Leo DiBenigno was appointed Secretary of the Florida Lottery by Governor Charlie Crist on January 2, 2007. The Florida Lottery announced in July 2008, that Florida would become the 30th state to join the multi-state lottery game, POWERBALL®. In May of 2009, the Florida Lottery achieved another milestone for education by reaching $20 billion in transfers to the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund. In October 2009, DiBenigno was elected by a group of his peers to serve on the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries (NASPL) Executive Committee as Region II Director. NASPL represents 52 lottery organizations in the U.S.A. and Canada.
Secretary DiBenigno previously held three senior executive positions at the Florida Lottery, including Deputy Secretary, Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, and Communications Director. As Deputy Secretary from July 2005 – December 2006, DiBenigno was responsible for Information Technology, Security and Public Affairs and Customer Service. DiBenigno began his tenure at the Florida Lottery in 1999 when he joined the executive team of former Secretary David Griffin, first as the Communications Director and subsequently as Assistant Lottery Secretary for Public Affairs where he directed all of the Lottery's external relations with the news media, customers and the public. He left in April 2002 to accept a political appointment as the Senior Policy Advisor for Western Hemisphere Affairs at the U. S. Department of State. During his service in Washington, D.C., he was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve on a White House task force.
In June 2004, DiBenigno and his family returned to Florida where he accepted the position of Chief Operations Officer for the Florida State Technology Office which coordinated the policy and planning of information technology for state government agencies. He later rejoined the Florida Lottery at the request of former Secretary Rebecca Mattingly to serve as Deputy Secretary.
Secretary DiBenigno is a graduate of the University of Maryland and lives in Tallahassee, Florida.
