Florida Lottery celebrated 33 years of operations this past week, marking more than three decades of excitement, achievements, and contributions to education in the Sunshine State.
The lottery’s very first ticket, a $1 scratch-off game named ‘Millionaire’, went on sale on January 12, 1988, and the first week of sales exceeded $95m. The lottery has gone on to provide thousands of games and promotions to Floridians and visitors alike.
Currently, it offers 10 draw games, approximately 80 scratch-off games, and multiple fast play games at more than 13,000 retail locations statewide.
Florida Lottery Secretary, John F Davis, said: ”The Florida Lottery is incredibly proud to commemorate more than three decades of giving back to Floridians through prize payouts to winners, commissions to retailers, and of course, contributions to Florida’s students and schools.”
A portion of every lottery ticket purchased goes toward enhancing education in Florida. Since opening its doors in 1988, the lottery has contributed more than $38bn to the state’s Educational Enhancement Trust Fund (EETF), including more than $1bn annually for each of the past 18 consecutive fiscal years.
The lottery is also the primary funding source for the Bright Futures Scholarship Program, which has enabled more than 880,000 students to attend college since the program’s inception in 1997.
Davis continued: ”The accomplishments reached by the lottery over the past 33 years are not only ours to share; these milestones could not have been made possible without the support of our players, hardworking retailers, trusted vendor partners, and dedicated employees.
“As we look ahead to the next 33 years, we will continue to offer Floridians the best lottery games available that provide great chances of winning and more funding for students and schools.”