Update: Gov. Nixon has set this issue for the August 5 ballot
Missourians will decide later this year if they want a new kind of lottery ticket.
Profits from the sale of Missouri lottery tickets are funneled to education. It’s only a small percentage of the state spending on elementary and secondary schools. But every little million helps.
The legislature has sent a proposal to the ballot to establish a special lottery to benefit services to veterans. The legislature’s most decorated veteran, Cape Girardeau Senator Wayne Wallingford, says four other state have special veterans program lotteries—and they do not hurt lottery funding for education. He says lottery officials in Illinois, Kansas, and Texas report no changes in the general ticket sales. Iowa’s officials report the special tickets have caused increased interest in the overall lottery operation.
The profits from the sales would go into a trust fund that would fund veterans homes and veterans outreach programs. IF voters approve the plan, the state lottery would have to start selling the tickets before next July first.
