Legislation authorizing a lottery in Iowa was signed into law on April 18, 1985, and Iowa Lottery sales began with a kick-off celebration on Aug. 22, 1985, at the Iowa State Fair.
Over the years, the lottery has created life-changing moments for prize winners, provided valuable help in the form of sales commissions to the thousands of Iowa businesses that sell lottery tickets, and raised significant proceeds for the state causes that benefit all Iowans. Here are some quick figures from 25 years of lottery history in Iowa:
| $2.6 billion | Total prizes won by Iowa Lottery players |
| $1.2 billion | Total lottery proceeds to Iowa causes |
| $379.2 million | Total lottery sales commissions paid to Iowa businesses that sell lottery tickets |
| $200.8 million | Largest lottery prize won in Iowa to date. Tim and Kellie Guderian of Fort Dodge claimed that Powerball jackpot on Oct. 4, 2006. |
| 6.4 million | Number of lottery tickets sold during the lottery’s first week of sales |
| 2,374 | Number of retail locations in Iowa that sell lottery tickets (current as of August 2010) |
| 4,510 | Number of Iowa Lottery tickets that have won prizes of $10,000 or more (through August 2010) |
| 1,089 | Number of Iowa Lottery tickets that have won prizes of $100,000 or more (through August 2010) |
| 110 | Number of Iowa Lottery tickets that have won prizes of $1 million or more (through August 2010) |
| 686 | Number of instant-scratch games sold in Iowa from 1985 through present |
| 155 | Number of pull-tab games sold in Iowa from the product’s introduction in 1987 through present |
| 17 | Number of lotto games sold in Iowa from the product’s introduction in 1986 through present |
| 6 | Number of Powerball® jackpots won by Iowa Lottery players to date |
| 6 | Number of Hot Lotto® jackpots won by Iowa Lottery players to date |
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