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Missouri Lottery asks for $4.6M ad boost and readies digital platform to protect transfers to education
Summary
The Missouri Lottery told budget lawmakers it seeks a $4.6 million advertising increase to restore brand reach and fund a technology upgrade that could enable mobile sales; lawmakers probed whether greater ad spending will reliably increase transfers and how problem-gambling funds are handled.
Missouri Lottery Director Lester Elder told the House Budget Committee the agency needs more advertising and a new gaming platform to preserve and grow transfers to public education.
"Our mission is to support and help fund educational opportunities for Missouri students," Elder said in opening remarks about the lottery’s 40th anniversary. The lottery has transferred $8.7 billion to education over four decades and projects FY26 transfers of roughly $372 million.
The lottery asked for a $4.6 million increase to raise its annual advertising budget to roughly $10 million, arguing that brand awareness fell after historic ad cuts and has only partially recovered. The governor recommended the $4.6 million increase. Lottery staff said advertising is central to maintaining sales of monthly scratch tickets and draw-game play and to attracting younger players; they pointed to national swings in jackpots and pandemic-related effects as confounding factors.
Committee members probed the effectiveness of higher advertising in a crowded gambling market. Representative Strickler asked whether the requested increase would reach a point of diminishing returns; director and staff said the agency monitors brand-awareness metrics (SMART reports) and believes steady advertising supports sales and, in turn, education transfers. The panel also discussed the state auditor’s report, which recommended clearer legislative guidance; lottery staff said they have engaged the auditor and are refining reporting.
Members raised problem-gambling concerns and asked which agency pays for treatment. Lottery officials said most problem-gambling services and the compulsive-gambling fund involve coordination with the gaming commission and the Department of Mental Health; the lottery provides some prevention/education funding but does not currently make the bulk of compulsory-treatment payments.
On technology, the lottery is midstream in a vendor-led computer gaming system replacement (targeted December 2026). Lottery officials said a modernized system would make future digital sales and electronic account management possible (consumer mobile purchases are technically feasible after the new platform and regulatory review, with earliest practical rollout mid-2027). Lawmakers asked for follow-up on how advertising, digital sales and responsible-gambling safeguards will be balanced.
Next steps: Lottery will continue the new-system deployment, provide the committee additional data on advertising effectiveness and share details on compulsive-gambling funding flows as requested.
Quote: "Without strong awareness, players forget the lottery exists, leading to declining sales," the director said, explaining the advertising request.
