholarships. “Scholarships like the Life Scholarship, the Palmetto Fellows Scholarships, also scholarships to technical colleges.”

Ultimately, the General Assembly decides the distribution of net funds generated by the lottery.

Armstrong said in recent years they have seen an increase in sales due to the pandemic.

“There weren’t there weren’t a lot of entertainment options during that time and movie theaters were closed,” Armstrong explained. “People weren’t traveling. So more people did play the lottery. And it did lead to our record year that year, which was for $607 million transferred to education.”

Big jackpots have also driven interest in the lottery. Armstrong said during the $2 billion Powerball jackpot run, $24 million was generated for education in the state.