Governor Desantis’ Focus on Florida’s Future Budget Supports The Lottery’s Commitment to Innovation and Educational Excellence

2024–25 Budget to Enhance the Lottery’s Educational Impact

TALLAHASSEE – The Florida Lottery (Lottery) commends Governor DeSantis’ Focus on Florida’s Future Budget proposal for its steadfast commitment to advancing the Lottery’s mission of supporting education in Florida. The Focus on Florida’s Future budget includes an additional $10.6 million for the Lottery, offering the chance to strategically allocate resources to key areas, thereby enhancing the Lottery’s impact on education and community progress.

During Fiscal Year 2022–23, the Lottery achieved record-breaking sales of $9.8 billion and contributed $2.4 billion to the state’s Educational Enhancement Trust Fund (EETF). Remarkably, operating costs accounted for less than one percent of revenues, demonstrating the Lottery’s continued commitment to efficiency and placing it among the most efficient lotteries nationwide.

Florida Lottery Secretary John F. Davis complimented the Governor’s forward-thinking vision, stating, “I am deeply honored to serve under Governor DeSantis and advance his mission to make Florida the leader in education. The Governor’s budget reflects a strong commitment to innovation, ensuring the Florida Lottery remains at the forefront of lotteries nationwide.”

In line with the Governor’s vision, the proposed budget allocates substantial resources to propel the Florida Lottery into a new era of efficiency and service.

The Focus on Florida’s Future Budget provides funding for:

Strategic Technology Initiatives

• $2.5 million to harness advanced technology systems to modernize, optimize, and support the Lottery centralized database and ancillary systems.
• $393,000 to install and maintain redundant data circuits at Lottery facilities.
• $300,000 for a case management system for the Lottery’s Division of Security.

Maximizing Ticket Sales and Transfers to Education

• $712,000 to provide up to $5,000 in bonuses annually to high-performing sales representatives that exceed sales projections.
• $580,000 to hire five Sales Representatives to implement a pilot sales project in the Miami district office to increase ticket sales.
• $245,000 to hire three Retailer Contracting Analysts to expedite the onboarding process for new Lottery retailers.

Operational Enhancements

• $400,000 to hire four System Quality Assurance Analysts to optimize the Lottery’s testing and delivery of system enhancements.
• $330,000 to hire two Law Enforcement positions in Miami and Ft. Myers to enhance the delivery of the Division of Security’s services in South Florida.
• $300,000 to hire six OPS-Claims Processing staff in Lottery headquarters to expedite the payment of winning claims.

These investments will solidify the Florida Lottery’s position as a national industry leader. As a self-funded agency, the Lottery remains committed to its legacy of excellence in revenue generation for education through increased sales, while upholding fiscally conservative principles in its operations through technological and operational efficiencies.

ABOUT THE FLORIDA LOTTERY

The Florida Lottery is responsible for contributing more than $46 billion to enhance education and sending more than 983,000 students to college through the Bright Futures Scholarship Program. The Florida Lottery reinvests 99 percent of its revenue into Florida’s economy through prize payouts, commissions to more than 13,500 Lottery retailers, and transfers to education. Since 1988, Florida Lottery games have paid more than $94.2 billion in prizes and made more than 4,000 people millionaires. For more information, please visit www.floridalottery.com.

SOURCE: Florida Lottery.