ialottery blog

New Step In the Process When You Check A Ticket Using Our Mobile App

An update being made today to our mobile app allows you to clear out the results of the previous ticket before starting to scan another one.

We’re making the change after input from some players who said this additional step could help make the process of checking tickets on the app more clear for them. This update is designed to do just that.

So now, when you check a ticket on the mobile app and have had a chance to review the results, you’ll click the “Clear Scan Results” button to remove that information from the screen. You then can proceed with checking the next ticket, and since you’ve cleared the results of the previous one, you’ll be starting with a clean slate. We hope this change will be a positive!

We debuted our app for Apple AND Android devices back in 2017, and like any technology, we’ve updated it over time. If you already have our app (it’s called the Iowa Lottery’s LotteryPlus) on your device, there’s nothing you need to do to receive this update. It happens automatically. If you don’t yet have the app, feel free to install it from the Google Play Store® or Apple iTunes Store® as applicable for your particular device.

The most popular way that people use our app is to check the results of their lottery tickets. You can check lotto, scratch and InstaPlay tickets on the app, so you don’t have to visit a store or a lottery office to see if you’ve won. Two other popular ways that people use the app is to enter their tickets into our VIP Club drawings and to check the winning numbers in recent lotto drawings.

Thank you for playing the lottery, and we hope this update makes it even easier for you to use our mobile technology!

Ticket Purchased In NW Iowa Wins Prize Of $25,000 A Year For Life

Someone who bought a lottery ticket at a northwest Iowa convenience store has won a prize of $25,000 a year for life in the Lucky for Life game.

The Rockwell City ticket matched the first five numbers but missed the Lucky Ball in last night’s drawing to win Lucky for Life’s second prize of $25,000 a year for life. The winning ticket was purchased at Kimmes Rockwell City Country Store, 30 High St. in Rockwell City.

It is Iowa’s eighth big winner in the game since it debuted in January 2016 in our state.

Lucky for Life is a $2 game with drawings twice a week, at 9:38 p.m. on Mondays and Thursdays. The game’s top two prize levels are described as “lasting as long as you do,” meaning that they are truly for life. The minimum guaranteed payout for those two prize levels is 20 years, and there is a lump-sum option for players who prefer that rather than lifetime annuity payments.

The winning numbers in last night’s Lucky for Life drawing were: 1-5-9-28-35 and Lucky Ball 9. Kimmes Country Stores will receive a $500 bonus from the lottery for selling the winning ticket at one of its locations.

This prize must be claimed at Iowa Lottery headquarters in Clive. During the current public health emergency, public access to lottery offices is restricted to email and telephone, so players can mail or ship their tickets to the lottery to claim prizes and there also is a secure dropbox option at the Clive location. Full details are available on the lottery’s website here.

If the winner or winners of the Rockwell City ticket have questions before coming forward to claim the prize, they’re welcome to call us at the lottery at 515-725-7900.

There's plenty of time for this prize to be claimed: Players in Lucky for Life have up to 365 days from the date of the drawing to claim prizes won in Iowa.

Player Question: Why Are You Ending That Scratch Game?

Here’s a question that came our way about a scratch game that was ending, and why and how we reach the decision to stop distribution of a particular game. The player involved made it clear he wanted to keep buying tickets in the game he was asking about, and he didn’t understand why we would pull it from store shelves.

There are generally a variety of factors involved, ranging from how long a game has been on the market, its current ticket sales level, and whether stores want to replace it with something newer.

We have dozens of scratch games for sale at any one time, but there are only so many bins for tickets in our self-service kiosks and only so many slots for tickets in our dispensers. That means some retail locations simply don’t have enough room for all the games that are out there, and individual locations can decide which games they want to sell.

Most often, we discontinue sales in a particular scratch game when the last top prize in it has been claimed. We don’t want a game on the market if you can’t still have a chance at its top prize!

Sometimes we have specially-themed games that only run for a short period of time, such as our holiday games. Those games come off the market in January each year because it just wouldn’t make sense if we were selling a snow-themed game in July! But the good news is, we work hard to keep the odds of winning the same in our holiday games as they are in the others that are on the market for much longer.

In other instances, if a game has been available for some time and players show us through their purchases that they prefer something else, it also will be removed from the shelves.

People’s reactions to our procedures are sometimes completely at odds with each other. We’ve gotten complaints from players who don’t want us to end a game at the same time we’ve heard from people who want to make sure we definitely do that, especially when the last top prize has been claimed. I suppose that’s an example of the old saying that you can’t please all the people all the time.

We do our best to design policies that err on the side of players as much as possible. So just know that we’ll keep coming up with fun, new games to replace those that are ending!

Ways To Win: A Number Within A Number, A Word Within A Word Don’t Count

We’ve gotten this question before about words within words on our “Crossword” scratch tickets, but here’s a slightly different twist on it, asking about numbers within numbers in the “Cash Multiplied” game.

The player in this instance asked that if the numbers they needed to match to win were 4 and 8, and on their ticket they found a 14 and an 18, does that mean they won? Could they win if any of the numbers on the ticket contained a 4 and an 8?

The short answer is no. A number within a number doesn’t count. The number 14 is only that number – it can’t be “taken apart” to count as a 1, 4, or 14.

That same concept applies in our Crossword games: Words within words, meaning partial words, don’t count. So, for example, if the word “someone” is in the play area on your ticket, you must complete the whole word. You can’t try to make “some” or “one” a word on their own and ignore the word as a whole.

I hope that the answers we provide here on the blog help make the rules clear for everyone.

Have a good weekend, and stay safe!

Shout-Out To Our Pets In This Time Of Crisis: Tomorrow Is National Pet Day!

They’re hanging out with us during this time of self-distancing – often while interrupting our conference calls and video chats – and we love them for it! So it seems like perfect timing that tomorrow is National Pet Day (but the date was actually set a long time ago).

That’s according to the National Day Calendar™, the website that tracks unusual national days and has a day for just about everything.

We all could use some lighter news to help raise our spirits right now, so tomorrow let’s remember to celebrate our pets, four-footed and otherwise! I’ve included here photos of the pets that belong to a couple of my co-workers at the lottery. (And now I’ll have to apologize to my crazy little dog for not including his picture here. But I couldn’t play favorites, now then, could I?)

The National Day Calendar folks remind us to use tomorrow as a time to do a few checks on our pets and help out those animals currently in shelters.

• Go through your pet’s toys and throw out any that are no longer safe.
• Remember to keep cords and toxins secure and away from your pets.
• Verify that your pet’s vaccinations are current and schedule an appointment when your vet’s office is open next for an update if that’s needed.
• Check your pet’s collars to ensure tags are secure and that the contact information you have on the tags is current.
• Take supplies to your local shelter for the animals there. And/Or, consider adopting a pet!

I wish everyone (and their pets) a good weekend. Please be well!

Have Iowa’s Back: Participate In The 2020 Census

During the next couple months, you’ll see messages from us at the Iowa Lottery reminding everyone why it’s so important that we help our state by completing the 2020 Census.  

For the next two weeks and again for two weeks in May, the lottery will run special messages on its lotto tickets encouraging everyone to participate in the Census. We’ll also have Census messages on the display screens at our lottery terminals and self-service kiosks where you buy tickets.

If you buy a lotto ticket this week in a game like Powerball® or Mega Millions®, look at the top. We hope the message you see there is self-explanatory:

Make Iowa count! Complete the 2020
Census online or by phone or mail.

The Census is a once-in-a-decade count that gives a snapshot of our nation about who we are and where we live. The results of the Census are used to make any number of critical decisions, like where communities should build new schools, where new roads are needed, and how hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funding should be spent in programs including Medicaid, Head Start, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

The Census also determines the number of seats Iowa has in the U.S. House of Representatives and is used to draw the boundary lines for Congressional and state legislative districts.

In a nutshell, a complete and accurate Census count helps ensure that we as Iowans receive the political representation we deserve and that our taxpayer dollars are spent in a way that helps our state.

Iowa had top ranking in 2000 in getting its residents counted, with 76 percent of households in the state returning their Census forms. And in 2010, Iowa helped lead the way in the mail-in process for the Census, with 78 percent of households sending back their forms.

Earlier this month, U.S. households began receiving official Census Bureau mail with details about how you can complete the 2020 Census online, by phone or by mail. And if a count hasn’t been submitted for your household by later this year, Census staffers will visit homes from May to July to help make sure everyone is counted.

The Census Bureau is required by law to deliver its counts to the president and Congress in December.

So please take a few minutes to complete your Census form. Be counted for Iowa!   

Powerball & Mega Millions Changing, We’re Offering Free Plays For “Multi-Draw” Tickets Involved

***This blog entry has been updated to include details about changes to the Mega Millions game that were announced on Friday, April 3, and to include a direct link to the web page with the claim form for free-play requests.***

After earlier changes were announced in Powerball®, the Mega Millions® game is now making similar adjustments. The deepening COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on everyday life is behind it all.

In both Powerball and Mega Millions, the starting jackpot amount will be eliminated along with any minimum amount that the jackpot will grow between drawings. Instead, both amounts will be determined on a drawing-by-drawing basis and announced ahead of the next upcoming drawing.

The adjustments are needed to ensure that ticket sales in both games can support their jackpots and other prizes. The deepening COVID-19 public health emergency has drastically impacted life for us all and altered normal consumer behavior, including ticket purchases in Powerball and Mega Millions. Interest rates also have declined amidst the health crisis, and that in turn drives down the annuity amount of the games’ jackpots.

The timing of the changes in each game is slightly different, based upon its drawing schedule. (Mega Millions drawings are at 10 p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays, while Powerball drawings are at 9:59 p.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays.)

In Mega Millions: The jackpot for tonight’s drawing remains at an estimated $121 million annuity, $96.7 million lump-sum option. If the jackpot is won tonight, it will reset to a guaranteed $20 million for Tuesday’s drawing (April 7). If there is no jackpot winner tonight, the game’s grand prize will roll to an estimated $127 million annuity for Tuesday. From that point on, the game’s starting jackpot and the rate at which the jackpot increases will be based upon sales and interest rates, with no fixed minimums.

In Powerball: The jackpot for tomorrow night’s drawing remains at an estimated $180 million annuity, $144.8 million lump-sum option. If the jackpot is won tomorrow, it will reset to a guaranteed $20 million annuity for Wednesday’s drawing (April 8). If there is no jackpot winner tomorrow, the game’s grand prize will roll to an estimated $190 million annuity for Wednesday. From that point on, the game’s starting jackpot and the rate at which the jackpot increases will be based upon sales and interest rates, with no fixed minimums.

The leadership of the Powerball Product Group and the Mega Millions Consortium, which are made of up the member-lottery directors in each game, will determine the jackpot details for it.

We know that some of our players may have used the “multi-draw” option to purchase plays in upcoming Powerball and Mega Millions drawings. Those plays, of course, are still valid, but are now impacted by the upcoming jackpot changes.

As a goodwill gesture, we’re offering those players free-play coupons for use in future drawings of the game they played. To be eligible for free-play coupons: 

• In Mega Millions, an Iowa Lottery player must have purchased a multi-draw ticket no later than 4 p.m. today (April 3) for a Mega Millions drawing held on April 7 or later. 
• In Powerball, an Iowa Lottery player must have purchased a multi-draw ticket no later than 4 p.m. yesterday (April 2) for a Powerball drawing held on April 8 or later.

Details about the free plays along with the form you’ll need to complete and send to us to request free-play coupons are available here on the lottery's website.

I’ll add in just a quick personal note to close out this blog entry: I know that these Mega Millions and Powerball changes are coming on top of the many, many other changes that we’re all experiencing. Just know that they’re not being made on a whim or at random. They're being made because the games and the prizes they offer are based upon mathematics. And there simply aren’t enough ticket sales occurring to continue the games in their previous format.

We understand that folks have much more important issues on their minds these days than purchasing lotto tickets, and in many instances, they're simply not in a position to buy them at all. Safety is what matters now, and all of us getting through this together.

But in the meantime, changes have to be made on many different fronts, including in these two games.

How You Can Claim Prizes & Contact Us

Here's a quick recap of how you can claim a prize and contact us right now. Thank you for all YOU are doing to help keep Iowa safe!