The Florida Lottery is undergoing a rebranding change as part of a celebration to mark its 25th anniversary.
“This Saturday, January 12th will mark 25 years since the first lottery ticket went on sale,” said Florida Lottery Secretary Cynthia O' Connell.
And, as part of the silver anniversary, O' Connell says they’re revamping the Lottery’s image with a new logo. The familiar flamingo and sunset logo will be gone, but she says it’s time to bring that flamingo into the 21st century with a modern design. The new brand has been in the works for about a year, and it cost the state about 1-million dollars.
“We believe that this rebrand is going to position us so very effectively for the future," said O' Connell. "It’s a competitive edge for us to take one of the most popular consumer brands, really in the state, and rebrand it into that’s something that will last for the next 25 years.”
At the event to unveil the new brand, O' Connell says changing the logo will provide more chances to win, and ultimately go toward one of the Lottery’s main goals:
“Certainly, $24-billion life to date has gone to education in forms of transfers to the education enhancement trust fund. Last year alone, we transferred 1.31 billion. We’re on track this year to transfer 1.37 billion," said O' Connell.
"We’re doing our job to generate as much money as we possibly can for education. That’s why we’re here! It’s the only reason why the Florida Lottery is in existence: to create funding for education.”
But, while it’s touted as a great contributor to education, critics say the Florida Lottery is just “state-sponsored gambling.” Some, like Republican Representative Erik Fresen, say the state would better be served if there was no lottery. Last year, the lawmaker from Miami tried to pass legislation that he says would mostly regulate the gaming industry, but the effort failed.
“If I could be king for a day and I had a magic wand, I would eliminate all gaming in Florida, starting with what I see is the most predatory form of gaming, and that’s the state-sponsored lottery,” remarked Fresen, in an interview a few months ago.
However, Florida Lottery Secretary O' Connell says erasing the lottery altogether is not what Floridians want.
“What I say is that the citizens in the state of Florida voted for a lottery in an overwhelming majority, and they wanted the lottery to help fund education and we’re doing our job.”
The Florida Lottery’s annual revenue is 4.45 billion dollars. O' Connell says the Florida Lottery prides itself on being self-funded by using no tax dollars to operate.
Meanwhile, the Legislature this year is bringing back a Gaming Committee chaired by Republican Senator Garrett Richter to take an in-depth look at gambling in the state.
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