Florida Lottery
Encyclopedia
The Florida Lottery is a government-run organization in Florida
, USA. With numerous on-line and scratch-off
games available, players have a wide variety of prize levels to choose from. Since it began, the Florida Lottery has continued to add variety to its portfolio of games. The Lottery has experimented with higher price points, enhanced traditional games, and introduced seasonal promotional games.
The minimum age to purchase a Florida Lottery ticket, regardless of game, is 18.
On January 4, 2009, Florida's first Powerball
tickets were sold, making it the 32nd lottery to join the Multi-State Lottery Association
(MUSL), which includes the District of Columbia
and the U.S. Virgin Islands
. Drawings are held live Wednesdays and Saturdays, usually from Universal Studios
in Orlando.
Webcasts of the Lottery's on-line games are available on the Florida Lottery web site. According to the Florida Lottery, $1.28 billion in proceeds went to Florida schools, about 5% of the education budget in 2008-2009.
voters by a 2-to-1 margin in the general election of November 4, 1986. The point of the Lottery is to give extra funding to Florida education, and it was mandated that a significant proportion of all revenue generated by ticket sales go to the Education Enhancement Trust Fund. The Bright Futures scholarship program is funded by the Florida Lottery.
game with a US$1 million annuity prize. Seventeen days of ticket sales allowed for the Lottery Commission to repay with interest the initial US$15.5 million bond from Florida's General Revenue Fund that got it going.
, won the largest single lottery jackpot in world history to that point, a jackpot of US$55.16 million. She was the 10th Florida Lotto winner. However, the Florida Lotto cash option (see below) was still 10 years away. She died before receiving all her winnings.
for jackpot winners at the time.) That day, the Florida Lottery set a record with US$30 million in revenue from that game alone.
.
, a game show where people who sent in losing Scratch-Off tickets were selected to play for prizes.
was announced as the first winner of the Win for Life $2 scratch-off. She is receiving $1000 per week for life, paid in annual installments of $52,000, with a guarantee of $1 million. (There was no cash option available.)
. The annuity, now optional, was lengthened to 30 annual payments. (Unlike with most other U.S. lotteries, a winner desiring the cash option must claim within 60 days of the drawing, instead of the more usual 60-day period after claiming.)
declined an offer to join Powerball
. Florida does not sell Powerball tickets until 2009.
when the ticket is claimed.
, about a decade after it was originally supposed to be available in Florida. The Powerball game changed to accommodate Florida, which then became the most populous MUSL member. Powerball sales began in Florida on January 4, 2009, for the January 7 drawing, which was the first to be held at Universal Orlando Resort
. Florida became the home base of the Powerball drawing.
. Originally the Program dispersed more than 42,000 scholarships totaling about $70 million. Later, the costs for the scholarship ballooned substantially. The Scholarship currently costs the Lottery’s coffers more than $436.1 million, with about 170,000 students taking advantage of the program.
If the number matched exactly, one would win just $250 instead of $500 for a $1 play and $125 instead of $250 for a 50-cent play. If one of the 1-Off numbers drew, one would win $10 on $1 plays and $5 on 50-cent plays.
In October 2009, the Lotto Xtra option was introduced, replacing Lotto Plus. Players can pay an additional $1 for each game, multiplying non-jackpot winnings by 2x, 3x, 4x, or 5x. Additionally, Lotto Xtra tickets win a free play for matching 2 of 6 numbers.
became available in Florida on January 4, 2009; the first drawing including Florida was on January 7, 2009. Powerball's jackpots currently start at $20 million; it is drawn Wednesday and Saturday nights. As part of Florida joining Powerball; the regular drawing venue was moved from Iowa
to Universal Orlando Resort.
As each ticket is produced the Lottery's computer generates a 7x7 grid with the numbers 1 through 49 arranged in each cell. If the player selected their own numbers the grid will be completely randomized. If the player numbers were quick picked the numbers on the 7x7 grid will be in sequential order to make it easier for players to find their numbers on the grid. Regardless to the method of play, the game odds and dynamic are unchanged. Players are then asked to circle their 7 numbers on the grid and if 3 or more of the numbers for a straight line horizontally, vertically, or diagonally that ticket is a winner. In addition a ticket with no numbers touching is also a winner and will pay double the original ticket cost. Since the grid has all 49 numbers present it is not possible for any player numbers to not be in the grid; all tickets will have all 7 player numbers on the grid. Prizes are awarded for tickets with a single 3 number line, a single 4 number line, two independent 3 number lines, a 5 number line, separate 3 and 4 number lines, 6 numbers in a line, or all 7 numbers in a single line. If all 7 numbers form a line the ticket is a grand prize winner and will pay $400,000 for a $1 bet, $1 million for a $2 bet, $1.6 million for a $3 bet, and $3 million for a $5 bet. All lucky lines prizes are lump sum awards. The odds of wining the top prize is 1:5,368,787. The odds of winning any prize is 1:4.37.
Unlike previous online games, Lucky Lines players do not have to wait till a future drawing to determine if their ticket is a winner making this game very similar to one of the Lottery's scratch off offerings. However, unlike scratch-off tickets where the winning tickets are all predetermined and top prizes may be sold before a player makes their purchase, the Lottery's computer randomly generates all Lucky Line tickets in real time. All Lucky Lines tickets have an equal chance of winning the top prize regardless of what tickets were sold in the past. Because Lucky Lines is an instant win game, tickets cannot be cancelled once purchased.
All Cash 3, Play 4, and Fantasy 5 winners receive their winnings as a one-time, lump-sum payment. Any winnings of less than $600 may be redeemed at an authorized Florida Lottery retailer; higher winnings must be redeemed at a Lottery district office or at Lottery headquarters in Tallahassee. All non-Powerball prizes greater than $250,000, or Powerball prizes more than $1 million, must be redeemed at Florida Lottery headquarters. Mega Money jackpot winners may choose between an annuity of 20 payments that equals the advertised jackpot, or a lump-sum payment, which is about 2/3 of the advertised jackpot, less federal income tax withholding. Florida Lotto jackpot winners may choose between an annuity of 30 payments, or a lump-sum payment, which is about 1/2 of the advertised jackpot less federal income taxes. For both Mega Money and Florida Lotto, the cash option, if desired, must be exercised within 60 days of the applicable drawing. Florida does not collect income tax; however, like all U.S. lottery prizes, they are taxable by the federal government.
Winners of Florida Lottery on-line games (Florida Lotto, Mega Money, Fantasy 5, Play 4, and Cash 3) must claim their prize within 180 days of the applicable drawing. Eighty percent of unclaimed jackpot money is transferred to the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund, while 20 percent of the jackpot is transferred to a prize pool for funding future prizes.
Rolldown: A rolldown occurs when a top prize pool is not won, and that money is redistributed to be shared with those that win a smaller prize. In Mega Money, when a $2 million jackpot is not won, any funds in excess of $2 million are rolled down and added to the pools for all other winners, except players who only matched the "Number
s" (they still get a free ticket). In Fantasy 5, whenever no player matches all five numbers, the top prize pool is added to the second prize pool (correctly matching four numbers.) On September 15, 2008, the Fantasy 5 rolldown was modified; the top prize pool now is added to second prize. However, matching four numbers is capped at $555 per occurrence; in such cases, the third prize (three numbers matched) pool receives the remainder of rolldown funds.
Quick-Pick: Players can fill out a bubble sheet with the numbers for the game they want to play. Another option is called Quick-Pick, which allows the lottery terminal to select numbers for the chosen game. In either case, players can opt for 52 consecutive draws (Advance Play) for Florida Lotto, 30 consecutive draws for Mega Money or Fantasy 5, and 14 consecutive draws for Play 4 or Cash 3. When the Florida Lottery's number games were established, however, quick-picks were not available, nor were Advance Play tickets—all purchasers had to select their own numbers for the next drawing only.
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, USA. With numerous on-line and scratch-off
Scratchcard
A scratchcard is a small card, often made of thin paper-based card for competitions and plastic to conceal PINs, where one or more areas contain concealed information which can...
games available, players have a wide variety of prize levels to choose from. Since it began, the Florida Lottery has continued to add variety to its portfolio of games. The Lottery has experimented with higher price points, enhanced traditional games, and introduced seasonal promotional games.
The minimum age to purchase a Florida Lottery ticket, regardless of game, is 18.
On January 4, 2009, Florida's first Powerball
Powerball
Powerball is an American lottery game sold in 44 jurisdictions as a shared jackpot game. It is coordinated by the Multi-State Lottery Association , a non-profit organization formed by an agreement with lotteries. Powerball is a game whose advertised jackpot starts at $20 million and can roll into...
tickets were sold, making it the 32nd lottery to join the Multi-State Lottery Association
Multi-State Lottery Association
The Multi-State Lottery Association is a non-profit, government-benefit association owned and operated by agreement of its 33 member lotteries MUSL was created to facilitate the operation of multi-jurisdictional lottery games, including Powerball, Mega Millions), video lottery, and instant ...
(MUSL), which includes the District of Columbia
D.C. Lottery
The D.C. Lottery is run by the city of Washington, the US capital. It is a charter member of the Multi-State Lottery Association . Games offered include Powerball, DC Daily 6, DC-5, DC-4, Keno, Mega Millions and numerous scratch tickets.The D.C. Lottery began in 1982...
and the U.S. Virgin Islands
Virgin Islands Lottery (US)
A lottery exists within the United States Virgin Islands, the only US lottery outside the mainland and Puerto Rico. The USVI is a member of the Multi-State Lottery Association . It is the smallest US lottery to offer either Powerball or Mega Millions or scratchcard games...
. Drawings are held live Wednesdays and Saturdays, usually from Universal Studios
Universal Orlando Resort
Universal Orlando Resort is a theme park resort in Orlando, Florida. It is wholly owned by NBCUniversal and its affiliates. The resort consists of two theme parks , Universal CityWalk , and three Loews Hotels...
in Orlando.
Webcasts of the Lottery's on-line games are available on the Florida Lottery web site. According to the Florida Lottery, $1.28 billion in proceeds went to Florida schools, about 5% of the education budget in 2008-2009.
The Beginning
The Florida Lottery began operation on January 12, 1988 by order of a constitutional amendment approved by FloridaFlorida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
voters by a 2-to-1 margin in the general election of November 4, 1986. The point of the Lottery is to give extra funding to Florida education, and it was mandated that a significant proportion of all revenue generated by ticket sales go to the Education Enhancement Trust Fund. The Bright Futures scholarship program is funded by the Florida Lottery.
Millionaire (first Florida Lottery game)
The first game offered by Florida Lottery was Millionaire, a $1 scratch-offScratchcard
A scratchcard is a small card, often made of thin paper-based card for competitions and plastic to conceal PINs, where one or more areas contain concealed information which can...
game with a US$1 million annuity prize. Seventeen days of ticket sales allowed for the Lottery Commission to repay with interest the initial US$15.5 million bond from Florida's General Revenue Fund that got it going.
September 3, 1988
Sheelah Ryan of Winter SpringsWinter Springs, Florida
Winter Springs is a city in Seminole County, Florida, United States. The population was 31,666 at the 2000 census. According to the 2009 Census Bureau estimates, the city has a population of 32,727...
, won the largest single lottery jackpot in world history to that point, a jackpot of US$55.16 million. She was the 10th Florida Lotto winner. However, the Florida Lotto cash option (see below) was still 10 years away. She died before receiving all her winnings.
The first $100 million Florida jackpot
The first US$100 million Florida Lotto jackpot was for the drawing on September 14, 1990. Six tickets split a US$106.5 million jackpot. (There was no cash optionPresent value
Present value, also known as present discounted value, is the value on a given date of a future payment or series of future payments, discounted to reflect the time value of money and other factors such as investment risk...
for jackpot winners at the time.) That day, the Florida Lottery set a record with US$30 million in revenue from that game alone.
Play 4
In 1991, a daily four-number on-line game, Play 4, was introduced on July 4, with a top prize of $5,000.Florida Lotto Month
December 1991 sees the advent of "Florida Lotto Month", where minimum jackpots and rollovers were guaranteed at US$10 million for the Christmas season.Bingo
On September 27, 1993, the first $2 Scratch-Off game, Bingo, was introduced. Through variants, it is the longest-running Scratch-Off game by the Florida Lottery.Winning by mail
On May 22, 1994, the first Florida Lotto mail-in promotion began where losing tickets could be mailed in for a prize. Called the Great LOTTOMOBILE Giveaway, 50 tickets each won their holders a 30th Anniversary 1995 Ford MustangFord Mustang
The Ford Mustang is an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company. It was initially based on the second generation North American Ford Falcon, a compact car. Introduced early on April 17, 1964, as a "1964½" model, the 1965 Mustang was the automaker's most successful launch since the Model A...
.
Flamingo Fortune
In October 1995, the Florida Lottery launched Flamingo FortuneFlamingo Fortune
Flamingo Fortune is an American game show for the Florida Lottery that aired from 1995-1999. It was originally produced by Mark Goodson Productions, at the time also producing game shows for state lotteries alongside his regular game shows...
, a game show where people who sent in losing Scratch-Off tickets were selected to play for prizes.
Win for Life begins
On February 28, 1996, Barbara Arens of ClearwaterClearwater, Florida
Clearwater is a city located in Pinellas County, Florida, US, nearly due west of Tampa and northwest of St. Petersburg. In the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and in the east lies Tampa Bay. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 108,787. It is the county seat of...
was announced as the first winner of the Win for Life $2 scratch-off. She is receiving $1000 per week for life, paid in annual installments of $52,000, with a guarantee of $1 million. (There was no cash option available.)
500th Florida Lotto Drawing
The 500th Florida Lotto drawing occurred on November 29, 1996, with a jackpot of US$26 million. It rolled over twice before being won by PAPI-AMOR Partnership of Lake Worth.10th Anniversary
The Lottery celebrated its 10-year anniversary on January 12, 1998. To that point it had grossed US$21 billion in sales and given US$8 billion to Florida education.Mega Money
On February 25, 199x, Mega Money begins, a four-plus-one numbers drawing game played every Tuesday and Friday with jackpots in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Initially rolled out on an 18-week trial run, it was relaunched on a permanent basis on June 1, 1998.Florida Lottery begins Cash Option
Later in 1998, Florida Lotto began its cash optionPresent value
Present value, also known as present discounted value, is the value on a given date of a future payment or series of future payments, discounted to reflect the time value of money and other factors such as investment risk...
. The annuity, now optional, was lengthened to 30 annual payments. (Unlike with most other U.S. lotteries, a winner desiring the cash option must claim within 60 days of the drawing, instead of the more usual 60-day period after claiming.)
Gov. Jeb Bush declines offer to join Powerball
On February 2, 1999, Florida Governor Jeb BushJeb Bush
John Ellis "Jeb" Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd Governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. He is a prominent member of the Bush family: the second son of former President George H. W. Bush and former First Lady Barbara Bush; the younger brother of former President George W...
declined an offer to join Powerball
Powerball
Powerball is an American lottery game sold in 44 jurisdictions as a shared jackpot game. It is coordinated by the Multi-State Lottery Association , a non-profit organization formed by an agreement with lotteries. Powerball is a game whose advertised jackpot starts at $20 million and can roll into...
. Florida does not sell Powerball tickets until 2009.
Florida Lotto's major changes
On October 24, 1999, Florida Lotto underwent major changes. The matrix increased from 6/49 to 6/53, with Wednesday drawings added. Because of the second weekly drawing, its initial jackpot was reduced to $3 million with lower initial rollovers.Fantasy 5 gets a new look
Fantasy 5's matrix, on July 16, 2001, increased from 5/26 and 5/36. The top prize was changed to a rolldown format.Largest Florida Lottery unclaimed ticket
On September 8, 2003, the largest unclaimed ticket in the Lottery's 15-year history expired after the 180-day deadline with no one claiming the ticket. The Florida Lotto ticket was worth an estimated $53.7 million ($30.1 million cash). Note that while Florida Lotto (and Mega Money beginning in 2004) jackpot winners have 180 days to claim their prizes, if they want to be paid in lump sum, they must claim within 60 days of the drawing, unlike most US lotteries, which start the clockClock
A clock is an instrument used to indicate, keep, and co-ordinate time. The word clock is derived ultimately from the Celtic words clagan and clocca meaning "bell". A silent instrument missing such a mechanism has traditionally been known as a timepiece...
when the ticket is claimed.
Mega Money's changes
On January 28, 2004, Mega Money was revamped. It was changed from a 4/32 + 1/32 matrix to a 4/44 + 1/22 matrix. Also, the jackpot was changed from all-cash to 20 annual payments with cash option.EZmatch added to Fantasy 5
On March 20, 2006 a new play option called EZmatch was added to Fantasy 5. For an extra $1, players can win up to $500 instantly, by matching their Fantasy 5 numbers to the random EZmatch numbers.Florida Lottery announces it is joining Powerball
On July 2, 2008, the Florida Lottery announced it would be joining PowerballPowerball
Powerball is an American lottery game sold in 44 jurisdictions as a shared jackpot game. It is coordinated by the Multi-State Lottery Association , a non-profit organization formed by an agreement with lotteries. Powerball is a game whose advertised jackpot starts at $20 million and can roll into...
, about a decade after it was originally supposed to be available in Florida. The Powerball game changed to accommodate Florida, which then became the most populous MUSL member. Powerball sales began in Florida on January 4, 2009, for the January 7 drawing, which was the first to be held at Universal Orlando Resort
Universal Orlando Resort
Universal Orlando Resort is a theme park resort in Orlando, Florida. It is wholly owned by NBCUniversal and its affiliates. The resort consists of two theme parks , Universal CityWalk , and three Loews Hotels...
. Florida became the home base of the Powerball drawing.
Florida's first Powerball jackpot winner
On October 3, 2009, the Florida Lottery has its first Powerball jackpot winner. The winning ticket was worth $101,160,403.68 cash ($189 million anuitized) and is the largest prize awarded by the Florida Lottery. Dr. William A. Steele claimed the prize, and elected to take the lump sum.Lotto Xtra added
On October 11, 2009, the Florida Lottery introduced Lotto Xtra as an add-on for Florida Lotto. Players may elect to add $1 to the cost of their Florida Lotto ticket and multiply non-jackpot prizes by up to 5x.Lucky Lines Launched
On October 11, 2010, the Florida Lottery introduced Lucky Lines to its online game offerings. Lucky Lines is an instant win game where players elect how much to wager on each ticket from $1, $2, $3, or $5. The Lottery computer then produces a 7x7 grid of numbers from 1 to 49 with the player numbers distributed throughout. If the player's 7 numbers form a straight line that ticket is a grand prize winner and is paid from $400,000 to $3,000,000 depending on the amount of the wager for that ticket. The top prize is always offered as a lump sum. Lesser prizes are offered for lines formed with 3, 4, 5, or 6 numbers as well as tickets where none of the 7 numbers are adjacent to each other. Lines can be diagonal, horizontal, or vertical on the play card.Bright Futures controversy
The Bright Futures Scholarship Program was created in 1997 with revenues generated from the Florida Lottery, and was meant to emulate the Hope ScholarshipHOPE Scholarship
The HOPE Scholarship Program created in 1993 under the supervision of Georgia Governor Zell Miller, is a merit-based higher education scholarship that is funded entirely by revenue from the Georgia Lottery and is administered by the Georgia Student Finance Commission...
. Originally the Program dispersed more than 42,000 scholarships totaling about $70 million. Later, the costs for the scholarship ballooned substantially. The Scholarship currently costs the Lottery’s coffers more than $436.1 million, with about 170,000 students taking advantage of the program.
Instant games
Florida Lottery instant games range in price from $1 to $30, with higher priced tickets typically putting out a higher percentage of sales back into prizes. Payouts range from 58% to almost 77% of sales. Some Florida Lottery agents provide instant ticket vending machines.Cash 3
Cash 3 is drawn every day during a live broadcast at 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time for the midday drawing, and 7:57 p.m. ET for the evening drawing. Three ball machines, each with balls numbered ranging from 0 through 9, are used. One ball is drawn from each machine. Anyone who matches the three numbers (in any order, or only in order, depending on how the numbers were played; Cash 3 and Play 4 offer several different options when playing) they are drawn wins up to $500 on a $1 ticket. On August 23, 2010, Florida added a 1-OFF selection to the Cash 3. This gives the player 26 extra combinations of his/her number in which the digits are 1 up or 1 down.If the number matched exactly, one would win just $250 instead of $500 for a $1 play and $125 instead of $250 for a 50-cent play. If one of the 1-Off numbers drew, one would win $10 on $1 plays and $5 on 50-cent plays.
Play 4
Play 4 is drawn every day during a live broadcast immediately following the Cash 3 drawings. It is played the same way as Cash 3, except four ball machines are used. Anyone who matches the four numbers (in any order, or only in order, depending on how exactly the numbers are played; Cash 3 and Play 4 offer several different options when playing) in exact order wins $5,000 on a $1 wager. More recently, more ways to play involving multiple-number tickets were introduced. See the lottery website for further details.Fantasy 5
Fantasy 5 is drawn every day during a live broadcast at 11:15 p.m. ET. A single ball machine is used with balls numbered from 1 through 36. (Before July 16, 2001, the matrix was 1 through 26, and before 1993, it was 1 through 39). Five balls are drawn from the machine. Anyone who matches all five numbers in any order wins or shares a top prize pool of around $200,000. If no one matches all five, the pool rolls down to the 4-out-of-5 winners. On September 15, 2008, the rolldown feature in Fantasy 5 was modified. See the Rollover and Rolldown section below for more details.Mega Money
Mega Money is drawn each Tuesday and Friday during a live broadcast at 11:15 p.m. ET. Two ball machines are used, one with white balls numbered from 1 through 44 and a second with pink balls numbered from 1 through 22. (Before January 28, 2004, each machine contained 32 balls.) Four balls are drawn from the "white" machine, and one number (called the "Mega Ball") is drawn from the "pink" machine. Anyone who matches all four white numbers in any order plus the Mega Ball wins or shares the jackpot. The jackpot begins at $500,000 (annuity). If not won, the jackpot increases until it reaches $2 million, where it is capped. Any excess funds roll down to the lower prize levels. Unlike the original version of Mega Money, which was all-cash, jackpot winners desiring the lump sum must claim their prize within 60 days of the drawing.Florida Lotto
Florida Lotto is drawn each Wednesday and Saturday during a live broadcast at 11:15 p.m. ET. A single ball machine is used with numbered balls ranging from 1 through 53 (before October 24, 1999, there were 49 balls). Anyone who matches all six numbers in any order wins or shares the jackpot.In October 2009, the Lotto Xtra option was introduced, replacing Lotto Plus. Players can pay an additional $1 for each game, multiplying non-jackpot winnings by 2x, 3x, 4x, or 5x. Additionally, Lotto Xtra tickets win a free play for matching 2 of 6 numbers.
Powerball (multi-lottery game)
PowerballPowerball
Powerball is an American lottery game sold in 44 jurisdictions as a shared jackpot game. It is coordinated by the Multi-State Lottery Association , a non-profit organization formed by an agreement with lotteries. Powerball is a game whose advertised jackpot starts at $20 million and can roll into...
became available in Florida on January 4, 2009; the first drawing including Florida was on January 7, 2009. Powerball's jackpots currently start at $20 million; it is drawn Wednesday and Saturday nights. As part of Florida joining Powerball; the regular drawing venue was moved from Iowa
Iowa Lottery
The Iowa Lottery is run by the government of Iowa. It is a charter member of, and home to, the Multi-State Lottery Association , which administers its games on behalf of the member lotteries...
to Universal Orlando Resort.
Lucky Lines (Instant game)
Lucky Lines tickets went on sale on October 11, 2010. Players who wish to purchase this game must make two selections when they buy their tickets. First they must choose how much to pay for each ticket, either $1, $2, $3, or $5 and secondly they must determine if they wish to select a set of 7 numbers between 1 and 49 or let the computer select (Quick Pick) the numbers for them. Like previous online games players may mark their selections on a Lucky Lines play slip or verbally give their instructions to the Lottery Terminal operator. Unlike other Lottery online games players may not have a partial quick pick ticket. Players must either select all 7 numbers, or have the computer quick pick all numbers.As each ticket is produced the Lottery's computer generates a 7x7 grid with the numbers 1 through 49 arranged in each cell. If the player selected their own numbers the grid will be completely randomized. If the player numbers were quick picked the numbers on the 7x7 grid will be in sequential order to make it easier for players to find their numbers on the grid. Regardless to the method of play, the game odds and dynamic are unchanged. Players are then asked to circle their 7 numbers on the grid and if 3 or more of the numbers for a straight line horizontally, vertically, or diagonally that ticket is a winner. In addition a ticket with no numbers touching is also a winner and will pay double the original ticket cost. Since the grid has all 49 numbers present it is not possible for any player numbers to not be in the grid; all tickets will have all 7 player numbers on the grid. Prizes are awarded for tickets with a single 3 number line, a single 4 number line, two independent 3 number lines, a 5 number line, separate 3 and 4 number lines, 6 numbers in a line, or all 7 numbers in a single line. If all 7 numbers form a line the ticket is a grand prize winner and will pay $400,000 for a $1 bet, $1 million for a $2 bet, $1.6 million for a $3 bet, and $3 million for a $5 bet. All lucky lines prizes are lump sum awards. The odds of wining the top prize is 1:5,368,787. The odds of winning any prize is 1:4.37.
Unlike previous online games, Lucky Lines players do not have to wait till a future drawing to determine if their ticket is a winner making this game very similar to one of the Lottery's scratch off offerings. However, unlike scratch-off tickets where the winning tickets are all predetermined and top prizes may be sold before a player makes their purchase, the Lottery's computer randomly generates all Lucky Line tickets in real time. All Lucky Lines tickets have an equal chance of winning the top prize regardless of what tickets were sold in the past. Because Lucky Lines is an instant win game, tickets cannot be cancelled once purchased.
Other Florida Lottery Information
Though the Florida Lottery’s expenses and payouts vary from year to year, approximately 50 to 60 percent of its net revenue makes up the games’ prize pools, 30 to 40 percent is transferred to the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund, 6 percent is paid to retailers in the form of commissions, 2 percent is paid to the Lottery’s on-line and Scratch-Off ticket vendors, and the remaining 2 percent covers operational costs, including advertising.All Cash 3, Play 4, and Fantasy 5 winners receive their winnings as a one-time, lump-sum payment. Any winnings of less than $600 may be redeemed at an authorized Florida Lottery retailer; higher winnings must be redeemed at a Lottery district office or at Lottery headquarters in Tallahassee. All non-Powerball prizes greater than $250,000, or Powerball prizes more than $1 million, must be redeemed at Florida Lottery headquarters. Mega Money jackpot winners may choose between an annuity of 20 payments that equals the advertised jackpot, or a lump-sum payment, which is about 2/3 of the advertised jackpot, less federal income tax withholding. Florida Lotto jackpot winners may choose between an annuity of 30 payments, or a lump-sum payment, which is about 1/2 of the advertised jackpot less federal income taxes. For both Mega Money and Florida Lotto, the cash option, if desired, must be exercised within 60 days of the applicable drawing. Florida does not collect income tax; however, like all U.S. lottery prizes, they are taxable by the federal government.
Winners of Florida Lottery on-line games (Florida Lotto, Mega Money, Fantasy 5, Play 4, and Cash 3) must claim their prize within 180 days of the applicable drawing. Eighty percent of unclaimed jackpot money is transferred to the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund, while 20 percent of the jackpot is transferred to a prize pool for funding future prizes.
Rollover, Rolldown, and "Quick Pick"
Rollover: A rollover occurs when a jackpot is not won; it is carried over to that game's next drawing. Powerball, Lotto, and Mega Money both use rollovers to increase their jackpots when no one wins a drawing. Mega Money has a $2 million jackpot cap, after which any money in excess must roll down. Florida Lotto does not have a jackpot cap and can roll over as long as no one matches all six numbers. Powerball has a $25 million cap on the rollover when the estimated jackpot hits new records levels with excees accumulations paid to the 5+0 winners when the jackpot it hit.Rolldown: A rolldown occurs when a top prize pool is not won, and that money is redistributed to be shared with those that win a smaller prize. In Mega Money, when a $2 million jackpot is not won, any funds in excess of $2 million are rolled down and added to the pools for all other winners, except players who only matched the "Number
Number
A number is a mathematical object used to count and measure. In mathematics, the definition of number has been extended over the years to include such numbers as zero, negative numbers, rational numbers, irrational numbers, and complex numbers....
s" (they still get a free ticket). In Fantasy 5, whenever no player matches all five numbers, the top prize pool is added to the second prize pool (correctly matching four numbers.) On September 15, 2008, the Fantasy 5 rolldown was modified; the top prize pool now is added to second prize. However, matching four numbers is capped at $555 per occurrence; in such cases, the third prize (three numbers matched) pool receives the remainder of rolldown funds.
Quick-Pick: Players can fill out a bubble sheet with the numbers for the game they want to play. Another option is called Quick-Pick, which allows the lottery terminal to select numbers for the chosen game. In either case, players can opt for 52 consecutive draws (Advance Play) for Florida Lotto, 30 consecutive draws for Mega Money or Fantasy 5, and 14 consecutive draws for Play 4 or Cash 3. When the Florida Lottery's number games were established, however, quick-picks were not available, nor were Advance Play tickets—all purchasers had to select their own numbers for the next drawing only.
See also
- Florida LottoFlorida LottoFlorida Lotto is a popular draw game offered by the Florida Lottery. It was the last US jackpot lottery game not to directly compete with a multi-jurisdictional lottery until the Florida Lottery joined Powerball on January 4, 2009....
- Bright Futures Scholarship ProgramBright Futures Scholarship ProgramBright Futures is the name of a scholarship program in the state of Florida. It is funded by the Florida Lottery and was first started in 1997.-Program:...
- MUSLMulti-State Lottery AssociationThe Multi-State Lottery Association is a non-profit, government-benefit association owned and operated by agreement of its 33 member lotteries MUSL was created to facilitate the operation of multi-jurisdictional lottery games, including Powerball, Mega Millions), video lottery, and instant ...
- PowerballPowerballPowerball is an American lottery game sold in 44 jurisdictions as a shared jackpot game. It is coordinated by the Multi-State Lottery Association , a non-profit organization formed by an agreement with lotteries. Powerball is a game whose advertised jackpot starts at $20 million and can roll into...
- Lotteries in the United StatesLotteries in the United StatesLotteries in the United States are run by 46 jurisdictions; 43 states, plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands.In the US, the lottery is subject to the laws of each jurisdiction; there is no national lottery.- History :...