Lottery Continues Record Setting Numbers

Continuing to produce record-setting returns, the Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation announced Wednesday strong second quarter results, posting $83.4 million raised for state education programs. This marks an increase of $5.3 million or 6.7 percent, from total sales of $333 million, an increase of $17.9 million over the same period last year. Both figures set Lottery records for the second quarter of the fiscal year, the time period covering Oct. 1, 2012 through Dec. 31, 2012. Sales of instant tickets showed solid growth at 2.5 percent, but the biggest gains were found in sales of drawing-style games, which increased by 19 percent, driven largely by the record $587 million Powerball jackpot in November. More than 600,000 scholarships and grants to in-state educational institutions have been awarded since the Lottery’s inception in 2004, including more than 100,000 recipients during the past academic year alone. Lottery funds are also used to support other education-related activities, such as after-school programs and an ongoing initiative to make schools more energy efficient.