Georgia lottery sales dip, but a little more goes to HOPE, pre-K

Georgia Lottery ticket sales declined about $29 million during the recently completed fiscal 2017, but the amount of money sent to school programs increased slightly.

The lottery sold $4.218 billion in tickets in fiscal 2017, which ended June 30, compared to $4.247 billion the previous year.

Lottery officials said sales figures in 2016 were helped by a world-record $1.6 billion jackpot and an extra day of sales, since it was a leap year.

Ticket sales have only been down a few years since the games were started in 1993. Ticket sales pay for HOPE scholarships and pre-kindergarten classes.

The lottery transferred $1.101 billion to those programs during fiscal 2017, up slightly from the $1.097 billion going to education the previous year.

For more on whether the slight increase will satisfy state lawmakers, check out our story on myajc.com