Encyclopedia of biography pennsylvania lottery

Lottery operated by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania Lottery is a lottery operated by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It was created by the Pennsylvania General Assembly on August 26, 1971;^[1] two months later, Henry Kaplan was appointed as its first executive director.

The Pennsylvania Lottery sold its first tickets on March 7, 1972, and drew its first numbers on March 15, 1972.^[2]

Lottery proceeds

By Pennsylvania law, at least 40 percent of Lottery proceeds are required to be paid as prizes, with another 27 percent towards funding programs.

Currently, the Pennsylvania Lottery exceeds these requirements, as 60.9 percent is paid as prizes, 29.9 percent to programs, 6.7 percent is paid as retailer and vendor commissions and 2.5 percent is consumed as operating expenses.^{[citation needed]}

For the 2009–2010 fiscal year, approximately $3.065 billion in gross revenue was acquired through proceeds and intere