The Florida Lottery announces its fifth consecutive record-breaking sales year with an estimated $6.06 billion in annual sales during fiscal year 2015-16. In addition, the Lottery anticipates reaching $30 billion in transfers to education since 1988.
Governor Rick Scott said, “We are working each day to ensure that Florida’s students have the resources and opportunities they need to get a great education so they can succeed in their future careers. I applaud the Lottery for their commitment to investing in education and look forward to seeing Florida’s students become the leaders of tomorrow.”
“The Florida Lottery’s mission is to maximize revenues for the enhancement of public education. We are extremely proud to be able to transfer $1.66 billion to education this year as a result of having reached $6 billion in sales. This represents a 10.9% increase in transfers to education over the previous year, something all Florida students and teachers can celebrate,” said Florida Lottery Secretary Tom Delacenserie. “I want to thank our retail partners, loyal players and dedicated employees who work hard every day to ensure the Florida Lottery continues to be among the very best in the nation.”
Over the past 28 years, the Florida Lottery has firmly established itself as a dependable funding source for public education, contributing more than $1 billion annually for each of the past 13 consecutive fiscal years. The Lottery’s commitment to corporate outreach and its effective business model focuses on the development of new revenue streams, creating a win-win partnership with its retailers and vendors, and benefitting Florida’s overall economy. Lottery transfers to education represent approximately six percent of the state’s total education budget, and are appropriated by the Florida Legislature and administered by the Florida Department of Education.
FACTS
- Since 1988, the Florida Lottery has contributed more than $30 billion to education, and has transferred more than $1 billion to education for each of the past 13 years.
- More than $4.8 billion in Bright Futures scholarships have been awarded to more than 725,000 students in the state. Additionally, $415 million has been provided to students in the form of other state student financial aid.
- Florida’s public schools (Pre-K and K-12 programs) have received more than $16.4 billion since the Lottery’s inception. Florida’s state universities and colleges have also benefited, receiving a combined total of more than $7.8 billion since the Lottery’s inception.
- The Lottery broke all sales records in fiscal year 2015-16, reaching more than $6 billion in sales and surpassing last year’s sales of $5.5 billion by more than $480 million.
- The Lottery had record Scratch-Off sales for 11 of the 12 months of fiscal year 2015-16, which helped lead to overall record gross sales for 8 of the 12 months this fiscal year, giving the Lottery its best sales year ever.
- Since 1988, Florida Lottery games have paid more than $52.4 billion in prizes and made more than 1,900 people millionaires.
ABOUT THE FLORIDA LOTTERY
The Florida Lottery is responsible for contributing more than $30 billion to education and sending more than 725,000 students to college through the Bright Futures Scholarship Program. The Florida Lottery reinvests 97 percent of its revenue back into Florida’s economy through prize payouts, commissions to more than 13,000 Florida retailers and transfers to education. Since 1988, Florida Lottery games have paid more than $52.4 billion in prizes and made more than 1,900 people millionaires. For more information, please visit www.flalottery.com.
