News writer
The Kentucky Lottery just hit a new milestone — 36 years of scratch-offs, jackpots, and a mission that's helped fund more than $5 billion in scholarships and grants for Kentucky students. To celebrate, the lottery rolled out a new kind of birthday bash: Fun Friday retail events across the Bluegrass State.
While last year's 35th anniversary was marked with a formal celebration in Frankfort, complete with lawmakers and the governor, this year's festivities focused on reaching the people who make the lottery what it is: the players, retailers, and employees across Kentucky.
Fun Friday promotions
The official birthday for the Kentucky Lottery happened to be on April 4. To celebrate the big day, lottery officials held Fun Friday promotions around the state.
Terry Sebastian, VP of Communications & Public Relations for the Kentucky Lottery, told us:
We kicked off these Fun Friday retail events on Friday, April 4, 2025, across the state to celebrate our retailers and players. Both our sales team and corporate team are partnering for these Fun Friday events.
From local convenience stores to lottery retailers in both rural towns and urban neighborhoods, players were surprised that day with giveaways, promo items, and cheerful visits from lottery staff as part of these Fun Friday events.
The goal? To not only say thank you to the players, but also bring a little excitement to the everyday ticket purchase.
If you missed the Fun Friday celebration, Sebastian said there is still time to participate. He said:
They can join the Kentucky Lottery Fun Club to get email pushes or follow us on social media to see if there's a special retail Fun Friday coming to a store near them.
Kentucky Lottery history
The Kentucky Lottery was established in 1989 and has since become a major part of the state's education funding efforts. Each year, the lottery sends hundreds of millions of dollars into merit—and need-based scholarships and grants, which help Kentuckians afford college and career training programs.
During the 36 years of the Kentucky Lottery, officials have introduced dozens of games. This includes everything from daily draw favorites like Pick 3 and Cash Ball 225 to multi-state draw games like Powerball and Mega Millions.
Of course, scratch-offs continue to be one of the most popular ways Kentuckians try their luck with the lottery. All of this has helped fuel record-breaking revenue for the lottery in recent years.
For fiscal year 2024, the Kentucky Lottery generated over $2 billion in sales. From that, $404 million went to fund scholarships and grants through the state's KEES program, College Access Program, and Work Ready Kentucky Scholarship.
A word from the CEO
The impact of that money is front and center during this birthday celebration.
Kentucky Lottery President and CEO Mary Harville said:
On our 36th birthday, the Kentucky Lottery continues to celebrate our employees, players, and retailers as we all work together to fulfill our mission of funding scholarships and grants for Kentucky students and their families. We have provided more than $5 billion for educational opportunities to more than one million Kentuckians. This is truly something to celebrate, especially as we turn 36.
While the lottery is celebrating the big numbers and the big wins, the Fun Friday events are a chance to reflect on the human side of the lottery. By bringing teams into the lottery retailers and interacting with players face to face, the Kentucky Lottery is reinforcing its connection to local communities and showing how each ticket sold supports a greater cause.
Enjoy playing the Kentucky Lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.
Comments