Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Monday that the Virginia Lottery ended the 2025 fiscal year (FY25) with its second-highest profit total in the Lottery’s 37-year history. Profits generated by Virginia Lottery games for the year totaled more than $901 million. Under Virginia law, all Lottery profits go to support K-12 public education in the Commonwealth. Today, Lottery Executive Director Khalid Jones presented a ceremonial check to Youngkin.
Image courtesy of Virginia Lottery
Virginia Lottery logo
Of those profits, Alexandria schools saw $4,561,482 and Fairfax County saw $56,082,479.
“This $901 million contribution from Virginia Lottery profits is a powerful testament to our steadfast commitment to investing in the future of every student,” said Youngkin. “Every dollar generated through the Lottery directly supports the teachers, schools, and programs shaping the next generation of Virginians, reinforcing our promise to provide a world-class education. This vital source of funding represents nearly 10 percent of our K-12 education budget to ensure that classrooms across Virginia have the resources they need to foster learning, innovation, and opportunity.”
“This check represents the unwavering commitment of every Lottery employee to our mission of supporting K-12 public education, one play at a time,” Jones said. “We are proud that the Lottery has once again delivered exceptional results for the Commonwealth.”
The $901 million in profits were driven by record total sales of more than $5.7 billion in the fiscal year that ended June 30. A portion of every play, every ticket, is profit, regardless of whether the ticket or play wins a prize. People who chose to play did so at one of more than 5,300 businesses across Virginia, or online through either the Lottery’s mobile app or at valottery.com. Out of that $5.7 billion in sales, $4.5 billion was returned to players as prizes. In other words, for every dollar spent on Virginia Lottery games, about 78 cents went right back to the players.
Virginia’s biggest win of FY25 was a massive Mega Millions jackpot worth an estimated $348 million, which was won by someone who bought their ticket at a convenience store, E & C Mid-Atlantic in Burgess. It is the largest jackpot ever won in Virginia. The store received a $50,000 bonus from the Lottery for selling the winning ticket.
“The profit from our games goes into the state’s Lottery Proceeds Fund, which benefits every school division in the Commonwealth,” Jones said. “The fund supports several essential K-12 education programs, and approximately one-third of the profits allocated to each division is discretionary funding for that division to address their priority needs.”
In addition to profits for schools and prizes for lucky winners, Virginia businesses benefited in FY25. Stores that sell Lottery tickets earned a total of $127.9 million in commissions and bonuses for the year. Many of those retailers are smaller “mom and pop” stores. Research shows that customers who go into a store to buy Lottery tickets, particularly during a high jackpot, typically leave with other purchases as well, which is good for business.
These results are not official until the Auditor of Public Accounts certifies the final Lottery profit figures later this month.
