HB 92 Summary

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

• Creates the Mississippi Hope Scholarship Trust Fund to receive lottery proceeds after allocating 45% for prizes, up to 0.5% for administrative costs, and 4% to counties where tickets were sold.

• Provides Hope Scholarships to Mississippi students with a 3.0 GPA enrolling full-time at eligible in-state institutions, covering tuition costs and renewable annually if recipients maintain a 3.0 GPA on at least 12 credit hours per term.

• Prohibits ticket sales to persons under 18 years old, though persons 18+ may purchase tickets as gifts for minors; establishes commission authority to license distributors and retailers, with retailers retaining up to 0.5% of proceeds.

• Amends existing gambling and lottery statutes to exempt the authorized state lottery from criminal penalties for illegal lotteries, and clarifies that the Legislature has authority to regulate lotteries as well as gaming.