Iowa Lottery
Encyclopedia
The Iowa Lottery is run by the government of Iowa
. It is a charter member of, and home to, the Multi-State Lottery Association
(MUSL), which administers its games on behalf of the member lotteries. The Iowa Lottery portfolio includes Mega Millions
, Powerball
, $100,000 Cash Game
, and numerous scratchcard and pull-tab games.
Iowa's Pick 3 and Pick 4 numbers are drawn by the Illinois Lottery
, and are the winning numbers for both lotteries.
The first product sold by the Iowa Lottery was an instant-scratch game called Scratch, Match and Win; players bought more than 6.4 million tickets during its first week.
The Iowa Lottery has raised more than $1.1 billion for programs (reaching $1 billion in March 2006) while awarding more than $2.2 billion in prizes. .
The Lottery sells tickets in three general categories: instant-scratch, pull-tab and online games. Lottery products are sold at more than 2,500 retail locations.
The Iowa Lottery has over 100 employees who work at its headquarters in Des Moines and its regional offices in Council Bluffs, Storm Lake, Mason City, and Cedar Rapids.
Unlike most US lotteries, the minimum age to buy tickets is 21. (Iowa was the first jurisdiction to raise its minimum age for buying tickets from 18, in 1994.)
In September 2007, the Iowa Lottery (along with the Kansas Lottery) began the first US multi-jurisdictional scratch game, Midwest Millions.
Players choose three digits, each from 0 through 9, or let the lottery terminal select them (Easy Pick).
Play types:
Pick 3 players may wager up to 14 consecutive drawings.
Drawings are held Mondays through Saturdays at 12:40 p.m. plus every evening at about 9:20 p.m.
Pick 3 prizes must be claimed within 90 days of the drawing.
Play is similar to Pick 3.
Play types:
Pick 4 players may wager up to 14 consecutive drawings. Drawings are held at the same time as Pick 3.
Pick 4 prizes must be claimed within 90 days of the drawing.
Players choose 5 numbers out of 35, or ask for Easy Pick. Players may wager up to 24 consecutive drawings. Matching all 5 numbers (in any order) wins $100,000. Prizes also awarded for matching 4, 3, or 2 numbers.
Drawings are held at 6:28 p.m. $100,000 Cash Game prizes must be claimed within 90 days of the drawing.
is currently played in lotteries including Iowa's; it is drawn Wednesdays and Saturdays. Hot Lotto draws 5 white numbers from 1 to 39 and 1 orange "Hot Ball" from 1 to 19. The jackpots begin at $1 million and increases by at least $50,000 if there is no top prize winner. Hot Lotto also has an optional feature, Sizzler (which is much like Powerball's PowerPlay); it triples non-jackpot prizes.
began in 1992. Its jackpots began at $20 million. Powerball is drawn Wednesday and Saturday nights.
consortium and MUSL reached an agreement in principle to cross-sell Mega Millions and Powerball in U.S. lottery jurisdictions. On November 16, 2009, the Iowa Lottery Board approved the introduction of Mega Millions to Iowa. Mega Millions sales in Iowa began on January 31, 2010; the first drawing including Iowa was on February 2, 2010.
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
. It is a charter member of, and home to, 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 administers its games on behalf of the member lotteries. The Iowa Lottery portfolio includes Mega Millions
Mega Millions
Mega Millions is a US multi-jurisdictional $1 lottery game. Since it replaced The Big Game in May 2002 , Mega Millions' advertised jackpots have started at $12 million, paid in 26 yearly installments , increasing when there is no jackpot winner...
, 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...
, $100,000 Cash Game
Fantasy 5
The following is a list of lottery games in the United States and Canada in which five regular numbers are drawn from a larger set of numbers. The list includes the name, the number field for each, and the frequency of drawings. All pick-5 games in the U.S...
, and numerous scratchcard and pull-tab games.
Iowa's Pick 3 and Pick 4 numbers are drawn by the Illinois Lottery
Illinois State Lottery
The Illinois Lottery is run by the government of Illinois. The Lottery was founded in 1974, when U.S. lotteries were confined to the Northeast and Midwestern states. Televised drawings are based at the West Bradley Place studios of Chicago's CW affiliate WGN-TV , and occur twice daily, with the...
, and are the winning numbers for both lotteries.
Iowa Lottery history
Legislation creating Iowa's lottery was signed into law in April 1985; the Lottery began sales on August 22, 1985, with a kickoff celebration at the Iowa State Fair.The first product sold by the Iowa Lottery was an instant-scratch game called Scratch, Match and Win; players bought more than 6.4 million tickets during its first week.
The Iowa Lottery has raised more than $1.1 billion for programs (reaching $1 billion in March 2006) while awarding more than $2.2 billion in prizes. .
The Lottery sells tickets in three general categories: instant-scratch, pull-tab and online games. Lottery products are sold at more than 2,500 retail locations.
The Iowa Lottery has over 100 employees who work at its headquarters in Des Moines and its regional offices in Council Bluffs, Storm Lake, Mason City, and Cedar Rapids.
Unlike most US lotteries, the minimum age to buy tickets is 21. (Iowa was the first jurisdiction to raise its minimum age for buying tickets from 18, in 1994.)
In September 2007, the Iowa Lottery (along with the Kansas Lottery) began the first US multi-jurisdictional scratch game, Midwest Millions.
Pick 3
Pick 3 is played 13 times weekly (twice daily except Sundays.) Options and prizes vary. The Iowa Pick 3 numbers are drawn by the Illinois Lottery with drawings telecast on WGN America; the winning results in Illinois are the same in Iowa.Players choose three digits, each from 0 through 9, or let the lottery terminal select them (Easy Pick).
Play types:
- Straight – match all digits in the exact order drawn.
- Box – match all digits in any order.
- Straight/Box – match in exact order to win both wagers; in any order for box payout.
- Front pair – match the first two digits in the exact order drawn.
- Back pair – match the last two digits in the exact order as drawn.
Pick 3 players may wager up to 14 consecutive drawings.
Drawings are held Mondays through Saturdays at 12:40 p.m. plus every evening at about 9:20 p.m.
Pick 3 prizes must be claimed within 90 days of the drawing.
Pick 4
Pick 4 also is drawn 13 times weekly by the Illinois Lottery.Play is similar to Pick 3.
Play types:
- Straight – match all four digits in the exact order as drawn.
- Box – match all four digits in any order.
- Straight/Box – same as Pick 3 except all four digits must match in any order.
- Front pair; back pair – same as in Pick 3.
Pick 4 players may wager up to 14 consecutive drawings. Drawings are held at the same time as Pick 3.
Pick 4 prizes must be claimed within 90 days of the drawing.
$100,000 Cash Game
The $100,000 Cash Game is played Mondays through Saturdays.Players choose 5 numbers out of 35, or ask for Easy Pick. Players may wager up to 24 consecutive drawings. Matching all 5 numbers (in any order) wins $100,000. Prizes also awarded for matching 4, 3, or 2 numbers.
Drawings are held at 6:28 p.m. $100,000 Cash Game prizes must be claimed within 90 days of the drawing.
Hot Lotto
Hot LottoHot Lotto
Hot Lotto is administered by the U.S.' Multi-State Lottery Association , which also operates the Powerball game. Hot Lotto is available in some of the 33 MUSL jurisdictions; Maine is the latest to join, in October 2009. The first drawing was on April 10, 2002 as part of MUSL celebrating the 10th...
is currently played in lotteries including Iowa's; it is drawn Wednesdays and Saturdays. Hot Lotto draws 5 white numbers from 1 to 39 and 1 orange "Hot Ball" from 1 to 19. The jackpots begin at $1 million and increases by at least $50,000 if there is no top prize winner. Hot Lotto also has an optional feature, Sizzler (which is much like Powerball's PowerPlay); it triples non-jackpot prizes.
Powerball
Since 1988, the Iowa Lottery has been a member of MUSL. 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...
began in 1992. Its jackpots began at $20 million. Powerball is drawn Wednesday and Saturday nights.
Mega Millions
On October 13, 2009 the Mega MillionsMega Millions
Mega Millions is a US multi-jurisdictional $1 lottery game. Since it replaced The Big Game in May 2002 , Mega Millions' advertised jackpots have started at $12 million, paid in 26 yearly installments , increasing when there is no jackpot winner...
consortium and MUSL reached an agreement in principle to cross-sell Mega Millions and Powerball in U.S. lottery jurisdictions. On November 16, 2009, the Iowa Lottery Board approved the introduction of Mega Millions to Iowa. Mega Millions sales in Iowa began on January 31, 2010; the first drawing including Iowa was on February 2, 2010.