In an effort focused on prizes that expire without being claimed, the Iowa Lottery Board has voted today to change the Iowa prize-claim period in four multi-state games: Powerball®, Mega Millions®, Lotto America® and Lucky for Life®.
The Lottery Board’s unanimous decision will change the prize-claim deadline in those lotto games to 180 days from the date of the drawing. The current prize-claim deadline in those games is 365 days from the drawing date. That’s the longest in the United States and it’s outside the norm for the U.S. lottery industry.
The change will not take effect for some time yet. The lottery needs to successfully complete testing on its statewide gaming system before the change can be made. The lottery anticipates making the change in the first quarter of calendar year 2023 after providing notice to players.
The change has no monetary benefit to the Iowa Lottery: Under state law, the money from prizes that expire in Iowa without being claimed will continue to go back to players through the lottery’s prize pools for future games and promotions.
In the past three fiscal years, the annual total in Iowa Lottery prizes that expired without being claimed ranged from about $1.3 million to more than $1.7 million.
Lottery staff recommended the prize-claim change after nearly a year of research. The lottery’s review of recent drawings in the games found that the vast majority of claims happened within the first six months. In fact, less than 3 percent of prizes from those drawings were claimed after 180 days. Iowa is currently one of only 14 U.S. lotteries with a 365-day deadline for a player to claim a prize in a multi-state lotto game. By contrast, 33 lotteries (including the three most populous U.S. states) require those prizes to be claimed within 180 days or six months (182 days). The passage of time could lead some players to unintentionally throw away their tickets or for the tickets to become damaged or lost.
Time also is an important consideration from a security perspective. As time passes, it becomes more difficult for those involved to accurately recall the details of a ticket purchase and provide that information to the Iowa Lottery for verification purposes.
These are the prize-claim periods for other Iowa Lottery products, which will remain unchanged:
Tickets in Iowa-specific lotto games (Pick 3 and Pick 4) are valid for 90 days from the date of the drawing.
Tickets in scratch games are valid for 90 days after the announced end of the game.
Tickets in pull-tab games are valid for 90 days after the announced end of the game.
Tickets in InstaPlay games are valid for 90 days from the date of purchase.
A $1 million Mega Millions® prize that is still unclaimed in Ames will hit the three-month mark tomorrow, and the Iowa Lottery is reminding its players to double-check their tickets. Seven other prizes ranging from $10,000 up to $250,000 also are unclaimed in Iowa!
The $1 million-winning Mega Millions ticket was purchased at Gateway Expresse, 2400 University Blvd. in Ames, for the game’s drawing on Sept. 6. It was the only ticket in the country that night to match the five white balls but miss the yellow Mega Ball to win at the game’s second prize level.
The winning numbers in the Sept. 6 drawing were: 6-17-46-59-68 and Mega Ball 2. The Megaplier® number was 4.
The winner or winners of the $1 million prize have until the close of business on Sept. 6, 2023, to claim it at Iowa Lottery headquarters in Clive.
Gateway Expresse received a $1,000 bonus from the Iowa Lottery for selling the $1 million-winning ticket.
Here are details about the seven other sizeable lottery prizes in Iowa that also are unclaimed (listed by prize amount):
Game
Prize Drawing
Amount Won
Retailer
Expiration
Powerball
Oct. 15, 2022
$250,000
Murphy USA, Cedar Rapids
Oct. 16, 2023
Powerball
Oct. 29, 2022
$150,000
Floyd Food & Fuel, Sioux City
Oct. 30, 2023
Powerball
Nov. 5, 2022
$150,000
Hy-Vee C-Store, Sheldon
Nov. 6, 2023
Powerball
Nov. 7, 2022
$100,000
Casey’s, Dubuque
Nov. 7, 2023
Mega Millions
May 6, 2022
$10,000
Gas & Goodies, Libertyville
May 8, 2023
Mega Millions
July 26, 2022
$10,000
Kum & Go, Marion
July 26, 2023
Super 7s Instaplay
Dec. 3, 2022
$10,000
Haddy’s, Center Point
March 3, 2023
If the winners have questions before coming forward to claim the prizes, they are welcome to call the lottery at 515-725-7900 or email to wmaster@ialottery.com.
The lottery currently offers prize claims by appointment at its offices. Full details are available on the lottery’s website here.
In the last fiscal year (FY 2022), more than $1.5 million in lotto and InstaPlay prizes expired in Iowa without being claimed.
Time appears to be a factor. The Iowa Lottery reviewed plays from a sampling of recent lotto drawings and found that the vast majority of prize claims occurred within six months of the drawing date. Less than 3 percent of prizes from those drawings were claimed after that point. The Iowa Lottery will continue to review how it can best encourage and remind players to claim their prizes.
The money from lottery prizes that expire in Iowa without being claimed goes into the lottery's prize pools for future games and promotions, so it will be used to pay prizes, just not those prizes that have expired.
With the holiday season underway, we offer this gentle reminder as you’re shopping.
We know that lottery tickets will be among the items that you may give as presents and put in stockings. And here at the Iowa Lottery, we’re glad to be included in the fun!
But please remember that our tickets – while colorful, entertaining and affordable – may not be something you want to give to those underage.
That’s true for lots of products: The content of some video games and movies may not be appropriate for all ages. Alcohol and tobacco-related products have their own age restrictions. Even toys have age-recommendation guidelines.
In Iowa, you have to be at least 21 years old to buy lottery tickets, and we’ve always considered our products something for adults. You are gambling when you play the lottery.
To minimize the risks associated with youth gambling, be sure to give youngsters age-appropriate gifts. And when you give lottery tickets as presents, please keep the person's age in mind.
As always, if you or someone you know is being impacted by problem gambling, help is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week by text, live chat or calling 1-800-BETSOFF (1-800-238-7633) or visiting https://yourlifeiowa.org/gambling.
A new team member has joined the Iowa Lottery, and you may have already been helped by his work.
His name is Dave and he’s a chatbot. When you visit ialottery.com, you now see a blue chat symbol in the lower right corner of the screen. The symbol tells you that the Iowa Lottery has a digital assistant available to help answer questions.
If you click on the symbol, the chatbot screen opens. Five popular search topics come up, or you can use the screen to type in your own question.
Now, Dave obviously isn’t a real person. Chatbot software uses artificial intelligence to mimic a conversation. Statistics show that nearly 70 percent of global consumers have used a chatbot in the past year, and the use of chatbots continues to rise.
Best-practice tips say that a chatbot should have a name and personality in line with the organization it represents. We wanted our chatbot to be friendly and engaging with an obvious Iowa connection.
So, you’ll notice that Dave is definitely an Iowa bot, and he’s got a happy smile.
Dave can already answer more than 200 questions about the Iowa Lottery and its products. As we see new questions being asked through the chat screen, we add in more answers.
Our goal in adding a chatbot to our website is to help you easily find information about the Iowa Lottery and its products. The bot helps us deliver customer service 24/7, even at times when our offices are closed.
So why is our chatbot named Dave? Go ahead, ask him. He can tell you. He’s got thoughts about the weather, too. But Dave's main purpose is that he knows a lot of in-depth details about the Iowa Lottery.
A quick scheduling reminder: Iowa Lottery offices will be closed until Monday for the Thanksgiving holiday.
I hope that you can take some time to relax this weekend, spend time with family and friends, and just be in the moment.
If you have a ticket winning a prize of more than $600 or need our assistance with anything else, our offices will open again for business at 8 a.m. Monday (Nov. 28).
A Forest City woman said she spent about a month after winning a $2 million Powerball® prize gathering details and making a plan before she stepped forward to claim the prize.
Tamara Sheehan said that she and her husband, Stephen, spent the time “just being very quiet, getting a lot of questions answered, specifically more on the financials and the taxes.”
Tamara said things started to feel a lot more real as they drove up to Iowa Lottery headquarters to claim the prize.
Her $2 million prize was among the millions won in Iowa during the Powerball jackpot run that culminated in the game’s Nov. 7 world-record $2.04 billion drawing.
Tamara, who works in human resources, said that it was fun hearing the buzz around Forest City as she kept quiet and made plans to claim the prize. She said it was a BIG buzz in a small town.
Tamara’s $2 million-winning ticket was purchased at Casey’s, 1132 U.S. Highway 69 S. in Forest City. Her easy-pick ticket came within one number of winning the game’s $403.9 million jackpot in the Oct. 10 drawing.
She initially matched the first five numbers but missed the Powerball to win a $1 million prize. But with the Power Play® option added to the purchase, the prize at the Match 5 level was multiplied to $2 million. Tamara’s ticket was the only one in the country to win a $2 million prize in the Oct. 10 drawing.
The winning numbers that night were: 3-6-11-17-22 and Powerball 11. The Power Play number was 2.
Casey’s received a $2,000 bonus from the Iowa Lottery for selling the $2 million-winning ticket.
Tamara says that she and her husband have plans for the winnings, including paying it forward by helping charities focused on issues near and dear to them. She said they plan to invest and will take a couple trips.
Tamara’s prize is the sixth of at least $1 million claimed in Iowa in 2022. And another $1 million prize remains unclaimed more than two months after it was won in Ames.
The $1 million unclaimed prize in Ames was won in the Sept. 6 drawing of the Mega Millions® game. It matched the first five numbers but missed the Mega Ball that night to win $1 million. It was purchased at the Gateway Expresse, 2400 University Blvd. in Ames.
When you play Lotto America® in Iowa right now, you may get a nice surprise: a free ticket.
From now through the end of the day next Friday (Nov. 25), for every fifth ticket purchased statewide in Lotto America, the lottery terminal or self-service kiosk will automatically generate a free $1 ticket in the game. You’ll hear the “Surprise, player bonus!” sound from the machine as the free play prints out.
With the Lotto America jackpot at its highest level ever -- $30.39 million for Saturday night's drawing -- this seemed like the perfect time to add some extra fun for players in the game.
Every Lotto America purchase of at least $1 counts as one ticket in the promotion, regardless of the number of plays on the ticket.
The free plays kicked in with the start of the business day this morning and will continue through 11:59 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 25.
Remember that it’s not every fifth ticket purchased from a specific lottery terminal or kiosk that's eligible for a free play. It’s every fifth ticket purchased statewide, so the free-play bonus will hit in stores all across Iowa during the next eight days,
So listen for the “Surprise, player bonus!” sound when you buy a Lotto America ticket!
This Veterans Day, we’re thankful for some additional help that Iowa provides to those who have served. It’s an Iowa success story that not every state has.
I’m talking about the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund (IVTF), which was created here in Iowa to provide additional help to veterans and their families beyond federal veterans benefits. It feels good to know that Iowa has a solution like this in place and we have the opportunity to be a part of it.
A portion of the proceeds raised from the sale of lottery tickets in Iowa goes to the IVTF each year. Since lottery proceeds were first dedicated to that cause in 2008, the Iowa Lottery has raised nearly $37.4 million for the IVTF.
If you’re an Iowa veteran or the family member of an Iowa veteran and you’re looking for more information about the IVTF, you can visit va.iowa.gov and click on the Trust Fund link under the Benefits tab.
There, you’ll find the categories for assistance through the fund as well as a copy of the application form. You’ll need to start an application for assistance from the Trust Fund at your local County Veterans Office. (There is a veterans office in every county in Iowa.)
While the Iowa Lottery raises money for the Veterans Trust Fund, applications for assistance through the fund are approved by the Iowa Commission of Veterans Affairs. Click on the video above to hear two long-time members of the commission share the story of their own service and why the IVTF matters so much to them.
The world-record jackpot drawing has been held, things have quieted down a little, and we’re stopping to simply say: Thank you.
Thank you for buying tickets, thank you for being part of this Powerball® moment, thank you for playing responsibly, thank you for having fun.
Some numbers really jumped out when I looked back at the drawings in the world-record jackpot run that just ended. Remember that the jackpot started growing in early August and kept rolling through dozens of drawings until it was finally won in the drawing for Nov. 7.
During the world-record Powerball run, Iowa Lottery players won millions of prizes, including:
1 prize of $2 million
1 prize of $1 million
1 prize of $250,000
1 prize of $200,000
2 prizes of $150,000
2 prizes of $100,000
12 prizes of $50,000.
Some of those prizes are still waiting to be claimed, so if you have a ticket, please go check it! You could be the winner of a significant prize. But no matter what, your Powerball purchases have made a difference for Iowa causes.
A California ticket has won that world-record $2.04 billion Powerball® jackpot, but 4 Iowa tickets were just one number away from having a share of the big prize.
The jackpot ended up at $2.04 billion annuity, $997.6 million cash option in last night’s Powerball drawing. Strong sales across the country lifted the final jackpot amount even higher than the latest estimates before the drawing.
The winning numbers in last night’s drawing were: 10-33-41-47-56 and Powerball 10. The Power Play® number was 2.
Total Prizes Won In Iowa
Iowa Lottery players won a total of 97,022 prizes in last night’s drawing ranging from $4 up to $100,000.
Four Iowa tickets matched four of the first five numbers and the Powerball to each win a $50,000 prize. But the players who bought two of the tickets added the Power Play option to their purchases, which multiplied their winnings to $100,000 each.
The $50,000-winning tickets were purchased at: Yesway, 1905 SE 37th St. in Grimes; and Casey’s, 2245 Karr Ave. in Early.
The $100,000-winning tickets were purchased at: Walmart, 415 Industrial Ave. in Grinnell; and Casey’s, 5505 Asbury Road in Dubuque.
Those four prizes can be claimed at any Iowa Lottery office. If the winners have questions before claiming their prize, they are welcome to call the Iowa Lottery at 515-725-7900 or email to: Wmaster@ialottery.com.
Last Night’s Drawing Was Delayed
One of the lotteries that sells tickets in the Powerball game needed extra time to complete the required security protocols for last night’s drawing. The delay ultimately pushed the drawing back by several hours.
At the Iowa Lottery, we’re proud that our team cleared all the security protocols for the drawing. We expected that the drawing to take place on schedule, but understand that the rigorous security procedures in Powerball and all our games exist to protect the integrity and fairness of the lottery.
It's vital the game that the security steps are followed by every lottery, even if that means a delay.
The Powerball drawing is occasionally delayed as lotteries complete their security procedures. Last night’s drawing just drew huge attention because of the jackpot that was on the line.
Iowa Sales For Last Night’s Drawing
Iowa Lottery players bought more than $5.5 million in Powerball tickets for last night’s drawing, including more than $4.4 million in tickets that day alone.
But the average Powerball purchase in Iowa for the drawing remained about $7, or about four plays per ticket. It’s nice to see that Iowans had fun playing and didn’t go overboard.
Update at 8:40 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 8:The Powerball jackpot drawing has now been held! Click on the video above to see the drawing for Nov. 7, which was delayed.
The winning numbers for Nov. 7 are: 10-33-41-47-56 and Powerball 10. The Power Play number was 2.
The huge jackpot ended up at a world-record $2.04 billion annuity. We'll see later today how Iowa did and if anyone nationwide matched all six numbers to win the jackpot!
Thank you for playing Powerball and being part of this unprecedented moment. We also appreciate you bearing with the drawing delay.
One of the 48 lotteries that sell Powerball tickets needed extra time to complete the required security protocols for the drawing. The delay ultimately lasted for several hours, and the drawing was held this morning.
We know you were eager for that work to be finished, and we were, too!
We're proud that our team here at the Iowa Lottery had cleared all the security protocols for the drawing.
We expected that the drawing would be held on schedule, but the rigorous security procedures in Powerball and all our games exist to protect the integrity and fairness of the lottery. It's imperative that the security steps be followed in every jurisdiction, even if that means a delay.
(The remainder of this blog entry contains details originally posted on Sunday, Nov. 6.)
Three Iowa Tickets Came SO CLOSE
Iowa Lottery players won a total of 101,223 prizes in last night’s Powerball drawing, including three tickets that were just one number away from having at least a share of the giant jackpot.
Two of those tickets each won a $50,000 prize while the other won $150,000.
The three tickets each matched four of the first five numbers and the Powerball to win a $50,000 prize. But the person who bought one of the tickets also added the Power Play option to their play, which multiplied their winnings to $150,000.
The $50,000-winning tickets were purchased at: Kwik Star, 911 S. 14th St. in Clinton; and K&J Hop-N-Shop, 416 Broad St. in Sabula.
The $150,000-winning ticket was purchased at: Hy-Vee C-Store, 1999 Park St. in Sheldon.
The three prizes can be claimed at any Iowa Lottery office. If the winners have questions before claiming their prize, they are welcome to call us at the Iowa Lottery at 515-725-7900 or email us at wmaster@ialottery.com.
Last night’s winning numbers were: 28-45-53-56-69 and Powerball 20. The Power Play® number was 3.
Retail Locations Setting Up Powerball-Specific Lines
With Powerball sales remaining strong in Iowa and across the country, some retail locations are setting up customer-service lines specifically for lottery sales. That keeps Powerball transactions moving quickly and allows customers with other needs to be helped in a different line.
Sales in the past week demonstrate what has always been the case: Iowa Lottery players buy tickets where they’re already running other errands. And, stores with high customer traffic counts sell a lot of lottery tickets and all sorts of other products.
Here are the Top 10 retailers for Iowa Lottery sales in the past week (Oct. 30-Nov. 5). 1. Hy-Vee, 1843 Johnson Ave. NW in Cedar Rapids 2. Hy-Vee, 5050 Edgewood Road NE in Cedar Rapids 3. Hy-Vee, 1823 E. Kimberly Road in Davenport 4. Hy-Vee, 20 Wilson Ave. SW in Cedar Rapids 5. Hy-Vee, 2323 W. Broadway in Council Bluffs 6. Hy-Vee, 1725 Jordan Creek Pkwy. in West Des Moines 7. Hy-Vee, 3600 U.S. Highway 151 in Marion 8. Kwik Star, 1001 Blairs Ferry Road NE in Cedar Rapids 9. Hy-Vee, 2510 SW State St. in Ankeny 10. Hy-Vee, 3221 SE 14th St. in Des Moines.
Iowa Sales For Last Night’s Drawing
Iowa Lottery players bought more than $5.9 million in Powerball tickets for last night’s drawing, including more than $3.1 million in tickets yesterday alone.
But the average Powerball purchase in Iowa for last night’s drawing remained about $7, or about four plays per ticket. It’s good to see that a lot of people are having fun playing and they haven’t gone overboard.
Yes, The Next Drawing Is Tomorrow
Powerball’s next drawing is tomorrow. That is not a typo. Some people in recent days have questioned it when they heard that Powerball has drawings on Mondays.
Monday drawings have been part of the game for more than a year.
In August 2021, Powerball moved from having two drawings a week to drawings on three days each week. The game now has drawings on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. The change was designed to produce more winners and generate larger, faster-growing jackpots, and that has occurred.
The Difference These Powerball Sales Will Make For State Causes
The final details won’t be available until later, but the impact of this month’s strong Powerball sales will mean more help for meaningful state causes in Iowa. Powerball players will have played a big part in helping our state.
Each year, 100 percent of Iowa Lottery proceeds go to support state causes. In its latest financial year, the Iowa Lottery raised more than $101.7 million for state programs that help everything from veterans and law enforcement to education, parks and conservation, agriculture, and human services.
Since its start in 1985, the Iowa Lottery has raised more than $2.2 billion for state programs. More details are here.
Where Can I Watch The Drawing?
The Powerball drawing is livestreamed on the Iowa Lottery website as it occurs at 9:59 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Video of the latest drawing then remains on the site until the next drawing occurs.
The livestream is on the Powerball page of the lottery’s website here.
Please Play Responsibly
And as always, the Iowa Lottery reminds everyone that it only takes one ticket to win. Please play responsibly. The Iowa Lottery keeps “Play Smart, Be Informed” details here.
As the lottery’s vice president of external relations, I’m a member of the senior management team at the Iowa Lottery, where I’ve worked since 1999. I’ve spent my years at the lottery learning as much as I can about all the ins and outs of the lottery industry. I’ll put that knowledge to work here so I can share the behind-the-scenes details with you!