Colorado State Publications Blog

Colorado Lottery: Where Does the Money Go?

By Amy Zimmer: Published on
Colorado State Publications Blog

Did you know that the Colorado Lottery, a division of the Colorado Dept. of Revenue, is entirely self-funded?  That means that no tax dollars go to support the program – it is entirely supported by the sale of the product.  But the lottery is about more than just games and winning.  The Colorado Lottery supports keeping our state beautiful.  According to the Colorado Lottery website,

Every time you visit a park, walk on a trail, or paddle a kayak course, you’re seeing Colorado Lottery dollars at work. More than $2.4 billion has been returned to the state for parks, recreation, open space, conservation education and wildlife projects since the Lottery started in 1983.  Profits from the sale of Lottery products are mandated to be distributed according to this formula: 50 percent to the Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) Trust Fund, 40 percent to the Conservation Trust Fund, and 10 percent to The Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife. GOCO funds are capped at $35 million, adjusted for inflation (this translates to $59.2 million for FY13), and funds that exceed the GOCO cap go to the Colorado Department of Education, Public School Capital Construction Assistance Fund.

For detailed information on these “dollars at work,” see the Annual Reports from the Colorado Lottery, the Colorado Dept. of Revenue, and Colorado Parks and Wildlife, and Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO), all available online and in print from our library.

Amy Zimmer
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