Missouri Gambling Money Supports Schools as Funding Gaps Persist

The Missouri Lottery reported sending $337 million to education in fiscal year 2026, according to KY3, as schools across the state cut budgets despite receiving lottery, casino and sports betting funds.

What Missouri gambling contributes to education

The Missouri Gaming Commission reported that casino gambling contributed about $380 million to education for 2026. Sports betting sent about $3.2 million to education through June, KY3 reported.

The lottery says its annual contributions represent 4% of the state’s funding for public education. Most of the education money from the three gambling sources is spread across more than 500 school districts.

Springfield Public Schools told KY3 it received about $11.4 million, representing roughly 3% of its operating budget this year. Most of the district’s funding comes from people who live within its boundaries.

Local taxes and state budget priorities

Amy Blouin said roughly 60% of Missouri school district funding comes from local sources.

“Our local school districts have to rely on property tax,” Blouin told KY3.

The Missouri Budget Project says lawmakers underfunded the state’s K-12 schools by $190 million this year. The organization also says Missouri ranks near the bottom among states for the percentage of K-12 public school funding supplied directly by state government.

Blouin attributed pressure on state revenue to tax reductions lawmakers prioritized over the past decade, saying those reductions lowered revenue by more than $3.8 billion annually.

State Sen. Lincoln Hough framed school funding as a question of budget priorities rather than something gambling revenue alone could resolve.

“Sports betting is not that silver bullet that’s going to come in and save the state from policies that, quite frankly, haven’t been working,” Hough told KY3.

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More from playmissouri.com – Where Does Your Money Go When You Play the Missouri Lottery? – Missouri Lottery’s Security, Responsible Gaming Efforts Recognized

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Source: As reported by ky3.com.

This article was created with the assistance of AI and is monitored by our editorial team.