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About the Florida Lottery

It's Good Fun

We make an exciting variety of games that fit every type of player and playstyle. All with the knowledge that every time you play, money goes directly toward supporting education in Florida. Good fun is the best kind of fun.

36 Years of Supporting Florida

Integrity, Efficiency & Economic Benefits

From a single Scratch-Off game in 1988 to over 85 games today, three multi-state game offerings, and over $47 billion contributed to education, the Florida Lottery has remained committed to our mission to offer the most entertaining games while supporting our state.

  • 800 schools

    Funds have contributed to construction and renovation of 800 school projects statewide.

  • 983,000 Bright Futures

    Nearly one million students have attended college in Florida with Bright Futures scholarships.

  • 4,100 millionaires

    To date, Lottery winnings have created more than 4,100 millionaires in our state.

  • $89 billion

    During the course of the Lottery’s operation, more than $89 billion have been awarded to game winners.

  • $47 billion

    The Lottery has contributed over $47 billion to education.

Our History

Over 3 Decades of Fun

1986

By a two-to-one margin, Florida voters approve a constitutional amendment authorizing the state to operate a lottery for the purpose of generating additional funds for education.

1987

Governor Bob Martinez signs the Florida Public Education Lottery Act creating a new state agency and appoints Rebecca Paul as the first Secretary of the Florida Lottery.

1988

  • Ticket sales begin for the first Scratch-Off game, MILLIONAIRE. During the first 12 days of operation, $95 million in Scratch-Off tickets are sold, breaking the national sales record previously held by the California Lottery.
  • Thomas W. Sawyer becomes the first Florida Lottery millionaire when he wins the Million Dollar Grand Prize Drawing held in Clearwater.
  • The Florida Lottery makes the first transfer to the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund in the amount of $46.26 million.
  • The first two Draw games Florida Lotto® and CASH 3™ debut.
  • Josie Moore, of Port Charlotte, wins the first Florida Lotto® jackpot.
  • Florida Lotto® rolls over to an estimated $52 million, setting a national and world record for Lotto jackpots. 
  • The Florida Lottery sets a world record for the largest jackpot paid to a sole winner. Sheelah Ryan, of Winter Springs, wins the $55.16 million Florida Lotto® jackpot.

1989

The Florida Lottery launches its third Draw game, Fantasy 5™.

1990

The Quick Pick play option is added to Florida Lottery Draw games.

1993

Tickets for the first $2 Scratch-Off game, BINGO, go on sale and offer a top prize of $10,000.

1995

The Florida Lottery's new weekly TV game show, "Flamingo Fortune", airs on 11 television stations statewide. The show enjoys a four-year run, ending on October 17, 1999.

1996

The Florida Lottery awards the first grand prize of $1,000-a-week-for-life in the WIN FOR LIFE Scratch-Off game to Barbara Arens, of Clearwater.

1997

  • The Florida Lottery introduces 500 Instant Ticket Vending Machines (ITVMs) as a pilot program in the Orlando area.
  • Governor Lawton Chiles signs the bill that creates the Florida Lottery-funded Bright Futures Scholarship Program and the first scholarships are made available for Florida college students. 

1998

  • The Florida Lottery celebrates its 10th anniversary, with a life-to-date total of more than $21 billion in ticket sales, and $8 billion in transfers to the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund.
  • For the first time, the Florida Lottery offers winners a Cash Option (a one-time lump-sum payment) for their jackpot winnings.

1999

The Florida Lottery sets a North American state lottery record for transferring $9 billion to the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund after only 11 years of operation.

2000

May 12
The Florida Lottery becomes the first state lottery to transfer $10 billion (to education) in a 12-year span of operation.

Mar 29
The largest FLORIDA LOTTO® jackpot won by a single winner, an estimated $81.6 million, breaks the previous single-winner record set by Sheelah Ryan, of Winter Springs, who won $55.16 million on September 3, 1988. The ticket was later claimed by Whispering Pines Lottery Trust of New Port Richey.

2001

May 01
In partnership with Universal Studios, the Florida Lottery launches the $1 Scratch-Off game FAME, FORTUNE & ADVENTURE.

Apr 03
The $2 Scratch-Off game, CRUISE & CASH, launches in partnership with Carnival Cruise Lines®.

Feb 08
The HARLEY-DAVIDSON Scratch-Off game launches offering Harley-Davidson motorcycles as prizes.

2002

Jun 25
A transfer of $926 million to the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund, brings life-to-date education contributions to $12 billion. The Florida Lottery reached the $12 billion milestone faster than any other state lottery. This achievement followed a record year of $2,330,365,000 in net ticket sales.

2003

Nov 11
The largest unclaimed FLORIDA LOTTO® jackpot, an estimated $53.7 million, expires after the 180-day redemption deadline. A special one-time deposit was made into the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund in the amount of $30.1 million.

Nov 08
The Florida Lottery launches its first Internet second chance promotion, SHOPPING SPREE CASH, for players purchasing $5 worth of non-winning FLORIDA LOTTO®, MEGA MONEY™, or FANTASY 5™ tickets.

Mar 05
Governor Jeb Bush appoints Rebecca Dirden Mattingly as the fourth Secretary of the Florida Lottery.

Jan 12
The Florida Lottery celebrates its 15th anniversary with $12.50 billion in transfers to the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund and $30 billion in gross tickets sales.

2004

Oct 28
Florida Lottery Secretary Rebecca Dirden Mattingly dedicates a new Florida Lottery Reading Room to participants and families in a Leon County Boys and Girls Club.

Jun 30
Ticket sales for fiscal year 2003-04, exceed $3 billion for the first time in the history of the Florida Lottery.

Jun 29
GOLD RUSH, the first $20 Scratch-Off game, launches and sales exceed $3.7 million in the first week.

2005

Feb 03
The Florida Lottery conducts three days of live drawings held in conjunction with Super Bowl XXXIX in Jacksonville, only three days after launch of the new gaming system.

Jan 31
The Florida Lottery and GTECH Corporation launch the most successful gaming system conversion in lottery history.

Jan 31
The new GROUPER™ playstyle is introduced and produces $1.3 million in sales during the first week of sales, and offers players six plays for $5 – one each of FLORIDA LOTTO, FANTASY 5, MEGA MONEY, CASH 3 and PLAY 4 plus one free ticket, randomly selected from one of these games. GROUPER sales ended on September 8, 2013.

2006

Dec 03
CASH 3™ number 7-7-7 produces 18,542 winners and $4,545,275 in prize payouts in a single day. It also marks the third time this year a triplet CASH 3 number is drawn (9-9-9 drawn in July, 3-3-3 drawn in April).

Jul 03
The Florida Lottery unites with racecar giant International Speedway Corporation to launch its first ever Race for Cash promotion, offering players more than $2 million in prizes and travel packages to NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Race events.

Mar 20
The Florida Lottery introduces an exciting new playing option called EZmatch™ to enhance FANTASY 5™ allowing players to win up to $500 instantly.

Feb 20
Florida Lottery retailers start receiving increased bonus commissions for selling a jackpot or top prize winning FLORIDA LOTTO®, MEGA MONEY™, or FANTASY 5™ ticket.

2007

Jun 30
Timeline event mark Ticket sales for fiscal year 2006-07 exceed $4 billion for the first time in the history of the Florida Lottery.

Jun 13
Governor Charlie Crist signs Senate Bill 1376, granting the Florida Lottery authority to apply for and hold patents for unique lottery games, play styles, methods and systems that are developed by the Lottery's product development specialists.

Mar 05
The Florida Lottery introduces CARS & CASH, a limited-time promotion offering the opportunity to win a total of six $250,000 cash prizes and 42 Ford vehicles.

Jan 02
Governor Charlie Crist appoints Leo DiBenigno as the fifth Secretary of the Florida Lottery.

Jan 01
The Holiday MILLIONAIRE RAFFLE™ drawing takes place on New Year's Day. Ten lucky players receive one million dollars each, the highest number of millionaires in a single drawing in the history of the Florida Lottery. The game, which started Nov. 20, sold out in 11 days.

2008

Jul 02
The Florida Lottery announces it will join the Multi-State Lottery Association and add POWERBALL® to its portfolio of games.

Jun 30
The $5 raffle game Summer Cash™ begins. During the eight-week game period, players have the chance to win one of eight $250,000 prizes, 40 gas-for-life prizes, 400 gas-for-a-year prizes and more than 100,000 instant cash prizes of $25.

May 19
The Florida Lottery adds CASH 3™ and PLAY 4™ add midday draws at 1:30 p.m., offering players two daily chances to play and win!

Mar 02
FLORIDA LOTTO® begins offering $2 and $3 LOTTO PLUS™ tickets, allowing players to add millions more to their jackpot! LOTTO PLUS ended October 11, 2009.

Jan 21
The Florida Lottery's first $30 Scratch-Off game, $600 MILLION HIGH ROLLER, debuts. The game includes 20 top prizes of $1 million and offers winners of the $1,000 and $20,000 prizes a chance to win an additional $20 million in a grand prize drawing.

Jan 12
The Florida Lottery celebrates its 20th anniversary! Events are held in district office locations throughout the state for players to join in the celebration.

2009

Oct 11
The Florida Lottery begins selling FLORIDA LOTTO® with XTRA tickets, allowing players to multiply their non-jackpot cash winnings.

Oct 03
A Florida Lottery player matches all five POWERBALL® numbers plus the Powerball becoming Florida's first POWERBALL jackpot winner. Twelve days later, W. Steemers Trust of Orlando claims the $189 million jackpot, which generated more than $21.7 million for education.

May 27
The Florida Lottery receives legislative budgetary authority to lease 1,000 instant ticket vending machines to be placed in Lottery retailer locations throughout the state.

May 20
The Florida Lottery transfers $97,014,000 to the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund, bringing the Lottery's life-to-date education contributions to more than $20 billion.

Feb 24 
The Florida Lottery launches a new $20 Scratch-Off game, BILLION DOLLAR BLOCKBUSTER, which offers an unprecedented $1 billion in prizes, including 10 instant-win top prizes of $10 million. The game has the highest cash payout of any game in the Lottery's 21-year history.

Jan 04
 The Florida Lottery launches POWERBALL®; first day sales top $1.5 million.

2010

Apr 12
The Florida Lottery opens its new Draw Studio, located at Lottery Headquarters in Tallahassee, FL. The new Draw Studio is home to the FLORIDA LOTTO®, MEGA MONEY™, FANTASY 5™, PLAY 4™ and CASH 3™ game drawings.

Aug 03
The professional football-themed Scratch-Off games, TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS, DOLPHINS and JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS, go on sale. The partnership with these Florida professional football teams is the first of its kind in Florida Lottery history and is the first time a lottery offers games for three state pro football teams at one time.

Aug 23
The 1-OFF™ play style is introduced to CASH 3™, allowing players to miss their numbers by one and still have 26 more chances to win.

Oct 11
The Florida Lottery launches LUCKY LINES™, an instant-win game that offers players the opportunity to win big jackpot prizes without having to wait for a drawing. LUCKY LINES sales ended on May 14, 2013.

2011

Jan 11  
The NBA-themed Scratch-Off games, MIAMI HEAT and ORLANDO MAGIC, go on sale, offering cash prizes of up to $100,000 and an opportunity to enter non-winning tickets in second chance drawings for a chance to win prizes ranging from VIP experiences to playoff fly away trips.

Feb 02  
Governor Rick Scott appoints Cynthia F. O'Connell as the sixth secretary of the Florida Lottery.

Mar 21  
The Florida Lottery launches a new $10 limited-time game, LUCKY 7 RAFFLE™, which offers the best odds ever to win $700,000 and awards more than 777 cash prizes on May 5, 2011. In addition, the first 100,000 LUCKY 7 RAFFLE tickets sold come with a free FLORIDA LOTTO® Quick Pick ticket good for the next available FLORIDA LOTTO drawing.

Dec 24  
A $50 million FLORIDA LOTTO® jackpot is won, marking the 1,000th jackpot-winning ticket in the game's history. The ticket was claimed by Richard McMullen, of Tallahassee. The retailer who sold the winning ticket, Circle K, in Tallahassee, received a $150,000 bonus commission.

2012

Jan 04  
POWERBALL® drawings move from Universal Studios Orlando to the Florida Lottery Draw Studio at Lottery Headquarters in Tallahassee.

Jan 15  
Improvements are made to the multi-state game POWERBALL®, which include bigger starting jackpots, better overall odds and more millionaires. In order to offer these improvements, POWERBALL tickets now cost $2 per play.

Apr 20  
Governor Rick Scott signs HB 843 granting the Lottery the ability to utilize Full Service Vending Machine (FSVM) technology. The 2012 Legislative Budget included an appropriation for an initial 350 FSVM's to be distributed across the state.

Aug 28  
FANTASY 5™ numbers 01-03-05-07-09 produce 98 top prize winners, setting a new record for the most top prize winners in a single draw since the game matrix changed to 5 of 36 in July 2001.

Nov 28  
The Florida Lottery breaks the all-time sales records for daily, weekly and November sales, as a result of the $587.5 million POWERBALL® jackpot, the highest in history.

2013

Jan 07  
The Lottery kicks off the week of its 25th anniversary by unveiling a re-branded, re-imagined Florida Lottery that includes a new logo, a new website and a renewed commitment to raising revenue for education.

Jan 08  
The Florida Lottery partners with the Florida Department of State, VISIT FLORIDA and the University of West Florida to commemorate Florida's 500th anniversary by launching a new $3 Scratch-Off game, FLORIDA TREASURE HUNT.

Mar 25  
The Florida Lottery announces a new milestone of $25 billion in contributions to the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund in 25 years.

May 15  
The Florida Lottery launches the multi-state game, MEGA MILLIONS®.

May 18  
Gloria C. McKenzie, of Zephyrhills, wins the $590.5 million POWERBALL® jackpot, the largest POWERBALL jackpot in history and the largest jackpot ever paid to a sole winner at that time.

Jun 30  
Fiscal year 2012-13 ends with sales of $5 billion, making it the highest sales year in Florida Lottery history. As a result, a record $1.4 billion in revenue was transferred to education.

Sep 09  
JACKPOT COMBO is introduced, offering players the convenience of playing all three big jackpot games in a single transaction. JACKPOT COMBO players receive one $2 POWERBALL®, one $2 FLORIDA LOTTO® with XTRA and one $1 MEGA MILLIONS® Quick Pick ticket for the next available draw date.

Oct 19  
Enhancements are made to the multi-state jackpot game, MEGA MILLIONS, which include bigger starting jackpots that grow faster, better overall odds and more opportunities to become a millionaire.

2014

Jan 19  
POWERBALL® brings back the multiplier, offering Power Play® players who match 5 numbers a $2 million prize and multiplying all other non-jackpot prizes by 2, 3, 4 or 5 times.

Mar 14  
Cobie and Seamus Trust Dated April 21, 2014 became the first MEGA MILLIONS jackpot winners in Florida. The winners split the $414 million jackpot with one other winner in Maryland.

July 2  
The Florida Lottery launches the LUCKY MONEY™ with EZmatch™ Draw game. LUCKY MONEY™ replaced the MEGA MONEY game that ended on July 1, 2014.

2015

Mar 16  
The 1-OFF™ play style is introduced to PLAY 4™, allowing players to miss their numbers by one and still have 81 more chances to win.

Apr 17  
The midday PLAY 4™ winning numbers, 1-1-1-1, produce the highest payout for a single PLAY 4 draw, a record $5,005,025.

Jun 30  
Fiscal year 2014-15 ends with sales of $5.58 billion and $1.5 billion generated for education, marking the fourth consecutive year of record sales.

Oct 04  
Changes are made to POWERBALL® that include better overall odds of winning any prize, an increased third prize of $50,000 and a 10X multiplier being added to the 2X, 3X, 4X and 5X Power Play multiplier numbers available when the advertised jackpot is $150 million or less.

Nov 23  
Governor Rick Scott appoints Tom Delacenserie as the seventh secretary of the Florida Lottery.

2016

Jan 13  
A Florida ticket was one of three nationally to win the world-record $1.58 billion POWERBALL® jackpot. The jackpot prize was claimed by The Nickel 95 Trust. This jackpot rollover series generated more than $114.6 million for Florida's students and schools and created 18 new Florida millionaires.

Jun 30  
Fiscal year 2015-16 ends with sales of over $6 billion and $1.6 billion generated for education, leading to a total of $30 billion in transfers to education since 1988. This marked a fifth consecutive record breaking year for the Florida Lottery.

Aug 01  
The Florida Lottery introduces two new Draw games, PICK 2™ and PICK 5™. CASH 3™ and PLAY 4™ are rebranded to PICK 3™ and PICK 4™ to complete the daily game product line.

2017

Feb 17  
The Florida Lottery joins the multi-state, CASH4LIFE Draw game, offering prizes of $1,000 a Day for life and $1,000 a Week for life, to complement the current product mix.

Apr 3  
The 1-OFF® play style is introduced to PICK 2™ and PICK 5™ , now players can be 1-OFF any of the Pick game winning numbers and have 356 more chances to win.

Jul 10  
Governor Rick Scott appoints Jim Poppell as the eighth secretary of the Florida Lottery.

Sep 01  
The Florida Lottery launches the instant-win game Fast Play.

Oct 28  
Changes are made to MEGA MILLIONS® that include jackpots starting at $40 million; improved overall odds of winning $1 million; an increased third prize of $10,000; and a new matrix of 70 white ball numbers to choose from and 25 Mega Ball numbers. Tickets increase to $2 per play.

JACKPOT COMBO players receive one $2 POWERBALL®, one $2 FLORIDA LOTTO® with XTRA and one $2 MEGA MILLIONS® Quick Pick ticket for the next available draw date.

2018

Jan 1  
The Florida Lottery begins selling FLORIDA LOTTO® with EZmatch™ tickets, allowing players to win up to $500 instantly.

Jan 5  
Shane Missler, 20, of Port Richey, wins the $451 million MEGA MILLIONS® jackpot, becoming Florida's second MEGA MILLIONS jackpot winner and the 4th largest jackpot winner in MEGA MILLIONS history.

Jan 12  
The Florida Lottery celebrates its 30th anniversary by hosting a reception at Headquarters attended by employees, retailers and past secretaries. Featured speakers included a current Bright Futures student, past and present Leon County Teachers of the Year, and the Lottery's first Secretary, Rebecca Hargrove.

Jun 30  
The Lottery continues to celebrate 30 years with more than $6.7 billion in annual sales, for fiscal year 2017-18; the highest in Florida Lottery history. As a result, a record $1.7 billion in revenue was contributed to education.

Aug 05  
Evening draw times for the PICK Daily Games™ moves from 7:57 P.M. to 9:45 P.M. E.T.

2019

Jan 29  
LUCKY MONEY™ Draw game ended.

Jan 30  
The Florida Lottery launches the JACKPOT TRIPLE PLAY with Combo™ Draw game.

July 1  
Drawings for CASH4LIFE® move from Monday and Thursday nights to daily drawings.

Nov 15  
Governor Ron DeSantis appoints Randall Hunt as the ninth secretary of the Florida Lottery.

2020

Oct 8  
The Florida Lottery rebrands its flagship Draw game, FLORIDA LOTTO®, to offer players bigger prizes, better odds, and more ways to win! Enhancements to the game include a multiplier number included on each ticket, a free ticket prize for matching 2 of 6 numbers, set prize amounts for non-jackpot prizes, and a new $1 add-on feature called Double Play. The price of the base game also increases from $1 to $2.

Oct 26  
Governor Ron DeSantis appoints John F. Davis as the tenth secretary of the Florida Lottery.

2021

Jan 18  
The Florida Lottery introduces the FIREBALL add-on feature for all PICK Daily Games™. This enhancement gives players the opportunity to increase their chances of winning by creating more combinations. Once the FIREBALL number is drawn, it can be used to replace any of the numbers drawn, giving players the chance to win prizes of up to $12,000. The FIREBALL add-on doubles the cost of the base game played.

Aug 22  
POWERBALL® draw times move to include Monday drawings. This change also introduces the new $1 add-on feature called Double Play®, giving players the chance to win up to $10 million in an additional drawing held following the POWERBALL drawing, using the same numbers played on their POWERBALL ticket.

2022

Jan 2  
Fast Play Games end.

Jan 3  
The Florida Lottery introduces the CASH POP™ Draw game where matching just one number can win cash prizes of up to $1,250!

Feb 28  
The Florida Lottery's first $50 Scratch-Off game, 500X THE CASH, launches. The game features a top prize of $25 million—the largest ever offered on a Florida Lottery Scratch-Off game!

Aug 1
QUICKTICKET is introduced in the check-out lane at Winn-Dixie®, Harverys®, and Fresco Y Más® supermarkets statewide as a new way to play POWERBALL® and MEGA MILLIONS® Draw games! QUICKTICKET allows players to play pre-printed Quick Pick (QP) POWERBALL and MEGA MILLIONS numbers with the feel of a Scratch-Off ticket!

Nov 8
Florida had 26 winning tickets worth $50,000 to $2 million from the world-record POWERBALL® jackpot drawing held on Monday, November 7. The sole jackpot-winning ticket for the world-record $2.04 billion POWERBALL jackpot was sold in California.

Oct 14
A Florida ticket was one of two nationally to win the $494 million MEGA MILLIONS® jackpot for the October 14, 2022 drawing. The jackpot prize was claimed by Pineapple Trust. This jackpot rollover series generated more than $25 million for Florida's students and schools.

2023

Mar 20
The FANTASY 5® Draw game is rebranded with an updated, modern logo. An additional midday drawing at 1:05 p.m., ET is also added offering players two daily chances to play and win!

Aug 7
The Florida Lottery introduces a new $10 play option to the CASH POP™ Draw game. The match one number and win Draw game now offers BIGGER prizes up to $2,500!

Aug 8
One lucky Florida ticket was the sole winner of the $1.6 billion MEGA MILLIONS® jackpot, marking the largest win in the draw game's history! This series of jackpot rollovers generated more than $73.4 million for education in Florida.

 

Florida Lottery Cornerstones

  • Education

    The Lottery exists to contribute to the success of education in Florida.

  • Responsible gaming

    We’re committed to facilitating knowledgeable, empowered players.

  • Game play

    The Lottery offers the most exciting and engaging games in the industry.

Meet the Secretary

John F. Davis

John F. Davis was appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis to be the Florida Lottery's tenth Secretary on October 26, 2020.

Secretary Davis is an accomplished leader with more than 20 years of service in the public and private sectors. He previously served as the Executive Vice President of the Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce, where he established solid organizational structures that accelerated revenue and growth. He was also the President of the African American Chamber of Commerce of Central Florida, overseeing businesses and organizations in six counties. In 2018, Orlando Magazine named Secretary Davis one of the Top 15 Leaders to Watch.

Prior to his career in the public sector, Secretary Davis co-founded a private business aimed at offering professional training services and youth sports programs. A native of Pahokee, he earned his bachelor's degree in political science from Florida State University, where he was a standout safety for the Seminole football team. Today, Secretary Davis continues to be an active member of his community, volunteering his time with the United Way, Valencia College, Volunteer Florida, and the Kappa Alpha Psi Achievement Foundation.

The Florida Lottery's mission to maximize revenues to enhance education in Florida is something that Secretary Davis holds near and dear to his heart. His previous leadership roles in the greater Orlando community were rooted in supporting youth and students to help them achieve their dreams. Every decision made by the Florida Lottery is done so with the welfare of Florida's students and schools in mind. Over the past 36 years, the Lottery has provided funding for more than 983,000 Bright Futures Scholarships, benefiting students statewide.