COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - The South Carolina lottery generated a record $435 million for education for the fiscal year that ended June 30.
The South Carolina Education Lottery said in a statement Monday that the increase of $30 million for education purposes comes from the continued popularity of instant "scratch-off" games.
The lottery reported that draw games like Pick 3, Pick 4 and Cash 5 and the big jackpots of Powerball and Mega Millions also contributed to the increase from the previous record of $405 million.
Most of the money raised by the lottery goes for merit-based, college scholarships. Some of the money also goes for K-12 education and to buy school buses and pay for other education programs.