CONCORD, Ohio (July 15, 2024) – Today marks the start of National Lottery Week, and the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries (NASPL) – the industry’s trade association – is joining lotteries and industry stakeholders across the continent in recognizing lotteries for their collective contributions to the communities they serve.
After all, lotteries were created to generate funds for good causes, such as education, college scholarships, environmental conservation, senior citizen programs, tourism, tax relief, local aid for cities and towns, economic development and more.
Moreover, lotteries have a broader impact across North America, beyond the significant revenue for their beneficiaries. They provide hundreds of thousands of retailers with lottery-specific revenue, as well as additional foot traffic, and provide tens of thousands of jobs either directly or indirectly. They also make player health a priority, collaborating with responsible gambling organizations to educate their retailers and consumers to encourage safe, responsible play. Additionally, lotteries and their partners in private industry are often involved in supporting local causes in other ways as well, by hosting events like food drives and community cleanups. And, of course, lotteries provides a source of fun and exciting entertainment for all players – not to mention the big prizes for lucky winners.
NASPL introduced Lottery Week as a way to celebrate lotteries’ positive social and economic impact. “We created Lottery Week to highlight and celebrate the good that lotteries do in their communities,” said Executive Director David Gale. “In fiscal year 2023 alone, the creative and entertaining products offered by lotteries generated more than $30.4 billion in revenue for important causes in the U.S., and more than C$3.6 billion in Canada. We’re proud to join our industry colleagues this week in recognizing these tremendous achievements.”
Lottery Week evolved from an idea implemented by the Massachusetts Lottery in 2018. Declaring July 17 as National Lottery Day, Mass Lottery offered consumers and retailers a special day of lottery promotions and celebrated the provision of billions of dollars in local aid since the state’s Lottery was created in 1972.
About NASPL
The North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries was founded in 1971. Evolving from an informal exchange of information among three pioneering lottery directors, the organization has grown into an active association representing 53 lottery organizations. NASPL’s basic mission is to assemble and disseminate information on the lottery industry through education and communications, and where appropriate publicly advocate the positions of the Association on matters of general policy.
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