Colorado Lottery

rdf:langString Colorado Lottery

rdf:langString The Colorado Lottery is run by the state government of Colorado. It is a member of the Multi-State Lottery Association(MUSL). The Colorado Lottery began on January 24, 1983, initially selling only scratch tickets. Its first drawing took place on April 23, 1983. Colorado Lottery games include Cash 5 (with a 5-of-32 matrix), Pick 3, Colorado Lotto+, Mega Millions, Lucky for Life, and Powerball; it also sells scratch tickets. Colorado has offered fewer drawing games than most U.S. lotteries even though it began in the early 1980s; Powerball was not available in Colorado until 2001. Colorado joined Mega Millions on May 16, 2010 (the same day as South Dakota) as part of the MUSL cross-selling agreement involving both major jackpot games. Colorado joined Lucky for Life on July 17, 2016; as of September 2017, Lucky for Life is available in 24 states and the District of Columbia (The game began in Connecticut in 2009, as Lucky-4-Life.). Colorado Lottery revenues are directed to outdoor recreation, parks, trails, rivers, wildlife, and open space by a state constitutional amendment approved by voters in 1992. 50 percent of Lottery proceeds go to a trust fund administered by Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO). GOCO distributes the funds through competitive grants to local governments and land trusts, 40 percent to the Conservation Trust Fund, and 10 percent goes to Colorado Parks and Wildlife. After the GOCO cap is met, proceeds fall into the BEST fund (Building Excellent Schools Today).