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TEXAS LOTTERY TO CELEBRATE

30 YEARS OF WINNING

AUSTIN – A year-long celebration culminates May 29, when the Texas Lottery officially observes the 30th anniversary of its startup.

On May 29, 1992, the first lottery purchase in Texas was made 47 days ahead of schedule when then-Gov. Ann Richards bought the first ticket – a Lone Star Millions scratch ticket for $1 – at Polk’s Feed Store in Oak Hill. In its first 24 hours, the Texas Lottery set a world record for first-day sales when Texans purchased 23.2 million tickets. The Texas Lottery’s startup costs, with interest, were earned back during the first three hours of ticket sales.

Over the last year, the Texas Lottery has celebrated “30 Years of Winning” with various promotional events, along with monthly content and giveaways on its social media pages. Additionally, the celebratory 30^TH Anniversary scratch ticket game launched in April 2022, featuring more than $24.9 million in total prizes, including five top prizes of $100,000, as well as more than 217,000 prizes ranging from $30 to $300. The game is currently available where Texas Lottery scratch ticket games are sold.

“The Texas Lottery is thrilled to reach this special milestone, and over the last year we have eagerly celebrated the run-up to this historic moment with the Texans who have made the first 30 years of the Texas Lottery such an incredible success story,” said Gary Grief, executive director of the Texas Lottery. “The Texas Lottery would not be positioned as one of the preeminent lotteries in the industry without our founders, players, retailers, vendor staff and Texas Lottery Commission employees. As we look toward the future, the Texas Lottery remains deeply committed to fulfill its mission of generating revenue for public education and veterans’ services in the State of Texas.”

From startup through April 2022, the Texas Lottery has generated more than $122 billion in cumulative sales, creating more than $34.8 billion in revenue for the State of Texas, including funding contributions for the Foundation School Fund and the Fund for Veterans’ Assistance. Additionally, more than $75 billion in prizes have been distributed to Texas Lottery players and more than $6.4 billion has been paid to retailers in commissions, incentives and through the retailer bonus program.

Inside the Numbers:

• When the Texas Lottery began, the Lone Star Millions scratch ticket game was the only game available for purchase. Since that first game, more than 2,000 scratch ticket games have launched. Today, there are approximately 80 scratch ticket games for players to choose from each year, as well as eight draw games, including Powerball^®, Mega Millions^®, Lotto Texas^®, Texas Two Step^®, Pick 3^™, Daily 4^™, Cash Five^® and All or Nothing^™.
• Texas Lottery products are now sold by more than 20,000 retailers across the state.
• To date, the largest prize ever paid out to a single Texas Lottery^® player is $157,091,592 before taxes. That prize was claimed by a Leander resident who chose the cash value option for the Sept. 24, 2019 Mega Millions drawing, which offered a jackpot worth an estimated annuitized $227 million.
• The Texas Lottery has generated more than $1 billion in revenue for Texas in each of the last 18 fiscal years, including a record contribution of $1.998 billion to the State in fiscal year 2021.
• The Texas Lottery has achieved record-breaking sales for the last 11 years. In FY 2021, the Texas Lottery generated $8.107 billion in sales, resulting in a record total contribution of $1.998 billion for Texas education and veterans, which was driven by its highest scratch ticket and draw game sales’ totals in its nearly 30-year history.
• In FY 2021, nearly 97 cents of every dollar of Texas Lottery sales went to prizes, supporting the Foundation School Fund, Fund for Veterans’ Assistance, other state programs and retailer compensation.

For a complete list of milestones from the Texas Lottery’s first 30 years, click here.

About the Texas Lottery
Beginning with the first ticket sold in 1992, the Texas Lottery has generated $34.8 billion in revenue for the state and distributed $75 billion in prizes to lottery players. Since 1997, the Texas Lottery has contributed $28.9 billion to the Foundation School Fund, which supports public education in Texas. As authorized by the Texas Legislature, certain Texas Lottery revenues benefit state programs including the Fund for Veterans’ Assistance. Since the first veterans’ themed scratch ticket game was launched in 2009, the Texas Lottery has contributed more than $181 million for programs supporting Texas veterans.

The Texas Lottery provides several entertaining games for lottery players including Powerball^®, Mega Millions^®, Lotto Texas^®, All or Nothing^™, Texas Two Step^®, Pick 3^™, Daily 4^™, Cash Five^® and scratch ticket games. For more information visit us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube or at texaslottery.com. PLAY RESPONSIBLY.

Editors/News Directors, note:  A high-res image of the Texas Lottery 30^th Anniversary logo can be downloaded here. In addition, an image of Gov. Ann Richards purchasing the first Texas Lottery ticket, Lone Star Millions, on May 29, 1992 can be downloaded here. (Right-click on the image for saving options.)

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