The Kentucky Lottery was created in December 1988 after a referendum on the issue the previous year passed with 60% of the vote. The Lottery was launched in March 1989 with two instant games, Beginner’s Luck and Kentucky Derby Dreamstakes, costing $1 and $2 respectively. The first day of Kentucky Lottery sales was 4 April 1989, with 5,000 licensed retailers selling more than $5m worth of tickets. The first week of sales generated $27m.

Games offered by the present day Kentucky Lottery include multi-state draws Powerball and Mega Millions, as well as the likes of Pick 3, Pick 4, Cash Ball and Decades of Dollars. Sales for the fiscal year 2012 totalled $823.5m, 59.8% of which was paid back to players as prize money. A total of 28.2% was paid as Dividends to the Commonwealth, while 6.6% went on retailer commissions and 5.4% on ticket costs and operating expenses.

Over $1.5bn generated by the Kentucky Lottery has gone to the state’s General Fund, while additional money has been put towards education, literacy and housing projects over the years, as well as a one-off bonus for Kentucky Vietnam War veterans in the early 1990s.