lotto games faqs

Powerball drawings are currently held on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays at approximately 9:59 p.m.

Prizes up to and including $50,000 can be claimed by mail. We recommend that you completely fill out the back of your ticket(s), keep a record for yourself, and that you use registered mail. For additional information, click here.

If you need to claim a prize of over $50,000, call the Minnesota Lottery at 1-888-568-8379 or 651-635-8273 to discuss your options.

Note: In Minnesota, lotto game prizes must be claimed within one year from the date of the drawing. Scratch game prizes must be claimed within one year of the announced end date of the game. For Fast Play games, prize claims must be submitted within one year of the transaction date that appears on the ticket. The Lottery will announce end‑of‑game dates on mnlottery.com. For prizes claimed by mail, the claim date is the date the Lottery receives the ticket. For prizes of $600 or more, the claim period ends at the close of business on the last day of the claim period that Lottery offices are open. Claims of $600 or more must have a Ticket Claim Form completed in its entirety to be a valid claim. Lottery offices are closed for the holidays and events listed on mnlottery.com, and one or more Lottery offices may close unexpectedly due to weather or other unforeseen circumstances.

Seems like a great idea, doesn’t it? The reality, however, is that people want to play for the big jackpot amounts. Sales at the $200 million jackpot level are three times what they are at the $40 million jackpot level. We also have no control over the number combinations players select. It is possible to have none, one or many winners on any given set of numbers. We offer a variety of games so players can take their pick of jackpot sizes. Powerball and Mega Millions are the big jackpot games but Lotto America jackpots start at $2 million, Gopher 5 jackpots start at $100,000, and North 5 jackpots start at $25,000. Powerball Xs & Os starting jackpot is $1 million.

That depends on how much you win. Minnesota state law requires that the names and cities of lottery prize winners greater than $10,000 are automatically considered private data unless a winner chooses to opt in to publicity. The names and cities of lottery prize winners of $10,000 or less are still public data. For 2nd Chance winners, any prize that includes more than $10,000 in cash is also private data.

This depends on the game you play. For Pick 3, it depends on the bet type you placed. For more information, visit the Pick 3 game page. For Gopher 5 and North 5, the numbers on your ticket are always printed in numerical order. Those numbers need to match the numbers drawn, but not in the order drawn. If you play Powerball or Mega Millions you can match the first five white ball numbers drawn in any order. However, the Powerball number on your ticket (the last number, behind the letters “PB”) must match the Powerball number drawn. The Mega Ball number on your ticket (the last number, behind the letters “MB”) must match the Mega Ball number drawn. You cannot crisscross lines to match numbers on any ticket. For Powerball Xs & Os, the team logos on your ticket are always printed in alphabetical order. Those teams need to match the teams drawn, but not in the order drawn.

Powerball and Mega Millions have different starting jackpot amounts, different prize structures, and different drawing days. You can find more information about Powerball and Mega Millions on their respective game pages.

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 might 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 has been made, payments continue until the minimum is reached.

Guaranteed government-backed securities are purchased to fund the 30-year liability after a player elects to receive the Powerball jackpot prize in 30 payments. The first payment will be paid after the prize is claimed; the next 29 payments will be paid yearly.

The only money that is shared in Powerball and Mega Millions is the prize money paid to jackpot prizewinners. The rest of the revenue from tickets purchased in Minnesota stays in Minnesota.

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.

The Powerball Game Group determines the rules and financial aspects of the game. For Powerball it’s a percentage of the sales for each individual drawing. Fifty percent of ticket sales go to the entire prize pool. In addition, the game rules specify that the minimum jackpot and the minimum increase from draw to draw is determined by game sales.

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 69 and the Powerball from a field of 26. The only impact increased sales would have on your odds is that the more tickets that are sold, the better the odds you might have to share the jackpot with another player (assuming you won).

Yes, more than one person can receive the same quick-pick numbers. The numbers produced on Lottery quick-pick tickets are created using a random number generator within the lottery ticket printer. The ticket printer uses several calculations based on the printer's internal clock and mathematical algorithms to produce the sets of numbers. The formula has no regard for previously selected sets of numbers and is tested extensively for randomness.

The percentage of quick pick plays varies a great deal from game to game and with the size of the jackpot. For Powerball, the quick-pick percentage normally runs about 70 percent, and about 70 percent of the winners are from quick-pick tickets. How you pick your numbers has absolutely nothing to do with being a winner. The numbers 1-2-3-4-5 and 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.

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.

Check out our drawing schedule page for a complete breakdown of drawing times for each game.

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 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.

North 5 has not seen a change since it launched in October 2003. The changes should allow for larger jackpots while still providing great overall odds. This was also an excellent opportunity to offer something new to our players, an instant win feature called EZ Match^TM. To learn more about North 5 with EZ Match^TM, visit the North 5 game page. 

There are two options to determine if your ticket is a winning ticket and to claim a prize under $600.

1. You can take your ticket to any lottery retailer and have them manually enter the serial number from your ticket into their lottery terminal.
2. Or you can mail your ticket to us, please make sure to keep a record for yourself. Please allow 4-6 weeks for processing. Our mailing address is:

Minnesota Lottery
P.O. Box 131000
Roseville, MN 55113