Rose Hudson, president and CEO of the Louisiana Lottery Corporation, presented the corporation’s FY2025–26 operating budget to the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget on April 23, saying the Lottery expects $603,700,000 in gross revenue and would transfer $186,800,000 to the state under the budget.

The presentation prompted questions from lawmakers about executive compensation and whether changes in prizes and game mix would reduce transfers to the Minimum Foundation Program (MFP) for education. Hudson told the committee the corporation has completed 28 years of annual audits by the Legislative Auditor with “no reportable findings, unmodified opinions,” and that the Lottery ranks first nationally in the share of revenue returned “to good causes.”

Legislative Auditor Mike Waguespack and auditor Ed Seiler reviewed historical transfers and payroll patterns for the committee. Seiler said the Lottery has been transferring more than the statutory minimum since 2020, and noted a sustained increase in the instant (scratch-off) product gross margin since 2020. Waguespack told members the agency’s audits have been “very clean” and that management is strong.

Alan Boxberger of the Legislative Fiscal Office explained trends behind year-to-year transfers. He noted Act 318 of 2020 lowered the statutory mandatory transfer percentage from 35% to 25% and said the effect of that change depends on game payouts and jackpot activity: the online, draw-style games (Powerball/Mega Millions) produce large year-to-year swings in transfers when jackpots vary. Seiler added that instant games’ increased payouts were intended to drive higher sales, which can offset higher prize expense.

Senator Cloud, who requested the Legislative Auditor’s analysis, said the combination of increased salary costs and years in which jackpots are lower could create optics concerns if transfers to the MFP fall while Lottery operating expenses rise. Legislators pressed for more disaggregated metrics and told the department and auditors they would want projections of the “delta” — the state fiscal impact per moved student — when the department tracks any future programs that would affect education funding.

Representative McFarland made a motion to move the Lottery budget “favorable”; the committee carried the motion with no recorded opposition.

The committee requested follow-up figures and forecasts, including projected transfers under differing jackpot scenarios and additional metrics to track salary changes, vacancy rates and the proportion of transfer proceeds to the MFP. Hudson said the Lottery’s budget is conservative and that expenses are not structured to rise automatically with occasional large jackpots.