Lottery Questions & Answers

A: No, even if we just consider the awarding of large jackpots. In 1996, 1,136 people won $1 million or more playing North American lotteries. An additional 4,520 won $100,000 or more. By contrast, 91 people were killed by lightning.

In addition, there’s no second prize in a lightning strike. In a lottery, you win lesser amounts of money by coming close to the winning numbers. In many games, odds of 1 in 5 or 1 in 4 are not uncommon. Lotteries award over $50 million in prizes in North America every day. Lightning isn’t nearly that productive.

Q: Can I purchase lottery tickets from a retailer with a check, check card or debit card?

A: Yes, if the retailer allows it. Minnesota Rule 7856.4010, subpart 16, permits retailers to accept coin, currency, money orders and checks for the payment of lottery tickets. Also, since the use of a check or debit card is the same as a check, the use of those cards are also permitted.

While a lottery retailer may accept a check or a check card for the payment of lottery tickets, the retailer is not required to do so. The Lottery does not require a retailer to accept a check or a check card for the payment of lottery tickets. In other words, a retailer is permitted to have a policy that they will not accept checks or credit cards for the purchase of lottery tickets.

Q: If I die before I receive all the payments from a Lottery prize, like the Powerball jackpot, will my heirs receive the rest of my prize money?

A: Yes. Payments continue to the winner's estate until exhausted. The Lottery also permits the estate to request that all remaining payments be paid immediately to the estate. This permits the estate to pay inheritance taxes immediately, avoiding any penalties, and to distribute the remainder to the heirs. The amount of the payment will be based on the present value of the securities being held by the Lottery. Then, of course, no more payments exist.

There also may be certain lifetime prizes in the Lottery. These usually have a guaranteed minimum number of payments. If the winner dies before the minimum number of payments, payments continue until the minimum is reached.

Q: Can lottery tickets be purchased through the mail?

A: No, Minnesota State Lottery tickets may only be purchased at a retailer under contract with the Lottery or at a Lottery office.

Q: Where do Lottery proceeds go?

A: The state constitution and law determines the distribution of Lottery proceeds. Currently, the state General Fund receives 60 percent of proceeds. The remaining 40 percent of proceeds goes to the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund. In addition, the first 6.5 percent of Lottery sales (in-lieu-of-sales tax) is used for various natural resources programs and the General Fund.

Q: How can I get funding through the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund?

A: Each year, the Legislative Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources accepts proposals for environmental projects. Five senators, five representatives, and seven private citizens make up the commission. More information on the LCCMR can be found at the LCCMR Web site.

Q: Does Minnesota share Powerball money with other states?

A: The only money that is shared in Powerball is the prize money paid to jackpot prize winners-- 58 percent of the prize pool (29 percent of sales). The rest of the revenue from tickets purchased in Minnesota stays in Minnesota.

Q: Is the payout for scratch tickets less than when the Lottery first started?

A: When the Lottery started, instant games paid out 60 percent. Depending on the game, Scratch Games now pay out between 64 percent and 70 percent. Minnesota state law now requires the Scratch Games to have a minimum payout of 60 percent of ticket sales.

Q: If I buy a quick-pick ticket, can anyone else get those numbers?

A: Yes, more than one person can receive the same quick-pick numbers. Quick-picks are randomly generated by the terminal at the retailer and there is no central computer that is controlling their generation.

Q: Why is it that with odds of about 1 in 4, I can sometimes buy 10 tickets in a row and not get a winner?

A: Stated odds are based on the entire game. While the Lottery provides that the program that randomly inserts winning plays into the ticket-printing process limits the strings of nonwinning tickets, it is possible to have several winning tickets, or none, in a string of 10. The Lottery does not know where winning tickets are placed. The program that determines random placement is audited.

Q: Can I purchase Lottery tickets on the Internet? Will this ever be an option?

A: No, you cannot purchase Minnesota State Lottery tickets on the Internet. The Lottery has no intention at this time of permitting sales via the Internet.

Q: Would it be possible to post the winning Powerball numbers in the order that they are drawn instead of numerical order?

A: The tickets are always printed in ascending sequence, so providing the winning numbers in ascending sequence makes the tickets easier to check.

The order drawn is not a significant event but you can check winning numbers either by ascending sequence or drawn order at the Multi-State Lottery Association's Web site.

Q: What states participate in Powerball? Have any states ever dropped out?

A: Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Washington D.C., Delaware, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Georgia and Maine are the only states to drop out of Powerball although Maine later rejoined the group.

Q: There are 42 red Powerballs so why aren't the odds of getting the Powerball 1 in 42 instead of 1 in 70.4 as shown on the "How to Play Powerball" page?

A: This is one of our most frequently asked questions. You need to also consider the odds of getting at least one of the white numbers correct, in looking at the odds of getting only the Powerball.

Q: The Powerball annuity payment is approximately twice the estimated cash jackpot amount. If you select the cash amount, on what amount do you pay taxes?

A: You are taxed on the dollar amount that you are paid, at the time it is paid to you. If you choose the cash option, since you are paid one lump sum all at once, you would pay taxes at that time on the total lump sum. However, if you choose the annuity option, you would pay taxes each year on the amount you receive that year.

Q: How can I find out about unclaimed prizes for games like Powerball, Gopher 5, Northstar Cash, Hot Lotto and the Scratch Games?

A: We try to update our list of unclaimed prizes at least once every weekday. You can see which games have prizes remaining at our Unclaimed Prizes page on this site.

Q: We have a serious discussion at work as to whether the odds of winning the Powerball increase, decrease or remain the same depending on how many tickets are sold. Which is it?

A: It makes absolutely no difference how many tickets are sold or how many states play the game. You are always playing against the numbers we draw. In Powerball, we always draw the white numbers from a field of 55 and the Powerball from a field of 42.

The only impact increased sales would have on your odds is that the more tickets that are sold the better the odds that you might have to share the jackpot with another player (assuming you won).

Q: Have you ever considered having a subscription for Powerball or Gopher 5? In some states you can buy a year's worth of tickets at once.

A: We have considered, but not implemented, what is called in the industry "subscription play" for two reasons:

It is difficult to build in the age restrictions that we are required to follow.

It is counter-productive for our retailer partners. They want the regular traffic that being a Lottery retailer provides.

Q: How are quick-pick tickets generated for games like Powerball? Is it in the local store terminal or a host computer? How many host computers are there?

A: The quick-pick algorithm resides in the store's terminal. Each time it is seeded with several randomizer keys based on time and previous terminal activity.

Q: Where is the Powerball prize money kept until it is paid out? Is there any chance that something could happen to it before the 30-year payout period ends?

A: The next business day after a win after a player elects to receive the Powerball prize over 30 years, guaranteed government backed securities are purchased to fund the 30-year liability.

Q: Are there any statistics regarding which picking techniques are winners? Do quick-picks win more often than hand-picked numbers?

A: The percentage of quick-picks varies a great deal from game to game and also with the size of the jackpot. In Powerball, the quick-pick percentage normally runs about 70 percent, and about 70 percent of the winners are quick-pick players.

The bottom line is that how you pick your numbers has absolutely nothing to do with being a winner. The numbers 1-2-3-4-5*6 have exactly the same chance of winning as any other set of six numbers. The only thing is, if you pick your own numbers, and you base them on something logical, artificial or limiting (like dates), you are more likely to have to split the pari-mutuel jackpot prize because others may be using the same numbers. The most commonly played number combination is 7-14-21-28-35*42. If you won with that number, you would share the jackpot with many, many other players.

Q: If I should win the jackpot, do I have the option of remaining anonymous as far as the public and the media are concerned?

A: Minnesota state law provides that your name, city of residence, and the amount of the prize is public information and the Lottery will release that information. Your street address and phone number are private and will not be released by the Lottery.

Q: Can a Canadian purchase Minnesota State Lottery tickets? If the Canadian was a winner, how would the payment be made and how are the taxes paid?

A: Yes, a Canadian (or any other non-Minnesotan of legal age) may play our Lottery. However, all players must purchase their tickets in person from an authorized Lottery retailer physically located in Minnesota.

For non-resident aliens, we are required to withhold federal taxes of 30 percent for any prize paid. We are required to withhold state taxes of 7.25 percent for any prize over $5,000. Prize money in Minnesota (and most of the United States) is treated just like wages, so the ultimate tax liability may vary based on the winner's tax status.

Q: Is Powerball in Minnesota played the same way as in other states like Wisconsin and Iowa?

A: Minnesota and 29 other lotteries offer Powerball and it is played exactly the same in each state.

Q: What happens to all the prize money when someone forgets to cash a winning ticket?

A: It is different in each state. In Minnesota, all of the unclaimed prize money goes to the state General Fund.

The answer is different for Powerball and Hot Lotto jackpots. The jackpots for these games would go back to the participating states based on their percentage of sales that contributed to the prize fund.

Q: Who decides how much the Powerball jackpot should be and how is it figured?

A: It is a percentage of the sales for each individual drawing. Fifty percent of the ticket sales goes to the entire prize pool. From the prize pool, 58.3884 percent funds the jackpot prize.

In addition, game rules specify that the minimum jackpot prize in Powerball will be $15 million and the minimum increase from draw to draw will be $2 million. If the jackpot is won while these minimums are in effect, we may pay the prize out of a reserve account that we have set up and funded just for that purpose.

Q: Where does the Lottery money go? What specific projects does it fund?

A: Sixty percent of the net proceeds goes into the state General Fund. The General Fund is the money that the state Legislature uses to appropriate money for the operation of all state government and the funding of education.

The other 40 percent of net proceeds goes to the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund, which finances environmental and natural resources projects across the entire state. For more information on specific projects, see our ETF section on this Web site.

A 6.5 percent in-lieu-of-sales tax is used for a variety of natural resources programs including fish and game, parks, trails, and zoos. The General Fund also receives a portion of this money.

Q: Why isn't there a better payback on low-end winners (especially for Online Games)?

A: The games are designed by the Lottery to pay a specific percentage of prizes and provide a specific occurrence of winning. Game design is a matter of balancing the amount of prize money that is going to be committed to the jackpot prize and then the rest is allocated to the lower set prizes. The more you allocate to the set prizes the smaller the jackpot will be and the slower it will grow.

These decisions are simply professional judgment calls based on industry information and market appeal.

Q: Everyone gets so excited when the Powerball jackpot goes way up to the multi-millions of dollars. Why not pay 50 winners $1 million each instead of $50 million to one winner?

A: Seems like a great idea, but the fact of the matter is people want to play for the big jackpots. Sales at the $200 million jackpot level are 10 times what they are at the $15 million jackpot level.

We also have no control over what combinations players select. It is possible to have none, one or many winners on any given set of numbers.

Q: Why does the Lottery only release the county where a winning jackpot ticket was sold and not the name of the retailer before the winner comes forward?

A: We do not release the retailer name and city where the winning ticket was sold until the ticket is presented and validated because this retailer information is an important part of the jackpot validation security procedures. Check our Unclaimed Prizes page for winning tickets that have not yet been claimed along with the counties where they were sold.

Q: Why does it seem like all the major prize winners are in the Twin Cities metro area?

A: It certainly is not true that all major winners are from the metro area. An analysis of winner location reflects proportionate sales volumes across the state.

Q: I'm in a Lottery pool at work. How many people can go together to claim a winning lottery prize?

A: There is no specific limit to the number of people in a pool that can claim a prize. When a group claims a prize, they must complete a prize sharing agreement. Prize sharing agreements may be found here on the Lottery’s web site. Each person in the group must also submit a claim form to the Lottery. If the prize being claimed is from a Scratch Ticket and the prize is $30,000 or more, or the prize is a jackpot prize from Powerball, Gopher 5, Hot Lotto, or Northstar Cash, or the prize is a match 5 prize from Powerball, each person in the group will receive a separate check. For all other prizes, the total prize will be paid to one person in the group.

Q: Why isn't there a Lottery office in Rochester or Mankato?

A: The Lottery determined that there would be four regional offices which were placed geographically to permit player access and to serve the needs of retailers and employees in distributing materials.

Q: What is the cutoff time to buy tickets for each night’s drawing?

A: For Powerball and Hot Lotto, you must purchase tickets for Wednesday and Saturday’s drawings before 9:00 p.m. for that day’s drawing. Gopher 5 tickets must be purchased before 6:10 p.m. for Tuesday and Friday evening drawings. Northstar Cash and Daily 3 tickets must be purchased before 6:10 p.m. for each daily drawing. © 2008 Minnesota State Lottery. All rights reserved. [Privacy Policy and Legal Notices]

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