ialottery blog

A Look Back at 2023: Yes, we had winners! So many winners …

With the New Year’s holiday weekend almost upon us, we’re looking back at the number of lottery prizes claimed in 2023 here in Iowa, and the total is impressive!

So far in calendar year 2023, Iowa Lottery players have claimed:

• 375 prizes of $25,000 or more.
• 243 prizes of $50,000 or more.
• 129 prizes of $100,000 or more.
• 41 prizes of $250,000 or more.
• 11 prizes of $500,000 or more.
• 6 prizes of $1 million or more.
• 3 prizes of $2 million or more.            

(That’s not a cumulative total, it’s a list that breaks down the categories as the prize amounts climb higher.)

The biggest lottery prize claimed this calendar year in Iowa was a $40.03 million Lotto America® jackpot won in April by a Dubuque man. He purchased his winning ticket at Eichman's, a restaurant and convenience store at 11941 U.S. Highway 52 N. in Dubuque.

And while all those players won cash, we had hundreds more winners who got premium seats to concerts, car races, games and other events throughout the year. It’s been fun to look back and see all the different ways that people won in 2023.

Please don’t forget to double-check your tickets, because there currently are 12 prizes of $10,000 or more than are unclaimed in Iowa, including two Powerball® prizes of $2 million.

I’ll also add this footnote: We know that people sometimes grumble that “no one from here ever wins.” It seems to be a myth based upon the area you're from, no matter where that is. People in big cities think people from small towns win; people in one part of the state think it’s always people from another area who win, etc., etc.

I think the root of the argument is that people will never truly be satisfied unless THEY’RE the ones who win! And I can understand that. But in reality, people can and do win lottery prizes every day.

Thank you to everyone who played the Iowa Lottery and joined in the fun with us this year. You helped produce a record amount in lottery proceeds to state causes, and we’re continuing to build on that every day.

Happy New Year, and maybe we’ll see you on our winner lists in 2024!

Player Question: How Long Will Your Holiday-Themed Games Be Available?

With the long holiday weekend behind us, our holiday-themed scratch games are on the clock, as the saying goes.

A player reached out to us today to ask how long our holiday games will be available. The short answer is that we’ve got a new round of games scheduled to hit the market on Jan. 3. It may take a few days after that for all the holiday tickets to be replaced in stores by the new games, but just know that the change-out is coming!

So if you want a ticket in one of our holiday-themed games, buy it in the next few days!

You have a little more time than that to enter any nonwinning tickets in the games into our Million Dollar Holiday promotion for a chance to win prizes there. We purposefully time the ending of our holiday promotion to be a few days after the end date for our holiday games. We know that folks may want to enter tickets they just received as a gift or bought as a treat for themselves.

The deadline to enter tickets in the Million Dollar Holiday promotion is before 10 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 8!

Now There Are 2 Unclaimed Powerball Prizes of $2 Million In Iowa

The unusual news about unclaimed prizes continues here in Iowa.

We now have TWO unclaimed prizes of $2 million each, both in the Powerball® game. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time the Iowa Lottery has seen two unclaimed prizes of $2 million at the same time.

You’ll recall that back in September, a $1 million Mega Millions® prize won in Ames expired without being claimed. We rolled the money from that prize into our annual holiday promotion that’s underway now.

Both of the $2 million unclaimed prizes have been out there for awhile. The first was won in Tiffin in the Powerball drawing on Oct. 7, and the second was won in Clinton in the Powerball drawing on Nov. 25.

There’s still plenty of time for these prizes to be claimed. And being so close to the end of the year, it’s possible that the winners are waiting until after Jan. 1 to claim their winnings for tax purposes.

But we’ll keep sending out updates about these prizes if they’re still unclaimed as their deadlines approach. The first of the $2 million prizes will expire April 4 if it isn’t claimed in time and the other will expire May 23.

So if you’ve got a ticket at home that you haven’t checked yet, please get it out and check it soon!

Do I have to check your website to see if I won a prize in a promotion?

Here’s a question that came our way at a perfect time. We just announced the latest round of winners in our Million Dollar Holiday, Countdown to Carver™ and Prize Zone promotions, and the person’s question is about notification of promotion winners.

The player wanted to know if she has to check the lottery website to see if she’s won a prize in one of our promotions. We do, of course, post promotion results on our website. But we also notify promotion winners directly through the contact information they’ve provided in their VIP Club account.

We email and call our winners, but if their account information isn’t up to date, we sometimes can’t reach them. And that can leave them in danger of missing out on their prize! So if you haven’t done so lately, please log into your VIP Club account as soon as you can so we’ll have the correct information for contacting you!

We’ll of course continue to post the results of our promotion drawings on our website, but rest assured that we contact winners directly whenever we can as well!

Player Question: Does the time or day that I buy my ticket affect my chance to win?

Here’s a Q-and-A we had with a player on social media this week that provides an interesting insight into the way that people play the lottery.

The man shared with us that he buys tickets for several drawings at a time in our Pick 4 game, but he’s afraid that he’s made himself unluckier by doing that. The player said he thinks that most winners in the game buy their tickets right before the drawing happens, and he wondered if he should change his approach to do the same thing. He knew it would mean more trips to the store, but if it would impact his odds of winning, he wanted to know if he should do that.

The quick answer is that it does not matter what day or time you buy a ticket in Pick 4 – the odds of winning are the same for them all. That’s a guarantee in our games, and we know you look to us for that!

But it is true that more tickets in any of our lotto games (including Powerball®, Mega Millions® and Pick 4) are purchased on the day of the drawing. That seems to be a reflection of the human condition: We as human beings often procrastinate! As people realize the drawing time in a particular game is approaching, they realize that they’re running out of time to buy a ticket, and it jogs their memory to get one!

It does not mean that those tickets are luckier – there are just more of them. And because there are more of them, there will be more winners among them. That’s just based upon quantity.

But again, the odds are the same for every ticket in our lotto games, so it does not matter when you buy yours. It only takes one to win!

Player Question: Why Won’t that Store Let Me Use a Debit Card to Buy Tickets?

Here’s a player question that came our way, and you may have wondered about it, too.

The player asked: “Why don’t some retail locations accept debit cards for lottery purchases? Why doesn’t the lottery make them?”

The person is correct that in Iowa, it is legal for a customer to use cash or a cash equivalent (including gift cards, debit cards, and checks) to buy Iowa Lottery tickets. Any of those sources use available funds for the purchase, so they are permitted. But it is illegal in Iowa for lottery tickets to be purchased with a credit card.

While a lottery retail location can accept a check or debit card for the payment of lottery tickets, the retailer is not required to do so. Card transactions for retail purchases involve processing fees (sometimes called swipe fees) that the merchant has to pay. Some retail locations limit card transactions to likewise limit the processing fees that they have to pay.

That’s a business choice made by the location involved, not the Iowa Lottery. We don’t enter into that decision.

Being A Nudge: Please Reserve Lottery Tickets For The Adults On Your Gift List

With the holiday season underway, I’m going to be a nudge about something because it matters.

At the Iowa Lottery, we know that lottery tickets will be among the items given as gifts and put in stockings in the next month or so. And hey, we’re all about that fun!

But please remember that our tickets – while colorful, entertaining and affordable – are something that should be purchased by adults for adults.  

That’s true for a lot of products: The content of some video games and movies is not appropriate for all ages. Alcohol and tobacco-related products have 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. After all, you are gambling when you play the lottery.

Problem gambling can begin in adolescence when impulse and attention control are still developing. We want our products to go to those who are mature enough to enjoy that entertainment.

And as always, if you or someone you know has questions about problem gambling, please know that help is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can text and live chat by visiting Your Life Iowa or you can call 1-800-BETSOFF (1-800-238-7633).