Florida Lottery

History of Florida Lottery

In 1986, Florida voters enthusiastically approved a constitutional amendment authorizing a Lottery by a two-to-one margin. When the Florida Lottery began ticket sales on January 12, 1988, it became the first Southern state to launch a Lottery.

The Lottery’s debut was a harbinger of great things to come – not only did sales begin six days ahead of schedule, but that first game, the MILLIONAIRE Scratch-Off ticket, set an industry record with more than $95 million in sales in the first 12 days.

Not resting on its laurels, Florida quickly launched its first two Draw games, FLORIDA LOTTO and CASH 3, on April 29, 1988. Lottery fever followed, resulting in a then-world record lotto jackpot of $55 million in early September, with a single winner claiming the jackpot prize. A year later, another record was set with a $106.5 million jackpot.

Today, the Florida Lottery is the top-selling Lottery in North America, consistently surpassing $9 billion in annual sales each year since fiscal year 2021!

As sales have grown, so has our impact. The Florida Lottery remains a dependable contributor to education, because we believe the fun of every play can tie back to the good we do. More than $1 billion in each of the past 23 fiscal years, and over $2 billion the past five consecutive fiscal years, has benefitted Florida students in K-12 schools and colleges and universities statewide.

Pre-kindergarten projects have directly affected the youngest Florida citizens, and thousands of K-12 students reap the benefits of Lottery dollars every school day. Meanwhile the Bright Futures Scholarship Program, which is primarily funded by Lottery revenue, provides financial aid for post-secondary education. Since the program's inception in 1997, the Lottery has contributed more than $9 billion to send over one million students to college.

The Florida Lottery, it’s good fun!

Media Contact:

Michele Griner

850-487-7727