“The Lottery (Commission) is ecstatic,” said Oklahoma Lottery spokesman Jay Finks about the increase to education. “Every education dollar is precious, and we are thankful that increased lottery sales have allowed us to contribute more than promised.”

Shawn Hime, executive director of the Oklahoma State School Board Association, said he appreciated legislators’ effort to involve him and other education leaders in the conversation on what to do about declining lottery revenues.

“I was part of (the bill planning) from the beginning, and I’m pleased to see that it looks like a success,” Hime said. “Any additional money for our schools is a big help.”

“Revenues were continuing to decline, and we knew we needed to do something,” he added.

The previous fiscal year’s $53 million contribution represented a steep decline that was projected to continue, lottery officials said.

But under the new law, they now project $330 million will go to education over the next five years. That’s a $110 million increase over what it would have been without the law, they added.

“It’s encouraging,” Alicia Priest, Oklahoma Education Association president, said of the initial 19 percent increase.