Because of record sales and profits set by the New Mexico Lottery Authority this year, Lance Ross, spokesman for the authority, said that the future of the Lottery Scholarship has been ensured for a "long time."
"Every dollar of net revenue and profit helps ensure the longevity of the program," Ross said.
This year, the state's Lottery Authority reported gross sales of slightly less than $134 million and net profits of more than $29.6 million.
All profits from this year's lottery sales will be used as scholarship money for New Mexico high school graduates and GED students who will attend a state college or university, Ross said.
This year's gross sales figure is the sixth consecutive time the record has been set and also the third straight year net profits have established a new record.
Ross attributes the record sales and profits to the fact that lottery players appreciate that all profit generated by sales helps New Mexico students earn advanced degrees. He also said that according to a statewide survey, the program and the students it benefits attains a very high level of recognition.
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New Mexico Lottery Authority CEO Tom Shaheen presented the fiscal year's figures to the state's Legislative Finance Committee Wednesday.
Shaheen described the reaction of the committee to the record-breaking news as a positive one.
Shaheen told legislators that New Mexico is only the third state lottery program in the nation to increase sales in each of its first five full years of operation. He said the other two states with record sales in five consecutive years are Georgia and Texas.
He added that no senators suggested that the proceeds generated by the program be altered or changed.
The state's lottery program has generated more than $147.9 million in net profits from April 1996 through July 31, 2002. About $81.4 million of that total has been funneled toward the Lottery Success Scholarship program, according to the authority.
