The Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation (TEL) has announced the transfer of $114m to the Lottery for Education Account following a record performance in the first quarter of its 2021 fiscal year (July 1 – September 30, 2020).
The lottery recorded total revenues of $492.8m in its first quarter, $70.9m more than the prior year. It’s also TEL’s highest first quarter since its inception in January 2004.
Rebecca Paul Hargrove, TEL President and CEO, said: “We ended the last fiscal year in a solid position, and we have continued that momentum through the first quarter.”
TEL’s total Revenues of Tennessee-based games (instant and drawing-style) are up 19.1% over this time last year, while Tennessee instant games revenues of $420.8m set a new first quarter record, beating the prior year by $69m.
Following player winnings of $319.6m, and operating costs, the lottery was able to allocate a further $114m to the Lottery for Education Account, which uses the funding for scholarships and grants.
Since its inception in January 2004, $5.62bn has been generated for the Lottery for Education Account, which has provided more than 1.5m scholarships and grants. More than 150,000 Tennessee students benefited in the 2019-2020 school year alone thanks to the lottery funding.