The remainder is profits transferred to the State Lottery Fund for appropriation by the Legislature to Education, Senior Citizen and Tourism programs. Each year the West Virginia Legislature appropriates net profits deposited into the State Lottery Fund to various programs benefiting education, senior citizen and tourism programs. The Lottery, itself, has no authority over where proceeds are directed. By law, unclaimed prize money is returned to the prize fund for second chance drawings, additional prizes in games and other promotional efforts. The purchase of a Lotto ticket and the random drawing of the winning numbers are totally separate.
Nobody knows if there is a winner until after the drawing.
The Lottery is one of the most closely scrutinized agencies in state government and is structured with a comprehensive oversight network of numerous checks and balances. Numerous security measures are included in the drawing procedures to assure their randomness and integrity. A staff that includes a security officer, an event manager and an independent auditor oversees all drawings. The West Virginia Lottery goes to great lengths to ensure the randomness of its drawings and to eliminate any possibility of a breach of security that could jeopardize integrity. All equipment is stored in a locked area of our drawing studio.