Governor Desantis’ Framework for Freedom Budget Supports The Lottery’s Mission Of Building Brighter Futures For Students

2023-24 Budget Recommendations Strengthen the Lottery’s Commitment to Education

TALLAHASSEE – The Florida Lottery (Lottery) commends Governor DeSantis’ Framework for Freedom budget for continuing to support the Lottery’s mission of generating additional funds to enhance education in Florida. The Governor’s proposed budget invests an additional $13.7 million into the Lottery.

In FY 2021-22, the Lottery reached record sales of $9.3 billion resulting in more than $2.3 billion in contributions to the State’s Educational Enhancement Trust Fund (EETF)—the second consecutive year that education contributions exceeded $2 billion in a single fiscal year. The Lottery was able to achieve this incredible milestone while also remaining one of the most efficient Lottery in the nation, with less than one percent of revenues spent on administrative costs.

“Governor DeSantis’ Framework for Freedom Budget reflects his ongoing pledge to support education in our state and invest in students, educators, families, and communities across Florida,” said Florida Lottery Secretary John F. Davis. “I share the Governor’s desire to ensure that every child is equipped with all they need to achieve an educational pathway to success, and the Framework for Freedom Budget does just this for Florida’s students. The Lottery appreciates the Governor’s noble vision that allows us to focus on our sole mission of enhancing education and, in turn, build brighter tomorrows for today’s students.”

The Framework for Freedom Budget Provides Funding For:

Targeted Staffing and Salary Increases

• $712,000 in salaries and benefits to reward high-performing Sales Representatives to strengthen retention of front-line sales staff.
• $844,000 to employ 25 OPS employees to augment the Lottery’s current FTE resources.
• $670,000 in salaries and benefits for 6 additional full-time positions within the critical Information Technology, Data Security, and Security and Intelligence areas.

Enhancing Lottery Operations

• $640,000 to replace the Lottery’s core data switch.
• $183,000 to support increased operating costs due to rising utility, communication, and janitorial prices.
• $1.6 million to upgrade licenses and implementation costs of current systems due to provider changes; to migrate servers to the Cloud; to conduct a statutorily required security evaluation; and to offset costs due to increases in billing rates required for Draw oversight.
• $770,000 to increase the Lottery’s allocation of funding for technology hardware replacement and to offset leasing increases for the Lottery statewide.
• $390,000 to acquire additional motor vehicles for Lottery staff, including Sales Representatives, as they visit retailers to increase sales.

Vendor Rate Increases Due to Increased Sales

• $3.9 million to support the additional ticket vendor compensation due to the projected increase in Scratch-Off ticket sales based on the July 2022 Revenue Estimating Conference estimates.
• $4 million to support the anticipated increase in expenditures associated with the Lottery’s gaming system vendor based on the July 2022 Revenue Estimating Conference estimates.

Widely recognized as an industry leader nationwide, the Lottery will continue to apply fiscally conservative principles in its daily operations and operate as a self-funded enterprise, generating revenues for education and creating brighter futures for Florida’s students and families.

ABOUT THE FLORIDA LOTTERY

The Florida Lottery is responsible for contributing more than $43 billion to education and sending more than 950,000 students to college through the Bright Futures Scholarship Program. The Florida Lottery reinvests more than 99 percent of its revenue back into Florida’s economy through prize payouts, commissions to more than 13,000 Lottery retailers, and transfers to education. Since 1988, Florida Lottery games have paid more than $85.1 billion in prizes and made more than 3,500 people millionaires. For more information, please visit www.flalottery.com.

SOURCE: Florida Lottery Communications.