Gov. Nathan Deal today announced that the Georgia Lottery Corp. transferred its fiscal year 2018 profits, a total of $1,143,514,000, to the State Treasury’s Lottery for Education Account. This is the largest annual transfer on record, bringing the total funding raised for education programs to more than $19.8 billion during the 25-year history of the Georgia Lottery.

“Since 1993, the Georgia Lottery has funded critical education programs to prepare today’s students to succeed in the workforce of tomorrow,” said Deal. “By providing more than $19.8 billion of total funding for education, the lottery has given millions of our youngest learners a head start in their education while also keeping the best and brightest students in Georgia after high school. With this year’s record-breaking profit transfer, the Georgia Lottery is continuing its exceptional work to help millions of children in Georgia attain a quality education from start to finish for a lifetime of opportunities.”

The Georgia Lottery celebrated its 25th anniversary in June, commemorating 25 years of funding Georgia’s HOPE Scholarship Program, Georgia’s Pre-K Program and capital outlay projects including technological upgrades for schools and universities across the state. More than 1.8 million students have received HOPE and more than 1.6 million 4-year-olds have attended the statewide, voluntary prekindergarten program.

“Our achievements are truly a team effort,” said Georgia Lottery President and CEO Gretchen Corbin. “We are grateful to Gov. Deal and the legislature for their support. I also want to acknowledge our dedicated board of directors, employees, retail partners, business partners, and of course, our players. We remain focused on our mission to maximize revenues for HOPE and Pre-K. We understand that our success means success for Georgia’s students, families and communities.”

Fiscal year 2018 marks the third consecutive year that the Georgia Lottery has surpassed $1 billion in profits for education and the seventh consecutive year of growth in profits for education.