Timeline

Mission Statement: The Florida Lottery was created to allow the people of the state to benefit from significant additional moneys for education while playing the best lottery games available. The mission of the Florida Lottery is to maximize revenues in a manner consistent with the dignity of the state and the welfare of its citizens.

2023
Mar 20		The FANTASY 5® Draw game is rebranded with an updated, modern logo. An additional midday drawing at 1:05 p.m., ET is also added offering players two daily chances to play and win!
2022
Oct 14		A Florida ticket was one of two nationally to win the $494 million MEGA MILLIONS® jackpot for the October 14, 2022 drawing. The jackpot prize was claimed by Pineapple Trust. This jackpot rollover series generated more than $25 million for Florida's students and schools.
Nov 8		Florida had 26 winning tickets worth $50,000 to $2 million from the world-record POWERBALL® jackpot drawing held on Monday, November 7. The sole jackpot-winning ticket for the world-record $2.04 billion POWERBALL jackpot was sold in California.
Aug 1		QUICKTICKET is introduced in the check-out lane at Winn-Dixie®, Harverys®, and Fresco Y Más® supermarkets statewide as a new way to play POWERBALL® and MEGA MILLIONS® Draw games! QUICKTICKET allows players to play pre-printed Quick Pick (QP) POWERBALL and MEGA MILLIONS numbers with the feel of a Scratch-Off ticket!
Feb 28		The Florida Lottery's first $50 Scratch-Off game, 500X THE CASH, launches. The game features a top prize of $25 million—the largest ever offered on a Florida Lottery Scratch-Off game!
Jan 3		The Florida Lottery introduces the CASH POP™ Draw game where matching just one number can win cash prizes of up to $1,250!
Jan 2		Fast Play Games end.
2021
Aug 22		POWERBALL® draw times move to include Monday drawings. This change also introduces the new $1 add-on feature called Double Play®, giving players the chance to win up to $10 million in an additional drawing held following the POWERBALL drawing, using the same numbers played on their POWERBALL ticket.
Jan 18		The Florida Lottery introduces the FIREBALL add-on feature for all PICK Daily Games™. This enhancement gives players the opportunity to increase their chances of winning by creating more combinations. Once the FIREBALL number is drawn, it can be used to replace any of the numbers drawn, giving players the chance to win prizes of up to $12,000. The FIREBALL add-on doubles the cost of the base game played.
2020
Oct 26		Governor Ron DeSantis appoints John F. Davis as the tenth secretary of the Florida Lottery.
Oct 8		The Florida Lottery rebrands its flagship Draw game, FLORIDA LOTTO®, to offer players bigger prizes, better odds, and more ways to win! Enhancements to the game include a multiplier number included on each ticket, a free ticket prize for matching 2 of 6 numbers, set prize amounts for non-jackpot prizes, and a new $1 add-on feature called Double Play. The price of the base game also increases from $1 to $2.
2019
Nov 15		Governor Ron DeSantis appoints Randall Hunt as the ninth secretary of the Florida Lottery.
July 1		Drawings for CASH4LIFE® move from Monday and Thursday nights to daily drawings.
Jan 30		The Florida Lottery launches the JACKPOT TRIPLE PLAY with Combo™ Draw game.
Jan 29		LUCKY MONEY™ Draw game ended.
2018
Aug 05		Evening draw times for the PICK Daily Games™ moves from 7:57 P.M. to 9:45 P.M. E.T.
Jun 30		The Lottery continues to celebrate 30 years with more than $6.7 billion in annual sales, for fiscal year 2017-18; the highest in Florida Lottery history. As a result, a record $1.7 billion in revenue was contributed to education.
Jan 12		The Florida Lottery celebrates its 30th anniversary by hosting a reception at Headquarters attended by employees, retailers and past secretaries. Featured speakers included a current Bright Futures student, past and present Leon County Teachers of the Year, and the Lottery's first Secretary, Rebecca Hargrove.
Jan 5		Shane Missler, 20, of Port Richey, wins the $451 million MEGA MILLIONS® jackpot, becoming Florida's second MEGA MILLIONS jackpot winner and the 4th largest jackpot winner in MEGA MILLIONS history.
Jan 1		The Florida Lottery begins selling FLORIDA LOTTO® with EZmatch™ tickets, allowing players to win up to $500 instantly.
2017
Oct 28		Changes are made to MEGA MILLIONS® that include jackpots starting at $40 million; improved overall odds of winning $1 million; an increased third prize of $10,000; and a new matrix of 70 white ball numbers to choose from and 25 Mega Ball numbers. Tickets increase to $2 per play.
		JACKPOT COMBO players receive one $2 POWERBALL®, one $2 FLORIDA LOTTO® with XTRA and one $2 MEGA MILLIONS® Quick Pick ticket for the next available draw date.
Sep 01		The Florida Lottery launches the instant-win game Fast Play.
Jul 10		Governor Rick Scott appoints Jim Poppell as the eighth secretary of the Florida Lottery.
Apr 3		The 1-OFF® play style is introduced to PICK 2™ and PICK 5™ , now players can be 1-OFF any of the Pick game winning numbers and have 356 more chances to win.
Feb 17		The Florida Lottery joins the multi-state, CASH4LIFE Draw game, offering prizes of $1,000 a Day for life and $1,000 a Week for life, to complement the current product mix.
2016
Aug 01		The Florida Lottery introduces two new Draw games, PICK 2™ and PICK 5™. CASH 3™ and PLAY 4™ are rebranded to PICK 3™ and PICK 4™ to complete the daily game product line.
Jun 30		Fiscal year 2015-16 ends with sales of over $6 billion and $1.6 billion generated for education, leading to a total of $30 billion in transfers to education since 1988. This marked a fifth consecutive record breaking year for the Florida Lottery.
Jan 13		A Florida ticket was one of three nationally to win the world-record $1.58 billion POWERBALL® jackpot. The jackpot prize was claimed by The Nickel 95 Trust. This jackpot rollover series generated more than $114.6 million for Florida's students and schools and created 18 new Florida millionaires.
2015
Nov 23		Governor Rick Scott appoints Tom Delacenserie as the seventh secretary of the Florida Lottery.
Oct 04		Changes are made to POWERBALL® that include better overall odds of winning any prize, an increased third prize of $50,000 and a 10X multiplier being added to the 2X, 3X, 4X and 5X Power Play multiplier numbers available when the advertised jackpot is $150 million or less.
Jun 30		Fiscal year 2014-15 ends with sales of $5.58 billion and $1.5 billion generated for education, marking the fourth consecutive year of record sales.
Apr 17		The midday PLAY 4™ winning numbers, 1-1-1-1, produce the highest payout for a single PLAY 4 draw, a record $5,005,025.
Mar 16		The 1-OFF™ play style is introduced to PLAY 4™, allowing players to miss their numbers by one and still have 81 more chances to win.
2014
July 2		The Florida Lottery launches the LUCKY MONEY™ with EZmatch™ Draw game. LUCKY MONEY™ replaced the MEGA MONEY game that ended on July 1, 2014.
Mar 14		Cobie and Seamus Trust Dated April 21, 2014 became the first MEGA MILLIONS jackpot winners in Florida. The winners split the $414 million jackpot with one other winner in Maryland.
Jan 19		POWERBALL® brings back the multiplier, offering Power Play® players who match 5 numbers a $2 million prize and multiplying all other non-jackpot prizes by 2, 3, 4 or 5 times.
2013
Oct 19		Enhancements are made to the multi-state jackpot game, MEGA MILLIONS, which include bigger starting jackpots that grow faster, better overall odds and more opportunities to become a millionaire.
Sep 09		JACKPOT COMBO is introduced, offering players the convenience of playing all three big jackpot games in a single transaction. JACKPOT COMBO players receive one $2 POWERBALL®, one $2 FLORIDA LOTTO® with XTRA and one $1 MEGA MILLIONS® Quick Pick ticket for the next available draw date.
Jun 30		Fiscal year 2012-13 ends with sales of $5 billion, making it the highest sales year in Florida Lottery history. As a result, a record $1.4 billion in revenue was transferred to education.
May 18		Gloria C. McKenzie, of Zephyrhills, wins the $590.5 million POWERBALL® jackpot, the largest POWERBALL jackpot in history and the largest jackpot ever paid to a sole winner at that time.
May 15		The Florida Lottery launches the multi-state game, MEGA MILLIONS®.
Mar 25		The Florida Lottery announces a new milestone of $25 billion in contributions to the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund in 25 years.
Jan 08		The Florida Lottery partners with the Florida Department of State, VISIT FLORIDA and the University of West Florida to commemorate Florida's 500th anniversary by launching a new $3 Scratch-Off game, FLORIDA TREASURE HUNT.
Jan 07		The Lottery kicks off the week of its 25th anniversary by unveiling a re-branded, re-imagined Florida Lottery that includes a new logo, a new website and a renewed commitment to raising revenue for education.
2012
Nov 28		The Florida Lottery breaks the all-time sales records for daily, weekly and November sales, as a result of the $587.5 million POWERBALL® jackpot, the highest in history.
Aug 28		FANTASY 5™ numbers 01-03-05-07-09 produce 98 top prize winners, setting a new record for the most top prize winners in a single draw since the game matrix changed to 5 of 36 in July 2001.
Apr 20		Governor Rick Scott signs HB 843 granting the Lottery the ability to utilize Full Service Vending Machine (FSVM) technology. The 2012 Legislative Budget included an appropriation for an initial 350 FSVM's to be distributed across the state.
Jan 15		Improvements are made to the multi-state game POWERBALL®, which include bigger starting jackpots, better overall odds and more millionaires. In order to offer these improvements, POWERBALL tickets now cost $2 per play.
Jan 04		POWERBALL® drawings move from Universal Studios Orlando to the Florida Lottery Draw Studio at Lottery Headquarters in Tallahassee.
2011
Dec 24		A $50 million FLORIDA LOTTO® jackpot is won, marking the 1,000th jackpot-winning ticket in the game's history. The ticket was claimed by Richard McMullen, of Tallahassee. The retailer who sold the winning ticket, Circle K, in Tallahassee, received a $150,000 bonus commission.
Mar 21		The Florida Lottery launches a new $10 limited-time game, LUCKY 7 RAFFLE™, which offers the best odds ever to win $700,000 and awards more than 777 cash prizes on May 5, 2011. In addition, the first 100,000 LUCKY 7 RAFFLE tickets sold come with a free FLORIDA LOTTO® Quick Pick ticket good for the next available FLORIDA LOTTO drawing.
Feb 02		Governor Rick Scott appoints Cynthia F. O'Connell as the sixth secretary of the Florida Lottery.
Jan 11		The NBA-themed Scratch-Off games, MIAMI HEAT and ORLANDO MAGIC, go on sale, offering cash prizes of up to $100,000 and an opportunity to enter non-winning tickets in second chance drawings for a chance to win prizes ranging from VIP experiences to playoff fly away trips.
2010
Oct 11		The Florida Lottery launches LUCKY LINES™, an instant-win game that offers players the opportunity to win big jackpot prizes without having to wait for a drawing. LUCKY LINES sales ended on May 14, 2013.
Aug 23		The 1-OFF™ play style is introduced to CASH 3™, allowing players to miss their numbers by one and still have 26 more chances to win.
Aug 03		The professional football-themed Scratch-Off games, TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS, DOLPHINS and JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS, go on sale. The partnership with these Florida professional football teams is the first of its kind in Florida Lottery history and is the first time a lottery offers games for three state pro football teams at one time.
Apr 12		The Florida Lottery opens its new Draw Studio, located at Lottery Headquarters in Tallahassee, FL. The new Draw Studio is home to the FLORIDA LOTTO®, MEGA MONEY™, FANTASY 5™, PLAY 4™ and CASH 3™ game drawings.
2009
Oct 11		The Florida Lottery begins selling FLORIDA LOTTO® with XTRA tickets, allowing players to multiply their non-jackpot cash winnings.
Oct 03		A Florida Lottery player matches all five POWERBALL® numbers plus the Powerball becoming Florida's first POWERBALL jackpot winner. Twelve days later, W. Steemers Trust of Orlando claims the $189 million jackpot, which generated more than $21.7 million for education.
May 27		The Florida Lottery receives legislative budgetary authority to lease 1,000 instant ticket vending machines to be placed in Lottery retailer locations throughout the state.
May 20		The Florida Lottery transfers $97,014,000 to the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund, bringing the Lottery's life-to-date education contributions to more than $20 billion.
Feb 24		The Florida Lottery launches a new $20 Scratch-Off game, BILLION DOLLAR BLOCKBUSTER, which offers an unprecedented $1 billion in prizes, including 10 instant-win top prizes of $10 million. The game has the highest cash payout of any game in the Lottery's 21-year history.
Jan 04		The Florida Lottery launches POWERBALL®; first day sales top $1.5 million.
2008
Jul 02		The Florida Lottery announces it will join the Multi-State Lottery Association and add POWERBALL® to its portfolio of games.
Jun 30		The $5 raffle game Summer Cash™ begins. During the eight-week game period, players have the chance to win one of eight $250,000 prizes, 40 gas-for-life prizes, 400 gas-for-a-year prizes and more than 100,000 instant cash prizes of $25.
May 19		The Florida Lottery adds CASH 3™ and PLAY 4™ add midday draws at 1:30 p.m., offering players two daily chances to play and win!
Mar 02		FLORIDA LOTTO® begins offering $2 and $3 LOTTO PLUS™ tickets, allowing players to add millions more to their jackpot! LOTTO PLUS ended October 11, 2009.
Jan 21		The Florida Lottery's first $30 Scratch-Off game, $600 MILLION HIGH ROLLER, debuts. The game includes 20 top prizes of $1 million and offers winners of the $1,000 and $20,000 prizes a chance to win an additional $20 million in a grand prize drawing.
Jan 12		The Florida Lottery celebrates its 20th anniversary! Events are held in district office locations throughout the state for players to join in the celebration.
2007
Jun 30		Ticket sales for fiscal year 2006-07 exceed $4 billion for the first time in the history of the Florida Lottery.
Jun 13		Governor Charlie Crist signs Senate Bill 1376, granting the Florida Lottery authority to apply for and hold patents for unique lottery games, play styles, methods and systems that are developed by the Lottery's product development specialists.
Mar 05		The Florida Lottery introduces CARS & CASH, a limited-time promotion offering the opportunity to win a total of six $250,000 cash prizes and 42 Ford vehicles.
Jan 02		Governor Charlie Crist appoints Leo DiBenigno as the fifth Secretary of the Florida Lottery.
Jan 01		The Holiday MILLIONAIRE RAFFLE™ drawing takes place on New Year's Day. Ten lucky players receive one million dollars each, the highest number of millionaires in a single drawing in the history of the Florida Lottery. The game, which started Nov. 20, sold out in 11 days.
2006
Dec 03		CASH 3™ number 7-7-7 produces 18,542 winners and $4,545,275 in prize payouts in a single day. It also marks the third time this year a triplet CASH 3 number is drawn (9-9-9 drawn in July, 3-3-3 drawn in April).
Jul 03		The Florida Lottery unites with racecar giant International Speedway Corporation to launch its first ever Race for Cash promotion, offering players more than $2 million in prizes and travel packages to NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Race events.
Mar 20		The Florida Lottery introduces an exciting new playing option called EZmatch™ to enhance FANTASY 5™ allowing players to win up to $500 instantly.
Feb 20		Florida Lottery retailers start receiving increased bonus commissions for selling a jackpot or top prize winning FLORIDA LOTTO®, MEGA MONEY™, or FANTASY 5™ ticket.
2005
Feb 03		The Florida Lottery conducts three days of live drawings held in conjunction with Super Bowl XXXIX in Jacksonville, only three days after launch of the new gaming system.
Jan 31		The Florida Lottery and GTECH Corporation launch the most successful gaming system conversion in lottery history.
Jan 31		The new GROUPER™ playstyle is introduced and produces $1.3 million in sales during the first week of sales, and offers players six plays for $5 – one each of FLORIDA LOTTO, FANTASY 5, MEGA MONEY, CASH 3 and PLAY 4 plus one free ticket, randomly selected from one of these games. GROUPER sales ended on September 8, 2013.
Jan 31		”STRAIGHT/BOX,” ”COMBO,” and ”FRONT PAIR/MID PAIR/BACK PAIR” play styles are added to PLAY 4, giving players more ways to win. Costs per play vary between $0.50 and $1.00 for ”BOX” and ”PAIR,” and $2.00 and $24.00 for ”COMBO” plays. Advance Play is also extended to 14 days.
2004
Oct 28		Florida Lottery Secretary Rebecca Dirden Mattingly dedicates a new Florida Lottery Reading Room to participants and families in a Leon County Boys and Girls Club.
Jun 30		Ticket sales for fiscal year 2003-04, exceed $3 billion for the first time in the history of the Florida Lottery.
Jun 29		GOLD RUSH, the first $20 Scratch-Off game, launches and sales exceed $3.7 million in the first week.
2003
Nov 11		The largest unclaimed FLORIDA LOTTO® jackpot, an estimated $53.7 million, expires after the 180-day redemption deadline. A special one-time deposit was made into the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund in the amount of $30.1 million.
Nov 08		The Florida Lottery launches its first Internet second chance promotion, SHOPPING SPREE CASH, for players purchasing $5 worth of non-winning FLORIDA LOTTO®, MEGA MONEY™, or FANTASY 5™ tickets.
Mar 05		Governor Jeb Bush appoints Rebecca Dirden Mattingly as the fourth Secretary of the Florida Lottery.
Jan 12		The Florida Lottery celebrates its 15th anniversary with $12.50 billion in transfers to the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund and $30 billion in gross tickets sales.
2002
Jun 25		A transfer of $926 million to the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund, brings life-to-date education contributions to $12 billion. The Florida Lottery reached the $12 billion milestone faster than any other state lottery. This achievement followed a record year of $2,330,365,000 in net ticket sales.
2001
May 01		In partnership with Universal Studios, the Florida Lottery launches the $1 Scratch-Off game FAME, FORTUNE & ADVENTURE.
Apr 03		The $2 Scratch-Off game, CRUISE & CASH, launches in partnership with Carnival Cruise Lines®.
Feb 08		The HARLEY-DAVIDSON Scratch-Off game launches offering Harley-Davidson motorcycles as prizes.
2000
May 12		The Florida Lottery becomes the first state lottery to transfer $10 billion (to education) in a 12-year span of operation.
Mar 29		The largest FLORIDA LOTTO® jackpot won by a single winner, an estimated $81.6 million, breaks the previous single-winner record set by Sheelah Ryan, of Winter Springs, who won $55.16 million on September 3, 1988. The ticket was later claimed by Whispering Pines Lottery Trust of New Port Richey.
1999
Oct 24		The FLORIDA LOTTO® matrix changes from 6 out of 49 to 6 out of 53. A Wednesday drawing is also added.
Jun 17		Governor Jeb Bush appoints David Griffin as the third Secretary of the Florida Lottery.
May 29		MEGA MONEY™ becomes a permanent Florida Lottery Draw Game.
Apr 24		The Florida Lottery begins holding daily drawings for the Draw game FANTASY 5™.
Mar 18		The Florida Lottery sets a North American state lottery record for transferring $9 billion to the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund after only 11 years of operation.
Jan 11		Governor Jeb Bush appoints Miami attorney Sue M. Cobb as Interim Secretary of the Florida Lottery.
1998
Nov 09		The first $5 Scratch-Off game, 12 WAYS TO CELEBRATE, launches.
Oct 21		The Florida Lottery offers winners a Cash Option (a one-time lump-sum payment) for their jackpot winnings.
Feb 18		The Florida Lottery introduces the Draw game, MEGA MONEY™, for a four month trial. MEGA MONEY™ becomes a permanent Florida Lottery Draw game on May 29, 1999. MEGA MONEY sales end on July 1, 2014.
Jan 12		The Florida Lottery celebrates its 10th anniversary, with a life-to-date total of more than $21 billion in ticket sales, and $8 billion in transfers to the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund.
1997
Jul 01		Florida Lottery-funded Bright Futures scholarships are made available for Florida college students.
May 23		Governor Lawton Chiles signs the bill that creates the Florida Lottery-funded Bright Futures Scholarship Program.
Jan 29		The Florida Lottery introduces 500 Instant Ticket Vending Machines (ITVMs) as a pilot program in the Orlando area.
1996
Feb 28		The Florida Lottery awards the first grand prize of $1,000-a-week-for-life in the WIN FOR LIFE Scratch-Off game to Barbara Arens, of Clearwater.
1995
Oct 13		The Florida Lottery's new weekly TV game show, "Flamingo Fortune", airs on 11 television stations statewide. The show enjoys a four-year run, ending on October 17, 1999.
1994
May 24		The Florida Lottery launches its first mail-in promotion, The Great LOTTOMOBILE Giveaway, with 50 Ford Mustang GTs as top prizes.
1993
Sep 27		Tickets for the first $2 Scratch-Off game, BINGO, go on sale and offer a top prize of $10,000.
1992
Mar 02		The COMBO play style is added to CASH 3™, giving players greater flexibility with their number combinations to win a top prize.
1991
Oct 26		The third highest FLORIDA LOTTO® jackpot, estimated at $89.78 million, is shared between six winning tickets.
Jul 04		The Florida Lottery introduces a new Draw game, PLAY 4™.
Jan 08		Governor Lawton Chiles appoints Dr. Marcia Mann as the second Secretary of the Florida Lottery.
1990
Sep 15		Six FLORIDA LOTTO® players split the highest jackpot since start up, an estimated $106.5 million.
Apr 3		The Quick Pick play option is added to Florida Lottery Draw games.
1989
Apr 28		The Florida Lottery launches its third Draw game, FANTASY 5™.
1988
Sep 03		The Florida Lottery sets a world record for the largest jackpot paid to a sole winner. Sheelah Ryan, of Winter Springs, wins the $55.16 million FLORIDA LOTTO® jackpot.
Aug 27		FLORIDA LOTTO® rolls over to an estimated $52 million, setting a national and world record for Lotto jackpots.
May 28		Josie Moore, of Port Charlotte, wins the first FLORIDA LOTTO® jackpot. The estimated $14 million jackpot is paid to Moore in 20 annual installments.
May 07		The first FLORIDA LOTTO® drawing is held in Tallahassee at 11:00 p.m. ET, with an estimated $2 million jackpot. No one selected all six winning numbers, producing the Florida Lottery's first rollover.
Apr 29		The first two Draw games FLORIDA LOTTO® and CASH 3™ debut.
Feb 15		The Florida Lottery makes the first transfer to the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund in the amount of $46.26 million.
Feb 13		Thomas W. Sawyer becomes the first Florida Lottery millionaire when he wins the Million Dollar Grand Prize Drawing held in Clearwater.
Jan 29		The Florida Lottery repays the $15.5 million startup loan, plus interest, to Florida's General Revenue Fund.
Jan 12		Ticket sales begin for the first Scratch-Off game, MILLIONAIRE. During the first 12 days of operation, $95 million in Scratch-Off tickets is sold, breaking the national sales record previously held by the California Lottery.
1987
Jul 16		Governor Martinez appoints Rebecca Paul as the first Secretary of the Florida Lottery.
Jun 04		Governor Bob Martinez signs the Florida Public Education Lottery Act creating a new state agency.
1986
Nov 04		By a two-to-one margin, Florida voters approve a constitutional amendment authorizing the state to operate a lottery for the purpose of generating additional funds for education.