Senate Bill 2468 - Mississippi Lottery for Education

• Creates a state lottery called the "Mississippi Lottery for Education Act" to be administered by the Mississippi Gaming Commission, with authority to prescribe game types, ticket prices, prize amounts, and drawing procedures.

• Establishes ticket sales age requirement of 18 years or older and allocates lottery proceeds as follows: 45% for prizes, operational costs to the Commission, 4% to participating counties, and remainder to the "Mississippi's Hope Scholarship Trust Fund."

• Creates the Mississippi's Hope Scholarship Trust Fund with investment earnings available for appropriation by the Legislature to fund Hope scholarships for Mississippi students meeting academic and eligibility requirements.

• Awards Hope scholarships covering full tuition (excluding fees and books) to students with 3.0 GPA or higher from high school, GED, or home study programs who attend eligible Mississippi higher education institutions on a full-time basis.

• Exempts state lottery operations from existing gambling prohibitions and eliminates sales tax on lottery ticket sales; modifies various gaming statutes to exclude authorized lottery games from criminal penalties.