Why
this is important:
Lottery profits have helped the state in a variety
of ways through the years. When legislation authorizing
the Iowa Lottery was signed into law in 1985,
lottery profits were earmarked for the Iowa Plan,
a long-term economic development program. In
1991, lottery profits were designated for environmental
and cultural programs. But after one year, the
Legislature sent all lottery proceeds to the
state general fund. Most lottery revenues have
continued to go to the General Fund since that
time. More than 60 percent of the money in the
General Fund goes to Iowa's public K-12 schools
and higher education. Other programs that receive
money from the general fund include justice programs,
health and human services and agricultural programs.
The Lottery also provides a portion of its revenues to the state
Gambling Treatment Program, which administers
the 1-800-BESTSOFF helpline for those concerned
about program gambling. Through the years,
the lottery has provided more than $13.2
million in funding to the gambling treatment
program.
Lottery revenues also were used to secure financing for the Vision
Iowa program. Vision Iowa was created in
2000 to provide funding for tourism attractions
and school repairs in the state. Bonds for
the program were issued with direct funding
provided by state revenues from racetracks
and casinos, and lottery revenues used as
a backup over the 20-year payback period
of the bonds.
General Fund transfers, along with Gamblers' Assistance funding,
are the best overall indicator of how the
Lottery is performing and represent the financial
support the Lottery gives to state agencies.
What we're doing about this:
Internal integrity and security is paramount
to the Lottery. Background checks are
conducted on all potential employees and
suppliers of major procurements before they
can become members of the Lottery team or
do business with the Lottery. Strict licensing
requirements, including background checks,
ensure that only reputable retailers sell
Lottery products. The Lottery's security
division conducts retailer reviews and reports
its finding to the Lottery's Board. The on-line
game system integrity is tested daily by
an internal control system.
All drawings are monitored and verified by
an independent auditor. All sales reps are
required to balance their ticket inventory
on a weekly basis. Periodic performance evaluations
and the resulting reports are also a "must"
to ensure that the Lottery's integrity remains
intact. The Lottery is subject to annual
financial audits by the State Auditor. A
major accounting firm conducts an annual
performance audit on the Lottery's on-line
game system.
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