Georgia Lottery celebrates 30 years of winning big for education

ATLANTA — As of Thursday, lottery tickets will have been being sold in Georgia for the last 30 years.

A statewide referendum passed in 1992, paving the way for the first lottery tickets to be sold on June 29, 1993.

Since then, more than $26.5 billion has been raised to fund educational programs.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

Proceeds from the lottery fund Georgia’s Pre-Kindergarten program and the state’s HOPE Scholarship, which pays a portion of high-achieving college students’ tuition.

“These funds have benefitted more than 2.1 million students through the HOPE Scholarships and grants as well as over two million Pre-K students,” Gov. Brian Kemp said.

Channel 2 Chief Meteorologist Emeritus Glenn Burns was the first host drawing the winning numbers, and he continued making Georgians’ dreams come true for more than 15 years.

Burns and other hosts are sharing their favorite memories and new information about how the lottery is boosting education in Georgia in a Family 2 Family special.

You can watch “Celebrating 30 Years of the Georgia Lottery: A Family 2 Family Special” on Thursday at 8 p.m. on Channel 2.

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]

Celebrating 30 years of Georgia Lottery: Hosts look back at history, helping educate students

©2022 Cox Media Group