The Louisiana Lottery will join other lotteries across North America in celebrating National Lottery Week July 17-23 to spotlight the different ways lotteries positively impact our communities. Each day the Lottery will focus on a different theme, culminating on Friday with a social media prize pack giveaway.

The observance, beginning on National Lottery Day on July 17, will kick off with the Lottery highlighting contributions made to its key beneficiary, K-12 public education.

“We truly enjoy giving thousands of Louisianians a reason to smile every day with engaging and exciting lottery games and promotions,” said Lottery President Rose Hudson, “but nothing can beat the satisfaction of meeting our mission to raise funds for K-12 public education, to the tune of over $4.3 billion since our inception.”

The Lottery’s responsible gaming efforts featuring a video interview with Janet Miller from the Louisiana Association on Compulsive Gaming (LACG) on ways to spot problem gambling and how to get help will be broadcast on Monday.

The Lottery plans to spotlight several of its nearly 3,000 retailers throughout the state on its social media pages and share their stories of what the Lottery’s partnership has done for their businesses on Tuesday.

Wednesday will focus on the Lottery’s economic impact. The Lottery supports about 120 philanthropic organizations and cultural events and festivals, impacting more than 500,000 people statewide each year, especially in the areas of arts, education and healthcare. In addition, the Lottery pumps much-needed sponsorship dollars into 16 local colleges and university athletic programs as well as supporting four professional sports teams in Louisiana, which include the New Orleans Saints and the New Orleans Pelicans.

Thursday will be all about Lottery winners, from jackpots to scratch-off prizes, as well as winners of second-chance drawings and special promotions. Since its inception, the Lottery has paid out more than $5 billion to lucky winners.

Finally on Friday, the Lottery will give players a “Reason to Smile” with the opportunity to enter a Facebook promotion where they must answer the question “what does Lottery Week mean to me?” Ten winners will be randomly selected to win a prize package.

Players can follow the Lottery’s social media pages and visit the Lottery’s website at https://louisianalottery.com/lottery-week for more information on Lottery Week.

The Lottery reminds ticket purchasers to play responsibly, encouraging anyone who has a gambling problem, or friends and family of anyone with a gambling problem, to call toll-free 1-877-770-7867 for help.  Ticket purchasers must be at least 21 years of age.