The West Virginia Lottery turned 26 years old Monday.
The Lottery's first game, an instant scratch-off called "West
Virginia Jackpot," first went on sale Jan.
9, 1986, according to a news release from the Lottery.
Since then, the Lottery has sold more than $17 billion in
tickets and generated more than $6.2 billion in revenue for education, senior
programs and tourism, Director John Musgrave said in the news release.
"I don't believe anyone could have imagined the magnitude
and impact the revenue would make when that first ticket was sold 26 years
ago," he said. "Revenue from the West Virginia Lottery has helped to improve
our public schools at every level, provided for college scholarships through
PROMISE, provided meals and facilities for our senior citizens and helped our
tourism industry grow. Those are things we can all be proud of."
In 2011, the Lottery generated $558 million for the state,
the news release states. That money funded:
- $225.7 million for education
- $127.9 million to the general fund for education and health
and human services
- $73.3 million for senior programs
- $40 million for the Infrastructure Council
- $29 million for PROMISE scholarships
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