Lottery sends $41.5 million to Idaho schools

BOISE (AP) — The Idaho Lottery is reporting another record year, posting more than $175 million in sales during the last fiscal year.

Lottery officials on Tuesday also turned over $41.5 million to benefit Idaho public schools. That amount is the largest since the lottery started in 1989 and the ninth consecutive year of record dividends.

For fiscal year 2012, the lottery reported sales of $175.8 million, up 19.5 percent or $28 million compared to 2011 and the single biggest annual revenue jump in the lottery's history. The $41.5 million dividend is double the $20.5 million payout in 2003.

The dividend is being split among three separate accounts — the Department of Education's public school building account, the state building fund, and a fund that helps match school bond payments.