Ga. Lottery raises record $1.23 billion for HOPE, Pre-K
ATLANTA – The Georgia Lottery Corp. announced last week that fiscal year 2020 profits transferred to the State Treasury’s Lottery for Education Account amount to a record $1,237,345,246. This brings the total raised for education in the Georgia Lottery’s 27-year history to more than $22.3 billion.
“With all Lottery profits benefiting Georgia’s HOPE Scholarship and Pre-K programs, the Georgia Lottery’s monumental success is a milestone to celebrate,” Gov. Brian Kemp said. “By funding HOPE and Pre-K, the Georgia Lottery continues to help Georgia’s students gain a high-quality education from start to finish, which ultimately makes our state stronger and more competitive.”
FY20 marks the fifth consecutive year the Georgia Lottery has surpassed $1 billion in profits for education and the ninth consecutive year of growth in profits for education.
“Our FY20 results are a reflection of the fortitude and commitment of many,” Georgia Lottery President and CEO Gretchen Corbin said. “As with all companies, 2020 has been an historic year, challenging us to the max, which makes me even more honored to report this record year of returns for education. Our team has been laser focused on delivering the greatest amount possible to the state in a year where we first focused on outpacing 2019, the year of one of the largest jackpots in history, and then added COVID-19 challenges to our goal to surmount.”
In her third year as president and CEO of the Georgia Lottery Corp., Corbin previously served as commissioner of the Technical College System of Georgia and the Georgia Department of Community Affairs. The Cedartown native lives in Rome, where she served as director of the RACERome committee coordinating local activities for the 1996 centennial Olympics.
After a dip in March, Georgia Lottery sales rebounded in the last quarter of FY20 as players became more familiar with online play availability, many retailers remained open because of other services they provide, and most other forms of entertainment were limited.
“Our success in FY20 was a collaborative effort,” Corbin said. “I am grateful to Gov. Kemp and the legislature for their support, our board of directors for their strong leadership, our employees for their hard work and unwavering commitment, our vendors and partners for their exceptional efforts, our retailers for their tremendous diligence on the front lines with customers every day, and our players who have supported us responsibly at retail and online.”
The Georgia Lottery achieved historic profits in FY20 while competing against a record $1.5 billion Mega Millions jackpot in the previous fiscal year. During the last months of the fiscal year, the Georgia Lottery adapted to a quickly-changing environment, partnering with retailers to promote safe interactions with players and encouraging online play via the Georgia Lottery’s website and mobile app.
Since its first year, the Georgia Lottery Corp. has returned more than $22.3 billion to the state of Georgia for education. All Georgia Lottery profits go to pay for specific educational programs, including Georgia’s HOPE Scholarship Program and Georgia’s PreK Program. More than 1.9 million students have received HOPE, and more than 1.6 million 4-year-olds have attended the statewide, voluntary prekindergarten program.