When you play, Minnesota wins! That’s because proceeds from the Minnesota State Lottery help finance a variety of projects that preserve, restore, and enhance our state’s environment and natural resources.

Each year, the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund receives 40 percent of Lottery net proceeds, or about 7 cents of every dollar spent on lottery tickets. The 2010 Legislature appropriated $26,100,000 to 48 projects based on recommendations by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR). These funds became available to the projects on July 1, 2010. Project completion dates vary; some will be completed within a year, while others will require two or three years to complete. Since its beginning in 1990, the Trust Fund has financed a total of 497 projects worth $306 million.

Lottery contributions to the Trust Fund totaled $31.3 million in fiscal year 2010. The remaining 60 percent of net proceeds is allocated to the state General Fund to pay for programs related to public education, health and human services, and public safety, among others. Additionally, an in-lieu-of-sales tax on lottery tickets contributed another $23.5 million (6.5 cents per dollar spent on lottery tickets) to environmental and natural resources programs in fiscal year 2010. This money was allocated for state and local parks and trails operations and maintenance, programs to enhance fishing and hunting, and the state’s three public zoos.