Revenue from the Colorado Lottery has hit the revenue cap for the 2023 fiscal year.

Reaching the cap on March 20 was the earliest date in the 40-year history of the lottery.

The Lottery will allocate more than $75.7 million in proceeds to Great Outdoors Colorado to fund parks, recreation, conservation and open space projects across the state.

“We are thrilled that so many Coloradans enjoy the games offered by the lottery and sold through our network of 3,000 retailers across the state,” said Tom Seaver, director of the Colorado Lottery. “We’re also thrilled that so much funding will be available for GOCO to support their incredible work. This also means the lottery will need to responsibly grow our revenue to ensure support for our other beneficiaries like BEST and the Outdoor Equity Fund. Those funds will only receive lottery revenue after we reach the GOCO cap.”

Seaver said several factors contributed to lottery revenue, including two billion dollar plus jackets for Mega Millions and Powerball, plus a dueling jackpot that reached more than a combined billion dollars. Revenue from scratch products also was a factor.

Next fiscal year, Great Outdoors Colorado will see the largest increase in funding from the Lottery in history due to inflation increases. By state law, the GOCO cap is adjusted annually based on the Consumer Price Index for the Denver metropolitan area for the preceding calendar year.

“Congratulations to Colorado Lottery, its proceeds partners and all Coloradans who will benefit from this awesome achievement,” said Jackie Miller, executive director for GOCO. “We are proud to partner with communities from the Western Slope to the Eastern Plains to invest proceeds in the highest and best uses in our state’s great outdoors.”

Since 1983, the Colorado Lottery has returned more than $4 billion to outdoor projects and schools through Great Outdoors Colorado, the Conservation Trust Fund, Colorado Parks and Wildlife and Building Excellent Schools.

To date, GOCO has invested more than $48.4 million in projects in Mesa County and partnered to conserve 18,284 acres.