Illinois Lottery
The very first tickets for the Illinois Lottery were sold on July 30, 1974. By the end of December of that same year, the lottery had sold 100,000 tickets and, by November 13, 1989, the IL Lottery celebrated a magnificent $10 billion in ticket sales.
To begin with, profits from the IL Lottery went to the state’s General Revenue Fund. But in 1985, legislation was passed to earmark profits for the Common School Fund. This remains the lottery’s biggest benefactor in Illinois.
For Fiscal Year 2017, the IL Lottery sales topped $2.84 billion, with over $723 million plowed into causes like capital projects and the Common School Fund.
Today, the Illinois State Lottery offers a number of exciting draw games for Lucky Day Lotto, Powerball, Mega Millions, Instant Games, Pick 3, Pick 4, and Lotto.