A player who emailed us with questions about our lotto drawings unfortunately had some conspiracy theories to share as well, so I’m addressing those here in case the same rumor has made it way to you.
The player wondered why there is a sales cut-off time before the drawings in games like Powerball® and Mega Millions®. The player said he wants people to be able to buy tickets right up until the time of the drawing, arguing that doing so would eliminate the rumored possibility he’s heard that drawing officials sometimes spray a substance on the drawing balls used in lottery drawings to keep certain numbers from being selected.
That last part isn’t true, and the sales cut-off times in the games are there for a reason. Here’s the back story:
Sales cut-off times are one of the security processes that lotteries use to ensure that everything is ready to go for a drawing. With millions – and sometimes billions – of dollars involved in our drawings, it’s obviously important that mistakes are avoided!
Before a drawing can be held, all the lotteries in that game have to verify that their sales figures balance and all plays are recorded in the system. It’s a meticulous process, and we know it’s what the public expects.
The good news is that as computer speeds and technology have improved through the years, it now requires much less time to accomplish that work. So today, our sales cut-off times here in Iowa are an hour or less before our drawings. Years ago, the sales cut-off times were often two hours before the drawing, but we’ve been able to reduce that. And we hope it’s a convenience for our players and retailers.
I would imagine there will always be some time required for balancing and verification before a drawing can happen, but perhaps in the future, the time involved can be even shorter than it is today.
The exact sales cut-off times vary from state to state, depending upon the requirements in that particular state. Check your state lottery’s website for the information that applies in your area.
And when it comes to the drawings themselves, there are multiple layers of security involved.
For example, the machines and sets of numbered balls used in the drawings are kept in double-locked and sealed vaults, and are only taken out when the drawing manager, security officer, and independent auditor are all present.
And those aren’t ping-pong balls in the machines. The drawing balls are actually made of rubber and have to meet exact specifications through testing, weighing and measuring.
Multiple sets of balls are available for the drawings along with multiple sets of machines. The exact machines and numbered balls used in each drawing are randomly selected and everything that happens with them once they’re out of the vault is recorded on audio and video.
There also are testing procedures leading up to each drawing, with the entire process carried out under the supervision of an auditor and security officials.
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