RICHMOND – Governor Glenn Youngkin announced that the Virginia Lottery’s fiscal year 2024 winnings were the largest in the lottery’s 36-year history, totaling more than $934 million used to support public K-12 education in the Commonwealth.
“I am so thrilled that these record winnings will help provide necessary support and resources for Virginia’s students,” Youngkin said. “Approximately 10 percent of Virginia’s K-12 education budget comes from Virginia Lottery winnings, which help fund public schools.”
“The record winnings are a byproduct of the extreme commitment of every Lottery employee to our mission of contributing to our K-12 public schools with every play,” said Lottery CEO Khalid Jones. “We are pleased that the Lottery was able to once again deliver to the Commonwealth, and on an even bigger scale than ever before.”
“Every school district in the Commonwealth benefits from the lottery proceeds fund,” said Secretary of Education Aimee Guidera. “Several important K-12 education programs are supported, and approximately one-third of the profits serve as discretionary funding for each school district to identify its priority needs.”
The record winnings come on the back of record sales of more than $5.5 billion in the fiscal year ended June 30. Participants could play at one of more than 5,300 stores across Virginia or online through the lottery’s mobile app or at valottery.com.
“Virginia businesses that partner with the lottery and sell tickets earned more than $142 million in sales commissions and bonuses in fiscal year 2024, a record amount,” said Ferhan Hamid, chairman of the Virginia Lottery Board. “Customers who buy lottery tickets at retail also tend to make other purchases. The lottery is good for Virginia businesses.”
Of the $5.5 billion in lottery revenue that year, $4.2 billion went back to players in the form of prizes. That means that for every dollar spent on Virginia Lottery, about 77 cents went back to players.
Although the highlights are record sales, winnings and merchant commissions, the lottery also posted record lows in administrative expenses, which accounted for just 3.8 percent of revenue. Those results won’t be official until the auditor completes his audit and certifies the lottery’s final winning numbers later this month.
