Feb. 25, 2008

Albuquerque Journal

Lottery Sales Hurting Students
By Charles D. Brunt; Journal Staff Writer

An $11.5 million plunge in Powerball ticket sales contributed to a dip in revenue for the New Mexico Lottery last fiscal year and a related drop in college scholarship money.
   
The Lottery's newly released annual report says the revenue decline triggered a 5.4 percent drop in lottery scholarship contributions.
   
Although the state Lottery had its second-best year in ticket sales in its nearly 12-year history, its total revenue for the 2007 fiscal year fell to $148.08 million from 2006's record high of $150.04 million.
   
The Lottery's primary beneficiary— a scholarship program that pays tuition for eligible students to attend state-funded colleges and universities— received about $34.9 million in FY 2007 compared with $36.8 million in 2006.
   
The Legislature voted last year to require that at least 27 percent of lottery proceeds go toward scholarships this year and 30 percent in subsequent years— a move that forced Lottery officials to trim their budget by more than $3 million.
   
In 2006, 24.5 percent of lottery proceeds went to scholarships. Last year, that figure fell to 23.4 percent, according to the report.
   
Lottery officials have attributed much of the drop to falling sales of Powerball tickets in New Mexico and other participating states— a result, they say, of fewer mega-jackpots.
   
Each time a multi-state Powerball drawing fails to produce a grand-prize winner, the amount rolls over for the next drawing. Rollovers pumped the Powerball jackpot to a record $365 million in February 2006— and New Mexico sales of Powerball tickets paralleled the climb.
   
In 2006, the Powerball jackpot topped $100 million 30 times, including two record jackpots of more than $300 million each. Last year, the jackpot topped $100 million 24 times, but peaked at $254 million.
   
The drop-off in Powerball sales was partially countered by record sales of scratch-off tickets and by the introduction in October of multistate Hot Lotto. Scratcher sales in New Mexico totaled $95,729,489 last year, up $6,361,819 from 2006's sales of $89,367,670. Hot Lotto sales totaled $3,476,503.
   
Since its inception in 1996, the New Mexico Lottery has raised $340 million for public education, including $66.5 million earmarked between 1996 and 2001 for capital outlay projects.
   
More than 48,000 students have attended college on Legislative Lottery Scholarships, and 18,457 have graduated, according to the annual report.