In May of 1973 the voters of Ohio approved a constitutional amendment creating the Ohio Lottery Commission. The first tickets went on sale in August 1974. Today, the Ohio Lottery Commission offers customers a wide variety of instant games and on-line games to play at over 8,800 licensed retailer locations across the state. Ohioans wager an average of about $200 per capita yearly on the lottery's instant scratch-off games, online games, Pick 3, Pick 4, Buckeye 5, and the six-number Super Lotto.

Since 1974, the Lottery has provided more than $16 billion to public education. Ohio's lottery ranks among the top five in the US in both per capita instant game sales and for total lottery sales. Annually, we provide about 4.5 percent of the funding needed for public education -- an effort shared by local, state and federal governments.