“We get a lot of money from the lottery,” said Emily House, Deputy Executive Director of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission and the Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation in Nashville. “Since the inception of the lottery scholarship program in 2004, we have done over $5 billion in scholarship aid,” House said. The concept started in Georgia in the 1990s with the HOPE Scholarship program. Now, Tennessee is one of more than 30 states that dedicates some amount of lottery profits to education.
Through fiscal year 2019, the Hoosier Lottery had transferred more than $6 billion to the state of Indiana, including contributions of $887.6 million to the Teachers’ Retirement Fund, $699.7 million to local police and firefighters’ pension funds and $4.4 billion to the Build Indiana Fund. Sarah M. Taylor, executive director of the Hoosier Lottery, said in a news release that the lottery’s impact on Indiana over the last 30 years has been significant. “We are so proud of the revenue we’ve generated for the state, and that our revenue is being used to support the pension plans for our retired teachers, police officers and firefighters,” Taylor said.
"The Illinois Lottery marked its 45th birthday last year, but there were plenty of other reasons to celebrate in 2019," Illinois Lottery Acting Director Harold Mays said, in the news release. "We want to celebrate our players, our winners, our retail partners and the contributions made by the people of Illinois to education and special causes through purchasing Lottery tickets."
“January 20 will be our 16th anniversary, and just as it was on Day 1, everything we do is focused on our larger mission to serve Tennessee by generating proceeds for education,” TEL President and CEO Rebecca Hargrove said. “We will continue to develop new and innovative products and services that support those initiatives.”
Pennsylvania Lottery Executive Director Drew Svitko said, "Our iLottery games have proven a fun, new way to play the Pennsylvania Lottery. Selling lottery online is a big part of our effort to modernize the lottery, appeal to new customers and meet our players where they already are, which is online, while generating new funds to benefit older Pennsylvanians. Sales of these new digital products as well as sales for our instant and draw-based games at Pennsylvania Lottery retailers grew beyond all expectations over the last year." Svitko said that the Lottery has experienced another record-breaking year. With $4.5 billion in total retail sales led by $3 billion instant scratch game sales, fiscal year 2018-19 was its eighth consecutive year of more than $1 billion in transfers to benefit older Pennsylvanians.
“As I reflect on a decade of Lottery ticket sales in Arkansas, I can’t help but see the faces of students I’ve met that have benefitted from the availability of these scholarship funds,” said Bishop Woosley, director of the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery. “It is incredible to know that more than 542,000 college scholarships have been awarded since 2009.”
“It’s the Kansas Lottery’s mission to engage our players in a fun and secure way while also doing our best to try and maximize a return to the State,” said Kansas Lottery Executive Director Stephen Durrell. “We do that by looking at ways to keep our players interested and excited about our games. The Lottery is continuing to add new games and second-chance promotions that offer unique experiences, and we thank all of our players and retailers for their continued support.”
“Our success is a team effort that benefits all Georgians,” Georgia Lottery President and CEO Gretchen Corbinsaid in the same news release. “We appreciate the support of Governor Kemp and the legislature, the leadership of our board of directors, the dedication of our employees, retail partners and business partners, and the enthusiasm of our players.”
"Our contributions to Florida communities go far beyond the numbers," said Florida Lottery Secretary Jim Poppell. "Through the Bright Futures Scholarship and enhancements to education, we are able to create opportunities for students all across Florida. We also work to create lasting impacts in Florida communities through food drives, cleanups, mentorship programs and more. The Florida Lottery is proud to celebrate National Lottery Week and the partners, players and retailers across our state that help us give back to Florida communities."
“Each and every one of our players, retailers and staff played a critical role in helping us achieve such an outstanding year,” the Lottery’s Executive Director Hogan Brown said. “We remain committed to operating our Lottery in the most efficient manner possible to provide more funds to improve education in South Carolina while continuing to market our products in a socially responsible manner.”