(a) There is hereby created in the State Treasury a separate fund to be known as the State Lottery Fund. The Fund shall consist of all revenues received from the Treasurer for initial funding, from sale of lottery tickets, from license fees, and from all other money credited or transferred from any other fund or source pursuant to law. The monies in the State Lottery Fund shall be disbursed pursuant to subdivision 651(11) of this title, and shall be disbursed by the Treasurer on warrants issued by the Commissioner of Finance and Management, when authorized by the Commissioner of Liquor and Lottery and approved by the Commissioner of Finance and Management.

(b) Expenditures for administrative and overhead expenses of the operation of the State Lottery, except agent and bank commissions, shall be paid from Lottery receipts from an appropriation authorized for that purpose. Agent commissions shall be set by the Board of Liquor and Lottery and shall not exceed 6.25 percent of gross receipts and bank commissions shall not exceed one percent of gross receipts. Once the draw game results become official, the payment of any commission on any draw game ticket that wins at least $10,000.00 shall be made through the normal course of processing payments to lottery agents, regardless of whether the winning ticket is claimed.

(c) Not less than 50 percent of gross receipts shall be paid out as prizes.

(d) Annuities for lottery winners shall be purchased by the State Treasurer. The State Treasurer shall make all investments of State Lottery Fund monies. (Added 1977, No. 82, § 2, eff. April 27, 1977; amended 1979, No. 54, § 3; 1979, No. 98 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 1983, No. 195 (Adj. Sess.), § 5(b); 1985, No. 15; 1997, No. 155 (Adj. Sess.), § 66g; 2003, No. 66, § 52a; 2013, No. 113 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 2018, No. 1 (Sp. Sess.), § 96.)