ialottery blog: Iowa-Specific Drawings Are Returning In Pick 3 & Pick 4

There’s a procedural update coming in the drawings for our Pick 3 and Pick 4 games, and from a player perspective, it should be pretty seamless.

Iowa-specific drawings in Pick 3 and Pick 4 will begin tomorrow. That means the winning numbers selected in the games will be unique to Iowa.

Pick 3 was introduced in Iowa in 1998 while Pick 4 debuted here in 2003. Through the years, the games’ drawings have been handled in different ways. The Iowa Lottery currently shares drawing results in the games. Since mid-2017, the Iowa Lottery has had an agreement with the Hoosier Lottery to share drawings results in Pick 3 and Pick 4.

We’ve heard over time from Iowa players who say they’d prefer Iowa-only drawings in the games, and we’re now making that change.

Starting with tomorrow’s midday drawings in Pick 3 and Pick 4, we’ll have Iowa-specific drawings. We think the change will help differentiate our games and their features from those in other states. (Dozens of lotteries around the country offer Pick 3 and Pick 4 games, with the features and options available varying from state to state.)

The drawing times in Pick 3 and Pick 4 will remain the same, with the midday drawings in each game held at 12:20 p.m. and the evening drawings held at 10 p.m. The sales cut-off times in the games also will remain unchanged. Tickets can be purchased until noon on the day of the drawing for the midday drawings and until 9:40 p.m. on the day of the drawing for evening drawings.

If you aren’t familiar with Pick 3 and Pick 4, they’re numbers games with a long U.S. history, starting along the East Coast. Pick 3 players choose combinations of three numbers from 0 to 9 while Pick 4 players choose combinations of four numbers from 0 to 9. The prize you could win depends on the type of play you make.

For example, you can choose the option of winning a prize only if your numbers match the winning numbers in the exact order they’re selected in the drawing. That’s called a straight play. Or, you can choose the option of winning a prize if your numbers match the winning numbers in any order. That’s called a box play. There are other options in the games as well.

Prizes in Pick 3 and Pick 4 are smaller than those in big-jackpot games like Powerball® and Mega Millions®, but the odds of winning also are significantly better.

Iowa’s Pick 3 game has a top prize of $3,000, with odds of just 1 in 1,000 of winning it. Iowa’s Pick 4 game offers a top prize of $30,000, with odds of 1:10,000 of winning it. Plays in both games range in cost from 50 cents up to $5.