The Arizona Lottery was voted and approved by a public initiative in November 1980, becoming the first state west of the Mississippi to have a legal, state-administered lottery. The initial approval margin was a slim 51 to 49 percent, subsequent referendums showed high public support. In November 1997, 68 percent of the voters approved to extend the Lottery for five years and, in November 2002, they extended the Lottery for another 10 years with a 73 percent majority.

The first Lottery sales began July 1, 1981, with a single $1 "Scratch It Rich" instant game that sold out in 10 days at 21.4 million tickets! Instant tickets remained the only products sold by the Arizona Lottery until 1984 when the Lottery introduced its first online game, "The Pick" which became an immediate success its sales topped $86.4 million in the first year. Other online additions included Fantasy 5 in 1991, Powerball in 1994 and Pick 3 in 1998. Since it began, the Arizona Lottery has generated more than $5.5 billion in revenues and returned over $1.8 billion in net revenues to the state. For seven consecutive years, sales have topped a quarter of a billion dollars with a record-setting $397.5 million in FY05 and a record return to the state of over $116 million.