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Lottery officials say transfers to education have risen but seek debit-card sales to shore up future revenue
Summary
South Carolina Education Lottery officials told the Constitutional Subcommittee on Jan. 14 that transfers to education have averaged roughly $500–$550 million annually and asked the legislature to lift a statutory ban on debit-card purchases, saying doing so could add an estimated $52 million a year in transfers.
The South Carolina Education Lottery Commission told the Constitutional Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee on Jan. 14 that lottery revenue has returned to a more normal trend after COVID-era spikes and that allowing debit-card sales could increase transfers to education by roughly $52 million a year.
The presentation was led by Dolly Garfield, executive director of the South Carolina Education Lottery Commission, who introduced Brian Ford, the lottery’s chief financial officer, to review recent revenue and transfer trends. Garfield and Ford said the commission is again asking the Legislature to lift a statutory prohibition that prevents lottery retailers from accepting debit cards to buy tickets.
"We transfer around 500 to $550,000,000 a year," CFO Brian Ford told the subcommittee while summarizing seven years of historical results and three-year projections. Ford said revenue has been roughly $2.3 billion a year and that transfers to…
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