When Georgia sold its first lottery ticket to then Gov. Zell Miller on June 29, 1993, there were many predictions — some good, some bad and some dire. Twenty-three years later, the program that provides for the state’s pre-kindergarten program and HOPE scholarships for college students is still going strong.
Georgia Governor Nathan Deal recently announced the state lottery raised $1.1 billion on ticket sales of $4.55 billion, beating 2015 profits by more than $117 million. The 23-year-old Georgia lottery finances the state’s pre-kindergarten program and HOPE scholarships for college students, as it has from the outset when then-Governor Zell Miller bought the first lottery ticket on June 29, 1993. Voters had approved it in a statewide referendum on a constitutional amendment in November 1992.
At the time, 35 other states had lotteries and most experienced lower ticket sales following the first year. In those states, lottery money was mixed in with the general fund, and often simply replaced existing education funding. Miller avoided that by specifically designating lottery proceeds for education. Ticket sales in Georgia grew in the second year and still are growing.
Former Georgia Lottery President Rebecca Paul attributes the Lottery’s success to its visibility. “You can’t really go anywhere in Georgia and not see what the lottery has done. You live in a neighborhood where children are in prekindergarten classes or on HOPE scholarships at colleges and technical institutes. You go to your child’s school and see new computers bought by the lottery. So when a Georgia parent goes into a convenience store and puts down a $20 bill for $18 worth of gas, they more than likely will take that extra $2 and buy lottery tickets to support these programs,” she said.
While adjustments were made in 2007, the lottery has continued to grow. In fact, lottery profits grew from $901.3 in 2011 to $1.1 billion In just the past five years, the lottery’s profits have grown from $901.3 million to $1.1 billion today. Deal challenged Lottery President Debbie Alford, when she was hired in 2012, to beat the $1 billion profit mark. Under Alford, the Georgia Lottery started online and instant games, and benefited from huge national lotteries.
Some speculate the lottery’s success may entice lawmakers to consider casino gaming in Atlanta and possibly Savannah. That issue was briefly discussed in the last session, and is expected to come up again in the next one. The gaming industry already has given hundreds of thousands of dollars to candidates and campaigns.
Casino profits would be taxed at 20 percent, which would ease some of the losses casinos would take from the lottery—but not all, and education certainly would be affected.
Another consideration is where to place any new casinos. Bills presented in 2015 included a proposal to divide the state into five zones with two casinos in Atlanta and one each in the other locations. Middle Georgia is a possible casino location, observers said.
