The Minnesota Lottery is the official lottery

Lottery

A lottery is a form of gambling which involves the drawing of lots for a prize.Lottery is outlawed by some governments, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find some degree of regulation of lottery by governments...

 association in Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

. The minimum age to purchase Minnesota Lottery tickets is 18.

As a result of the 2011 Minnesota state government shutdown

2011 Minnesota state government shutdown

The 2011 Minnesota state government shutdown was a government shutdown affecting the U.S. state of Minnesota, due to a fiscal dispute between the Governor and the state legislature. The shutdown started at midnight, July 1, 2011...

, sales of Minnesota Lottery tickets were suspended on July 1, 2011. Sales resumed after the shutdown ended.
The distribution of money from Minnesota Lottery for fiscal year 2010:


Gross revenue: $466,575,526
Does not include specific games.

• November 1988: Fifty-seven percent of Minnesota voters approve a constitutional amendment to authorize a lottery.
• May 1989: The Minnesota Legislature passes legislation to start a lottery, with proceeds split evenly between the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund and the Greater Minnesota Corporation (GMC).
• April 17, 1990: Sales of instant tickets begin.
• May 1990: The Legislature changes how Lottery proceeds are distributed: 40% for the trust fund, 35% for the Infrastructure Development Fund, and 25% for the GMC.
• August 13, 1990: The Lottery reaches $100 million in sales, paying about 50% in prizes.
• November 1990: With 75% of the vote, Minnesotans dedicate 40% of Lottery proceeds to the trust fund through 2001.
• June 1991: The Legislature changes how Lottery proceeds are divided: 40% for the trust fund, and 60% for the General Fund.
• April 1992: The first drawing of Powerball is held.
• June 18, 1993: The Lottery reaches $1 billion in sales.
• July 1, 1995: The Lottery board is abolished by the Legislature.
• May 6, 1996: The Lottery surpasses $2 billion in sales.
• June 30, 1996: The Lottery celebrates the end of its sixth fiscal year with record sales of $375.6 million.
• June 30, 1998: The Legislature increases the retailer commission from 5% to 5.5%, and adds a 1% bonus for cashing tickets.
• March 11, 2002: Over $1 billion for Minnesota has been generated by the Lottery.
• April 2002: To help celebrate the 10th anniversary of Powerball, the smaller Hot Lotto game is launched.
• July 17, 2004: The Lottery announces a record contribution of $100 million to Minnesota during fiscal year 2004.
• June 1, 2004: The Lottery announced that total contributions to the State of Minnesota reached $1 billion.
• May 2, 2006: Lucky, MN Players Club launches.
• November 1, 2006: The Lottery launches its first Minnesota Millionaire Raffle game.