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SCRATCH GAMES FAQ

You’ve got questions. We’ve got answers. Read up on our Scratch Games Frequently Asked Questions below.

Scroll down for General Lottery and Lotto Games FAQ.

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Q: Can I claim a prize by mail?

Prizes up to and including $50,000 should be claimed by mail. We recommend keeping a copy of the front and back of your ticket for your records 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 players have one year from the date of the drawing to claim prizes. All scratch games prizes must be claimed within one (1) year of the announced end of the game. Consider waiting to claim prizes that are not approaching an expiration date. Here's a list of scratch game end dates.

CLAIM FORM

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

A: When the Lottery started, scratch games paid out 60 percent. Depending on the game, scratch games now pay out between 64 percent and 74 percent. Minnesota state law requires the scratch games to have a minimum payout of 60 percent of ticket sales.

Q: Why did you end my favorite scratch game when all of the top prizes haven’t been claimed?

A: There is a limited amount of space in the ticket dispensers, so when we launch three or four new scratch games, we have to end three or four older scratch games to make room. The games we end depend on a lot of factors, including inventory available in the warehouse, inventory at retail locations, sales patterns of the game, price points of games available, play styles available, etc. Just because a top-prize winning ticket hasn’t been claimed does not mean that a top-prize winning ticket hasn’t been sold. Lottery winners have up to one year from the announced end of the game to claim their prize. Tickets are redeemed almost every day from every game that is less than one year old.

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 requires that the program randomly inserting winning plays into the ticket-printing process limits the strings of non-winning 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.

FAQ General MN Lottery General Lottery FAQ
FAQ Lotto Games MN Lottery Lotto Games FAQ
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