While we’re not so sure that increased lottery sales in Minnesota are a good thing, we are happy to see that Minnesota’s environment and the state’s general fund are benefiting from it &045; the way it was originally intended.

The Minnesota State Lottery announced earlier this week that it generated a record profit for the state. At $100 million for fiscal year 2004, proceeds are up about 20 percent from the year earlier. The earnings came during a period when the Lottery faced both the suicide of its founding director and a scathing report by the legislative auditor.

The Lottery raised $100 million on sales of $387 million, breaking a previous record by $11 million. Almost $45 million will go toward environmental purposes, $53.5 million will go to the state’s general fund, and the rest will go to a handful of smaller dedicated funds.

It may not be a good thing that about $13 million came from higher sales. Often, people who play the Lottery are those who can least afford it. (It’s worth noting that $1.9 million will be paid out of Lottery proceeds for the treatment of problem gambling.) Layoffs of 49 Lottery employees in a tough economy may also not be the best news.

But it is encouraging that the Lottery was able to trim office space and further cut expenses by eliminating some marketing expenses auditors criticized, including a television show. In addition, 49 fixes in the way the Lottery was run that were recommended by the legislative auditor have been adopted.

While the Lottery may be an &uot;evil&uot; we live with in the state, at least our environment and the state’s general fund is seeing some benefit.