The lottery has been funding education in Virginia for 8 years — this year, $455 million in profits going to the public schools. Now, your losing lottery tickets could end up funding your own college education. In a new innovative twist on the popular Match 3 game, you can enter your non-winning ticket numbers by mail, internet or text message in a sweepstakes drawing for one of 20 $50,000 college scholarships established with the Virginia College Savings Plan.
“Lottery profits benefit Virginia’s K-12 public education,” said Lottery Executive Director Paula I. Otto. “Now, this is a chance for players to help continue their education in college.”
To celebrate the Lottery’s 20th birthday, the Match 3 Scratcher game will premiere at Lottery retailers across the Commonwealth beginning September 18. The game features prizes ranging from $5 all the way up to $20,000. If a ticket does not win one of those prizes, it can be entered in the Birthday Scholarship Sweepstakes.
Since 1999, all Virginia Lottery profits have been designated solely to K-12 public school education in the Commonwealth, covering about 6.5% of its budget annually. In that time, the Lottery has turned over nearly $3.9 billion for Virginia’s public schools. Additionally the Lottery has awarded more than $1 billion in retailer commissions and more than $10.9 billion in prizes to players.
The Literary Fund is also enriched by Lottery operations. All unclaimed Virginia Lottery prizes go to The Literary Fund and used solely for educational purposes, such as school construction, renovation, and teacher retirement funding.
The Lottery transferred $10.7 million to the Literary Fund in Fiscal Year 2007 and more than $166.3 million since its start in 1988.
Birthday Scholarship Sweepstakes instructions can be found at www.valottery.com/birthday.