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Ohio Lottery seeks modest budget increases, highlights record transfers to education and responsible gambling work
Summary
Ohio Lottery Director Michelle Gilchrist testified on the lottery's self‑funded operations, historic transfers to the Lottery Profits Education Fund and a $5 million request for responsible‑gambling programs as the agency begins a multi‑year gaming‑system conversion.
Michelle Gilchrist, director of the Ohio Lottery Commission, presented the agency’s biennial budget request and highlighted record profits that support education funding.
Gilchrist said the lottery is fully self‑sustaining and has transferred more than $33 billion to the state since 1974, with annual transfers exceeding $1 billion since 2016 and a record $1.514 billion in the most recent fiscal year. She outlined proposed appropriations of $450 million in FY 2026 and $458 million in FY 2027 across the lottery’s line items, which cover operating expenses, advertising, prize payments, responsible gambling and gaming contracts.
Gilchrist emphasized that roughly 24 cents of every player dollar for traditional games is transferred to the Lottery Profits Education Fund (LPEF), about 65 cents goes to prizes, 7 cents to retailers, and 4 cents toward operating expenses. The lottery also regulates video lottery terminals at racinos and collects a share of VLT net revenue. She described the beginning of a multi‑year conversion to a new central gaming system purchased through a competitive bid; the conversion will require new equipment for the state’s roughly 10,500 lottery retailers.
On responsible gaming, Gilchrist said the lottery requested $5 million — the largest responsible‑gambling appropriation in Ohio lottery history — and noted the lottery’s national certifications for problem‑gambling prevention work. She described collaboration with other state gaming agencies and programs intended to protect consumers and work with stakeholders to address problem gambling, including college‑athlete protections and the “More Than a Bet” campaign run by the Casino Control Commission.
Committee members asked about prize‑payout fluctuations (a recent large jackpot produced higher prize expenditures in FY 2023) and how sports betting in Ohio is structurally separate from lottery operations; Gilchrist said internet/mobile sports betting is governed separately and does not flow through the lottery’s transfers to education. The lottery forecasted conservative sales and transfer figures for the next biennium and highlighted threats including competition from mobile sportsbooks and unpredictability of multistate jackpots.
Gilchrist concluded that the lottery will continue diversifying products, expanding digital engagement and working to maximize profits for the benefit of Ohio education.
