Voters Choose Education
Georgia voters approved a constitutional amendment in November 1992 authorizing the creation of a state lottery, with the mandate that proceeds fund education. The first lottery tickets went on sale on June 29, 1993, under Governor Zell Miller, who championed the lottery as the funding mechanism for two landmark programs: the HOPE Scholarship (Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally) and Georgia's universal Pre-K program for four-year-olds. Georgia became the 33rd state to operate a lottery.
The HOPE Scholarship
The HOPE Scholarship has become the defining legacy of the Georgia Lottery. The program provides merit-based tuition assistance to Georgia residents attending in-state public and private colleges. Since its inception, HOPE has served more than 2.25 million students and the lottery has transferred over $30 billion to education programs. The scholarship originally covered full tuition for students maintaining a B average, though requirements and benefit levels have been adjusted over the years. HOPE remains one of the most generous state-funded scholarship programs in the country and has been widely emulated by other states.
Georgia Pre-K
Georgia's lottery-funded Pre-K program, launched in 1995, was the first universal pre-kindergarten program in the United States. Available to all four-year-old Georgia residents regardless of family income, it has served over 1.9 million children. The program is entirely funded by lottery proceeds and operates in both public schools and private childcare centers across the state. It became a national model that influenced the expansion of pre-K programs in other states.
First Online Lottery Sales in the U.S.
In March 2012, Georgia became the first U.S. lottery to sell tickets over the internet, launching online sales for Mega Millions, Powerball, and Fantasy 5 through its iHOPE platform. This was a watershed moment for the U.S. lottery industry, breaking a decades-long assumption that lottery tickets could only be sold at retail. Georgia also launched mobile app sales shortly after. The move opened the door for other states to explore digital sales channels and demonstrated that online lottery could coexist with retail without cannibalizing brick-and-mortar revenue.
Private Management: Allwyn North America
In 2018, Georgia became one of the first U.S. states to hand private-sector management of its lottery to an outside company. The contract went to a consortium that eventually became Allwyn North America (previously known as Camelot Lottery Solutions). Under this arrangement, Allwyn manages the day-to-day operations, technology, and marketing of the Georgia Lottery while the Georgia Lottery Corporation retains regulatory oversight. The private management model was adopted to increase efficiency, drive innovation, and grow revenue for education programs.
Key Milestones
- 1992: Voters approve a constitutional amendment authorizing the Georgia Lottery
- 1993: First tickets sold on June 29; HOPE Scholarship program launches
- 1995: Georgia Pre-K program launches as the first universal pre-K in the U.S.
- 1996: Georgia joins Mega Millions (then called The Big Game) as a founding member
- 2010: Georgia begins cross-selling Powerball
- 2012: Georgia becomes the first U.S. lottery to sell tickets online
- 2018: Private management contract awarded (now Allwyn North America)
- 2026: Millionaire for Life replaces Lucky for Life; cumulative education funding surpasses $30 billion
Georgia's lottery stands as proof that a well-managed state lottery can transform public education funding. For a full breakdown of every current game, see our Georgia Lottery Games Overview, or visit the Georgia lottery dashboard for live results and analysis.
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