NASHVILLE - The Tennessee Education Lottery has closed out its fiscal year with a record total return for education of $286.1 million. This brings the total raised since inception to over $1.2 billion. Gross sales for the fiscal year, which ended June 30, were over $1 billion—gross sales since inception are over $4.39 billion.

“As the Lottery closes out this fiscal year and heads toward its fifth anniversary, it’s a pleasure and a privilege to announce that we have increased our return to education each year since we began,” said Rebecca Hargrove, President and CEO of the Tennessee Lottery.

“I’m looking forward to hearing success stories from some of those who will benefit from the ever-expanding lottery-funded initiatives, such as the Energy Efficient grant program, the Helping Heroes scholarships, and a program that will mean awards for non-traditional students,” said Hargrove.

During the past fiscal year, Lottery funds were used to assist nearly 68,000 students at higher education institutions in the state, another 10,000 students in dual enrollment classes, to fund 257 new Pre-K classes, and to fund grants to 126 after-school programs.

In addition to over $4.39 billion in gross ticket sales since inception, the Lottery reports the following details about activity since ticket sales began on January 20, 2004:

• More than $2.54 billion in prizes won by players, including:
o More than 900 winners of $50,000 or more.
o Of those, 20 were winners of $1 million or more
• Over $286.3 million paid in retailer commissions

Since the Tennessee Lottery began selling tickets on Jan. 20, 2004, it has raised more than $1.2 billion to fund specific education programs, including college scholarships, pre-kindergarten and after-school programs.