ialottery blog

FY 2024 Results: Thank You For An Incredible Year!

The Iowa Lottery’s latest annual results are out today, and we’re proud to say that with the support of our players, retailers and our entire team, it’s been a record year for ticket sales and prizes!

The preliminary figures show that the Iowa Lottery generated $106.6 million in proceeds to state causes in the fiscal year that ended June 30. That’s the lottery’s second-highest proceeds total, behind only the record $108.4 million in proceeds last year.

Annual lottery sales in FY 2024 were a record $489.9 million, while prizes to players totaled a record $312.6 million. Lottery sales commissions to the local businesses across the state that sell tickets totaled $31.9 million, a record for traditional lottery products.

What’s Behind The Numbers?

A couple big factors are behind those results. First, big jackpots.

You may remember that the jackpots in Mega Millions® and Powerball® topped $800 million at the same time back in March, and that the Powerball jackpot in particular exceeded $1 billion at three different points during the year.

Those big jackpots, combined with the November introduction of the Double Play® option in Powerball, led to an annual increase in Powerball sales of nearly 18 percent for the year.

Scratch games also had a very strong year. Sales of scratch tickets, which have always been the Iowa Lottery’s leading product, continued a strong run in FY 2024, growing 2.9 percent from the previous year and accounting for about 62 percent of the lottery’s overall sales.

It was a great year for lottery winnings as well. Iowa Lottery players claimed 14 prizes of at least $500,000 during FY 2024. And one more – a Powerball Double Play prize of $500,000 won in March in Mason City – was won during the year, but is still unclaimed.

Where’s The Money Go?

A common question we receive is how the money spent on lottery tickets makes a difference in Iowa. The image to the right shows you the breakdown.

For each $1 spent on a lottery ticket in our state, 64 cents goes right back to pay prizes. The next largest portion (22 cents on the dollar) goes to vital state programs, such as the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund that benefits our state’s veterans and their families.

Another 7 cents on the dollar is paid in commissions to the local businesses across the state that sell lottery tickets. And the final 7 cents goes to pay the daily costs of running the lottery.

Truth or Myth: Do Easy Picks Improve Your Luck?

Here’s another truth vs. myth question to test your lottery smarts: Are easy picks luckier?

A lot of people seem to think so, but it’s a myth. Every play in our lotto games (Powerball®, Mega Millions®, etc.) has the same odds of winning, whether you choose your own numbers or buy an easy pick.

You’re likely already familiar with the terms, but just to cover the bases, in lotto games, you have the option of choosing the numbers printed on your ticket or letting the lottery terminal randomly choose the numbers for you. A play with numbers selected by the lottery terminal is called an easy pick. A ticket with numbers you choose yourself is called a manual play. 

Today, more people choose easy picks. A lot more people. In some drawings, more than 90 percent of the plays purchased in Powerball and Mega Millions are easy picks.

With that huge percentage of easy pick tickets being purchased, more winners also come from easy picks. That does not mean they’re luckier, it just means there are a lot more of them.

Whether you buy an easy pick or choose your own numbers, the odds of winning are the same for every ticket in a lotto game. That’s because the odds are based upon all of the possible combinations of numbers available to play in the game.

In Powerball, for example, the odds of winning the jackpot are always about 1 in 292.2 million because that’s how many different ways you can combine the numbers available in the game to make a play. The numbers on your play are one of those 292.2 million combinations. The winning numbers selected in the drawing also are one of those combinations. That’s why there are odds of 1 in 292.2 million that the numbers on your ticket will match the winning numbers in the drawing.

Those odds never change, no matter how many people are playing.

So, if you want to choose your own numbers, go ahead. If you’d rather ask for an easy pick, that’s fine, too. Your odds of winning a prize will be the same no matter which way you go.

These 20 Contestants Will Compete On A Live Game Show At The Iowa State Fair!

We now know the 20 contestants who will compete on a live lottery game show at the 2024 Iowa State Fair for a chance to win up to $5
million!

Iowa Lottery players made more than 67,000 entries into the “Fair Fever” promotion that will conclude with the live game show on opening day of this year’s Iowa State Fair.

Here are the 20 players who beat the odds to make it on the show:

1. Craig Bergman, Cedar Rapids	11. Jolene Murray, Cedar Rapids
2. Michelle Cerwinske, Nashua	12. Mary Olin, Des Moines
3. Margo Fox, Johnston	13. Dawn Petersen, Colfax
4. Kristine Frye, Des Moines	14. Timothy Roberts, Ottumwa
5. Nicole Gulick, Des Moines	15. Scott Stewart, Waterloo
6. Ryan Habeger, Algona	16. Steven Stout, Indianola
7. Gerald Johnson, Iowa City	17. Christine Tatman, Orange City
8. Gerald Kennicker, Dubuque	18. Rodney Tucker, Des Moines
9. Tamara McMahon, Council Bluffs	19. Jeff Weiland, Dubuque
10. Steven Moore, Urbandale	20. David Wesley, Des Moines

It’s been years since the lottery has given away a prize of this size at a live event. The image you can see below is from the last time that happened, during a live game show at the 2012 Iowa State Fair! A retired police officer won the $1 million prize at that event. This year’s push began in April, when the Iowa Lottery and the Iowa State Fair celebrated the release of the “Iowa State Fair” scratch game, the first lottery product to be named for Iowa’s largest event.

Players who didn’t win instant prizes on their Iowa State Fair scratch tickets could enter them into the lottery’s Fair Fever promotion for a chance to be one of the 20 game show contestants or win concert-ticket prize packages for the Iowa State Fair Grandstand.

The promotion’s final drawing date was yesterday, including selection of the game show contestants.

What To Expect At The Game Show

The live game show is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. on Aug. 8 on the Grand Concourse in the heart of the Iowa State Fairgrounds. Through a series of games, the contestants will gradually be eliminated until just one remains.

Each contestant will win at least $10,000 and the finalist will take home at least $500,000 with a chance to win up to $5 million.

In addition, the Iowa Lottery is finalizing plans to award several prizes to members of the audience watching the game show. Details about that will be announced soon!

Hawkeye Football Prize Packages On The Line In Kickoff to Kinnick Promotion

Ticket prize packages for coveted seats this season at all 7 Iowa™ home football games are on the line in the Kickoff to Kinnick™ promotion that opened for entries today.

Some of the prize packages are for stadium-seat tickets while others are for premium spots in the exclusive Iowa Ironmen Suite in Kinnick Stadium™. And all of the prize packages include spending money to make for a great game-day experience!

The promotion is built around the Iowa Lottery’s “Hawkeye™ Gold” scratch game. Its distinctive tickets have a bright gold background, feature a large image of the Iowa Tigerhawk™ logo, and offer players the chance to win cash prizes ranging from $5 up to $50,000.

Lottery players who don’t win an instant prize on their Hawkeye Gold scratch ticket can enter it into the Kickoff to Kinnick promotion for a chance to win Iowa football ticket prize packages for the upcoming season.

How To Enter For A Chance To Win

A total of 41 football prize packages will be given away in the promotion. Players will select the ticket prize package and game of their choice at the time they enter.

The promotion’s entry period continues through 9:59 a.m. on Oct. 16. There will be four drawing dates in the promotion. Please pay close attention to the deadlines involved: The home games earlier in the season will be closed to promotion entries once the applicable deadline has passed.

To get in on the promotion, players must join or already be members of the Iowa Lottery’s free VIP Club. Players can visit the lottery’s website at ialottery.com to enter or scan an eligible Hawkeye Gold ticket with the Iowa Lottery’s mobile app.

Here are the ticket prize packages that will be given away in the promotion:

Aug. 15 drawing date
1 prize package awarded

• This package includes 4 stadium-seat tickets, $1,000 cash and a parking pass for the Illinois St.-Iowa game on Aug. 31.

Aug. 27 drawing date
19 prize packages awarded

• 17 VIP packages with 2 tickets each in the Ironmen Suite for the Iowa St.-Iowa game on Sept. 7 with food, water and soda provided in the suite, and $100 spending money.
• 1 stadium-seat package with 4 tickets, $100 spending money and a parking pass for the Iowa St.-Iowa game on Sept. 7.
• 1 stadium-seat package with 4 tickets, $100 spending money and a parking pass for the Troy-Iowa game on Sept.14.

Sept. 26 drawing date
19 prize packages awarded

• 17 VIP packages with 2 tickets each in the Ironmen Suite for the Washington-Iowa game on Oct. 12 with food, water and soda provided in the suite, and $100 spending money.
• 1 stadium-seat package with 4 tickets, $100 spending money and a parking pass for the Washington-Iowa game on Oct. 12.
• 1 stadium-seat package with 4 tickets, $100 spending money and a parking pass for the Northwestern-Iowa game on Oct. 26.

Oct. 17 drawing date
2 prize packages awarded

• 1 stadium-seat package with 4 tickets, 4 passes to the pre-game hospitality village, 4 field passes, $100 spending money and a parking pass for the Wisconsin-Iowa game on Nov. 2.
• 1 stadium-seat package with 4 tickets, 4 passes to the pre-game hospitality village, 4 field passes, $100 spending money and a parking pass for the Nebraska-Iowa game on Nov. 29.

Here’s Where You Can Walk Down Memory Lane With 40 Years Of Iowa Summers

There’s a new spot where you can look back at 40 years of the best of summer in Iowa.

Today, we had the honor of putting up a new installation in the Iowa State Fair Museum. Photos going back to 1985 show the many times the Iowa State Fair and Iowa Lottery have worked together through the years to amp up the fun for fairgoers.

Did you know that some of the very first lottery tickets in Iowa were sold at the Iowa State Fair? It was a rainy day for the inaugural day of Iowa Lottery sales on Aug. 22, 1985, but people still lined up to buy tickets during the kick-off celebration on the State Fairgrounds. (If you want to see 1985 fashion in Iowa, you’ll find it in that display!)

Fast forward a few years, and you’ll see that Iowa Lottery proceeds were used to renovate and save the iconic Iowa State Fair Grandstand we all know and love.

Other highlights of the display:

• A Powerball drawing was held live on the Grand Concourse at the 2006 Iowa State Fair.
• The lottery helps to celebrate our state’s veterans each year at the State Fair.
• The lottery introduced the first scratch game named for the Iowa State Fair.
• And next month, someone will have the chance to win a lottery prize of up to $5 million in a live game show on opening day of the 2024 Iowa State Fair!

The Iowa State Fair Museum is in the Heritage Village area of the State Fairgrounds, up near Pioneer Hall. The new display is on the museum’s feature wall, so it’s prominent and easy to find once you’re inside.

The display will remain up in the museum for the next year, so lots of folks will have the chance to see it as they take tours of the State Fairgrounds. And a bonus if you visit the museum during the Iowa State Fair: It’s one of the few air-conditioned buildings on the State Fairgrounds, so it’s a great spot to pause and cool off as you learn some interesting history!

Where People Are Buying The Most Tickets: Is Your Store On the List?

Here are a couple interesting lottery numbers in Iowa, both in terms of where people are buying tickets and the prizes being won. Is YOUR favorite lottery spot on the list?

The store in Iowa that sold the most lottery tickets during the past year was a Hy-Vee supermarket in Cedar Rapids. And 14 Iowa players won prizes of at least $500,000 in fiscal year 2024, with a $2 million Powerball® prize at the top of the list!

We’ve gathered these details as we work toward announcement later this month of the Iowa Lottery’s latest annual results. Here is the Top 10 list of retail locations in Iowa for lottery sales in FY 2024. Do you shop at one of these stores?

Top 10 Ranking	Store and Address	FY 2024 Lottery Sales
No. 1	Hy-Vee, 1843 Johnson Ave. NW, Cedar Rapids	$1,340,574.00
No. 2	Hy-Vee, 5050 Edgewood Road NE, Cedar Rapids	$1,044,789.00
No. 3	Hy-Vee, 2323 W. Broadway, Council Bluffs	$960,645.50
No. 4	Albia Road BP, 1340 Albia Road, Ottumwa	$939,354.50
No. 5	Hy-Vee, 3235 Oakland Road NW, Cedar Rapids	$936,142.00
No. 6	Porters Convenient 66, 1512 Lincoln Way, Clinton	$910,507.50
No. 7	Hy-Vee Drugstore, 1520 Sixth St. SW, Cedar Rapids	$903,385.00
No. 8	Hy-Vee, 2540 E. Euclid Ave., Des Moines	$867,583.50
No. 9	Hy-Vee, 1107 E. Army Post Road, Des Moines	$847,289.00
No. 10	Hy-Vee, 410 N. Ankeny Blvd., Ankeny	$832,441.50

And with lottery sales come lottery prizes! The biggest prize won in Iowa last fiscal year was $2 million. Three players won at that level in Powerball.

Another two players won prizes of $1 million in Powerball and Mega Millions®. And nine Iowans won prizes of $500,000 in FY 2024!

Here are the 5 biggest lottery prizes won in Iowa in the past year:

Prize Amount	Game	Winner	Date Claimed
$2 million	Powerball	Mega Balmer, Garwin	July 11, 2023
$2 million	Powerball	Danny Buckelew, Treynor	Jan. 17, 2024
$2 million	Powerball	Mark Krogman, Clinton	April 16, 2024
$1 million	Powerball	Trent Baker, Newton	April 8, 2024
$1 million	Mega Millions	Michael Hoogerwerf, Davenport	July 17, 2023

Cardinal & Gold: New Scratch Game Tied To ISU Football, Including Game In Ireland!

A new lottery scratch game has started arriving in stores today, and this one is ALL cardinal and gold.

You can win up to $50,000 instantly on a Cyclone™ scratch ticket or enter for a chance to win exclusive Iowa State football prize packages, including the grand prize of a trip to see ISU play in Ireland!

Tickets in the exclusive Cyclone scratch game are hitting store shelves today and will be available statewide by Friday. The new game is tied to the lottery’s Cyclone Football promotion, which opened for entries today and offers premium ticket prize packages to see Iowa State play at home, at Arrowhead, or even across the pond.

A total of 17 ticket prize packages will be given away in the promotion. They include premium seats at Jack Trice Stadium, suite tickets when ISU plays on the road at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, and a trip to see ISU play at Aviva Stadium© in Dublin.

Players will select the game of their choice when they enter a ticket into the promotion.

How To Enter

To enter the Cyclone Football promotion, you’ll need to join or already be a member of the Iowa Lottery’s free VIP Club. The promotion’s entry period opened this morning and runs through 9:59 a.m. on Nov. 20. There will be four drawing dates in the promotion for ticket prize packages.

Players can visit the lottery’s website at ialottery.com to enter the promotion or use the Iowa Lottery’s mobile app to scan an eligible ticket for entry. Please pay close attention to the entry deadlines involved. The games earlier in the season will be closed to promotion entries once the applicable deadline has passed.

Drawings & Prizes

Here are the drawing dates and the ticket prize packages that will be given away in the Cyclone Football promotion:

Aug. 15 drawing date
4 game-day prize packages awarded
Each includes: 2 premium seat tickets for the N. Dakota-Iowa St. game on Aug. 31 at Jack Trice Stadium; $200 spending money; 1 parking pass for the game; 2 pre-game field access passes; 1 Cyclone merchandise prize pack.

Sept. 19 drawing date
8 game-day prize packages awarded
Each includes: 2 private suite tickets for the Baylor-Iowa St. game on Oct. 5 at Jack Trice Stadium; complimentary food, water and soda provided in the suite; $100 spending money; 1 parking pass for the game.

Oct. 17 drawing date
4 game-day prize packages awarded
Each includes: 2 private suite tickets for the Iowa St-Kansas game on Nov. 9 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo.; complimentary food, water and soda provided in the suite; $100 spending money; 1 parking pass for the game; $500 Visa gift card for lodging.

Nov. 21 drawing date
1 Ireland Cyclone Football package awarded
It includes tickets to 2 Iowa State games, one in Ames, and the other in Ireland.
       For the first game, the winner will receive 2 premium seat tickets including hospitality at the Kansas St.-Iowa St. match-up on Nov. 30 at Jack Trice Stadium and 1 parking pass for the game. The winner will be featured that day in an on-field presentation announcing that they will be going to Dublin as the winner of the travel package for ISU’s 2025 game in Ireland.
        For the second game, the winner will receive 2 game tickets for the Kansas St.-Iowa St. game on Aug. 23, 2025, in Dublin, Ireland; a travel package to Ireland including hotel stay in Dublin and airfare to Dublin from a major airport; and $5,000 spending money.

All entries not selected as a winner in one of the promotion’s initial drawings will remain eligible for the final drawing for the package that includes the Ireland Cyclone Football Experience.

Players can enter multiple tickets into the promotion but can win only one football prize package per game date.