In 1988, Minnesotans voted to create a state-run lottery. Since its establishment, the lottery has provided $2.4 billion to support environmental and public projects that continue to benefit the state's citizens. In fact, unlike some other forms of gaming, all of our proceeds benefit Minnesota.

As executive director of the Minnesota State Lottery, I, along with my team, take our constitutional mandate to run a successful lottery seriously. To that end, last year the lottery awarded $328 million in prizes to individuals and $127 million to public programs.

Lottery proceeds, for example, have supported organizations such as the Friends of the Mississippi River; the St. Croix River Association; the National Eagle Center; the Visitor's Center at Fort Snelling; the International Wolf Center; the Will Steger Foundation; Ducks and Trout Unlimited; the Minnesota Zoo; the Red Lake Watershed District; the Trust for Public Land; countless research projects at the University of Minnesota, including the Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center, and the state departments of Agriculture, Education and Natural Resources. Lottery-funded projects have directly benefited every county in the state.

Minnesotans can be proud their lottery has so strongly supported the environment, education, health care and many other critical efforts over the past 25 years. In total, the lottery has contributed over $1.3 billion to the state's general fund, more than $660 million to the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund, and more than $159 million each to the Game and Fish Fund and Natural Resources Fund.

The lottery has done this while navigating an ever-changing marketplace. Some of our most recent lottery enhancements allow individuals the option to purchase lottery tickets over the Internet, at the fuel pump or using a lottery-enhanced ATM.

The added visibility created by these 21st-century options for buying lottery tickets drives additional in-store sales that support our 3,100-plus retail partners who employ people in all 87 counties. Our retail partners collectively earned $32 million last year.

While we offered no new forms of gaming — and are in fact prevented from doing so by state law — these new ways for players to purchase tickets became a hot topic at the Legislature last year. Like every other entity offering online options, we have a simple goal — to ensure that we remain relevant.

I understand the concerns associated with online gaming. When done irresponsibly, such gaming can indeed be dangerous. But the legislative proposal to restrict online lottery programs would not have stopped such gambling. The restrictions would instead encourage those who play our games online to spend their dollars with illegal out-of-state sites that do not support the common good in Minnesota, are not regulated and pay no state taxes.

The lottery is also the largest contributor in Minnesota to programs that help treat and prevent problem gambling of all kinds. Further, academic research on online gaming has shown that gambling on the Internet does not increase the chances of developing a gambling addiction. To ensure responsible play, we limit an individual's online purchases to $50 a week.

Minnesotans support their lottery, and surveys continue to show that Minnesotans appreciate knowing the proceeds benefit them. We will continue to work with our legislative partners and many other stakeholders as we make the program improvements necessary to ensure that we continue to fund important initiatives, reach players and support our retail partners — all while remaining relevant.

Ed Van Petten is executive director of the Minnesota State Lottery.