RICHMOND, Va. — The Virginia Lottery presented Governor Abigail Spanberger with a $914 million check Monday, representing lottery profits from the past year directed to public education.
"These are dollars that are going to public education. They are going to benefit our kids, they're certainly going to benefit our classrooms and importantly, as we continue to invest in Virginia public schools, they benefit Virginia's future," Spanberger said.
The figure marks the Virginia Lottery's second-highest profit year on record and the third consecutive year lottery profits have exceeded $900 million. Players purchased more than $6 billion in lottery tickets during that period.
Online sales alone generated nearly $4 billion for the Virginia Lottery, the strongest performance in the online program's six-year history.
Virginia Lottery spokesperson John Hagerty said the milestone reflects what drives the organization.
"It's the one thing that everyone here at the lottery takes pride in, is the fact that we know all the profits that the lottery raises, goes to K-12 education," Hagerty said.
With 46 states, Washington D.C., the Virgin Islands, and the United Kingdom now participating in games like Powerball, sales are reaching record levels.
Hagerty said big jackpots play a significant role in driving that growth, and witnessing winners claim their prizes never gets old.
"It's pretty amazing when you see someone come into this room who's won a huge jackpot. It's a life changing moment, obviously. I've seen tears, I've seen people whose hands were shaking so they couldn't sign the claim forms. I've seen people who aren't really phased at all," Hagerty said.
Despite long odds, the Virginia Lottery said players won more than $5 billion in prizes over the past year.
With a Powerball drawing Monday night offering a potential jackpot of $905 million, Hagerty offered advice to anyone who might get lucky.
"The first thing you should do before you jump up and down, before you scream and shout, sign the back of the ticket to establish ownership that you are the owner of that ticket," Hagerty said.
The Virginia Lottery encourages all players to play responsibly.
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