Mississippi legislators voted in 2018 to create a state lottery as a way to generate money for infrastructure. Mississippi was one of six states without a lottery, but people from the state were driving to Arkansas, Louisiana and Tennessee to buy tickets. Photo by Dylan Nolte on Unsplash

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi has collected about $16 million from a state lottery that started operating in November.

The Mississippi Lottery Corporation said Monday that it deposited nearly $8.4 million into the state treasury on Feb. 20. That is the net proceeds from lottery games played during January.

The state received $7.6 million from lottery games played during December.

Mississippi legislators voted in 2018 to create the games of chance as a way to generate money for infrastructure. Mississippi was one of six states without a lottery, but people from the state were driving to Arkansas, Louisiana and Tennessee to buy tickets.

Hiring staff, vetting retailers and starting games in Mississippi took more than a year.

For the first 10 years, the first $80 million a year from Mississippi lottery revenue will go to infrastructure needs. After the $80 million benchmark is hit, the rest goes to education. After the 10-year period is over, the first $80 million will go to the state’s general fund with the rest continuing to go toward education.