ialottery blog

Good-bye: Thank You For Spending Time With Me For So Many Years On The Blog!

As we near the point of sliding into the weekend, I’m posting to the blog one last time to thank you for being part a conversation here with me for so many years. Showing that time really does fly, today is my last day at the Iowa Lottery.

I am retiring after being a member of the lottery team for nearly 26 years.

Jackpots & The Speed At Which We Find Out

I think of the huge change in the size of the jackpots during that time! And the speed with which we find out whether there’s been a big winning ticket in Iowa. That used to take several hours, usually until the early morning time, but with today’s faster computers, we generally know whether Iowa has had a winner by about 10:30 p.m.

The way we communicate with each other also has definitely changed! There was no such thing as social media when my career started at the lottery. But we jumped right in when that new thing came along that at the time was called new media. And now you can interact with us on multiple social media platforms

Wait, It’s Not Just One Free Play A Year?

Here’s something else to make you smile: When I started at the Iowa Lottery, the lottery had a birthday club you could join to get a free play mailed to you on your birthday. Fast forward to today, and that’s morphed into the VIP Club where you get a free play every month and can enter contests and promotions for the chance to win exclusive prizes.

The Difference The Lottery Has Made

I think about the tremendous good the lottery has accomplished in our state through the years. During my time here, the lottery has raised more than $42 million for the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund to support veterans and their families. I’m extremely proud to have worked on the legislation to make that possible.

Those Winning Stories

The winner stories are what I’ll remember and miss the most.

I think of the jackpot winner who knew for a couple weeks that he’d hit big, but he waited to claim the prize because he was having so much fun listening to people in his hometown theorize about why the money hadn’t been claimed yet.

Then there was another jackpot winner who bought the small golf course in his community to keep it open for folks to enjoy.

And the winner who knew on a Friday that he’d won a big prize, and he’d have to wait the whole weekend before he could claim his winnings when lottery offices opened on Monday. When I asked him where he kept his ticket for safekeeping that weekend, he said it was in his dentures case because no one would ever look there.

THAT was a story I wasn’t expecting!

Things Change, But They Also Stay The Same 

Through it all, the lottery has kept coming up with new game ideas and provided as many details as we can to help answer your questions.

As I step away, the blog may not be updated as often until new staffers come onboard. There will be more lottery stories to tell in the time to come, and I hope you’ll enjoy talking with the next person who will deliver them.

                                                                                                     -- Mary from the Lottery 

These Are Things You Really Should Know Before You Play

Ever complained that we got the odds wrong? Thought your ticket should have won when it didn’t? Wondered if a message you got is actually a scam? We’ve got new info. to help you find answers.

The new details are all designed to build your lottery know-how and make informed decisions when you buy tickets.

You’ll find it all on our new website page called Know Before You Play.

When you click on one of the topic lines on that page, it will expand to provide that content, but you’ll stay on the same page so you can easily keep going to other topics. When you click on a different topic, the previous section “rolls back up” so only one subject is open at a time.

There are 8 topics on the page, all with real-world examples and scenarios from a consumer-awareness perspective.

The Know Before You Play topics are:

• Know Your Limits
• Know What The Odds Mean
• Know Where You Can Buy Tickets
• Know The Details On Your Ticket
• Know How To Spot Scams & Fraud
• Know How To Play In A Group
• Know What To Do When You Win
• Know When To Take A Break

It's A Throwback For Our 40th Anniversary

Forty years after we did it the first time, the Iowa Lottery is inviting you again to Scratch, Match & Win!

You read that right: The lottery is turning 40 this year. And to celebrate the moment, a throwback version of our very first game has just arrived in stores.

Tickets in 2025’s version of the Scratch, Match & Win game feature artwork of a hand holding a coin to scratch a ticket, a lot like the lottery’s original scratch game from August 1985. But today’s version is a $5 game with instant prizes of up to $50,000. And its tickets are a lot bigger than those from 40 years ago!

If you don’t win a cash prize on your Scratch, Match & Win ticket, you can enter it into a promotion for a chance to win concert prize packages to the Iowa State Fair Grandstand or cash prizes of up to $100,000.

The Scratch, Match & Win promotion has just opened for entries today. You can enter eligible tickets through the morning of Sept. 17.

The promotion will have 2 drawing dates. The first on July 22 will be for 87 concert prize packages to 2025 performances at the Iowa State Fair Grandstand. Each Grandstand ticket prize package includes 4 concert tickets, 4 Iowa State Fair admission tickets, a parking pass for the Fair, and $400 spending money.

The promotion’s second drawing date on Sept. 18 will be for 51 cash prizes ranging from $1,000 up to the grand prize of $100,000.

By The Numbers, 40 Years Of Lottery

Legislation allowing a lottery in Iowa was signed into law on April 18, 1985, and Iowa Lottery sales began a little more than 4 months later with a kick-off celebration on Aug. 22, 1985, at the Iowa State Fair.

By the numbers, here’s a look at 40 years of a lottery in Iowa.

$10.4 billion	Total Iowa Lottery sales
$6.1 billion	Total prizes won by Iowa Lottery players
$2.5 billion	Total lottery proceeds raised for Iowa causes
$722.5 million	Total lottery sales commissions paid to the local Iowa businesses that sell lottery tickets
$343.9 million	Largest lottery prize won in Iowa. A Redfield woman claimed that Powerball® jackpot on Nov. 5, 2018.
6.4 million	Number of lottery tickets sold during the lottery’s first week of sales
2,500	Number of retail locations in Iowa that sell lottery tickets
189	Number of Iowa Lottery tickets to date that have won prizes of $1 million or more
9	Number of Powerball jackpots won to date by Iowa Lottery players

New Threshold: $6 BILLION In Prizes!

The Iowa Lottery just passed a significant milestone in winnings.

We’ll never know exactly who it was, but someone recently claimed a winning ticket that lifted the total amount the Iowa Lottery has paid in prizes to more than $6 billion!

That’s not a typo. Since the Iowa Lottery’s start in 1985, players have won more than $6 billion in prizes. And the last two years have seen the largest prize totals so far!

In fiscal year 2024, players won $106.6 million from the Iowa Lottery. And that number was eclipsed only by FY 2023’s prize total of $108.4 million!

The Iowa Lottery is celebrating its 40th birthday this year, so it seems appropriate that we’d hit another major milestone at the same time.

Congratulations to all our winners of prizes both large and small. We appreciate you being part of our world!

Here Are A LOT Of Great Sayings To Share About Playing In A Healthy Way

We recently asked the Iowa Lottery team to share a simple way that they remind people to play the lottery in a healthy way.

It may sound like a small thing, but in reality, those everyday sayings reflect the foundation of consumer awareness and protection that has always been at the Iowa Lottery’s core.

And wow, did the Iowa Lottery team come through!

I was blown away by the great answers my co-workers provided. Some of the sayings were repeated by multiple people, and that’s OK! That particular saying must have a really clear meaning for a lot of folks.

If you’ve ever struggled with the right thing to say to remind someone to play the lottery/gamble in a healthy way, here are a lot of great choices!

Stay in your budget.	Know your limits.	Play responsibly, use discretionary funds.
Bet within your limits.	Good luck, please play responsibly.	Play with your head, not over your head.
Only play what you can afford to lose.	Don’t gamble in hopes of coming out ahead.	Don’t put your family at risk for a chance.
If you can’t handle it, don’t play.	Play within your means.	Keep your spending on gambling to a reasonable amount for you.
Play for fun, not for retirement.	It only takes one ticket to win.	Set a budget for playing and stay within that.
Play healthy.	Play the lottery for fun, not for a profit.	If it causes you stress, re-assess.
Stop playing when it is no longer fun.	If playing any of our games is bringing you stress, please don’t play.	Play within your means.
If you’re not having fun, don’t do it.	Have fun, responsibly!	Under 21, can’t buy one.
Play for fun, not for a living.	Play what you can afford to lose.	If you’re not having fun, it’s time to quit.
Know when to quit, don’t chase your losses.	If playing stresses you out, take a break.	Play for fun, not just for money.
Remember it is OK to take a break!	Make sure you're playing responsibly. Can you afford it?	Know when to say when.
Play with your head, not over your head!	It should be fun entertainment, not stressful.	If it no longer brings you joy, take a break.
Play smart and responsibly.	Play within your financial means if you’re going to play.	Make sure you don’t spend more than you can afford.

Lottery-Ticket Purchases at The Checkout Make Iowa Debut at Fareway Stores

Powerball® and Mega Millions® tickets can now be purchased in checkout lanes at many Fareway® Stores in Iowa, marking the state debut of this new convenience in lottery play.

The new purchase option, called Easy Play, has debuted in select Fareway locations in Iowa. Roll-out is planned by the end of March to all Fareway locations in the state that sell lottery tickets.

The new option allows quick-pick tickets in Powerball and Mega Millions to be printed from the cash register. The tickets are produced on the same paper as store receipts, but printed separately.

Customers in those stores can buy quick-pick tickets – where the numbers in the plays are randomly assigned – in Powerball and Mega Millions at any checkout lane staffed by a cashier.

Before this, Iowa Lottery tickets could only be purchased at a lottery terminal or self-service kiosk in a retail location.

Express Lane vs. Full Selection

Think of Easy Play as an express lane with just a couple lottery options available. Customers who want to cash a lottery prize, choose their own numbers in a lotto game, or buy tickets in the full selection of lottery games available at the store, will still go to the clerk at the lottery terminal.

At the Iowa Lottery, we recognize that consumers value convenience. And we’re glad to help meet that expectation by going live at Fareway with this new way to buy lotto tickets in Iowa.

How It Works

The Easy Play option allows customers at the cash register to buy quick-pick tickets with 1, 2, 3, 5 or 10 plays on them for the next drawing in Powerball and Mega Millions.

The point is to keep things moving, so you can’t add the Power Play®, Double Play® or Megaplier® options on an Easy Play ticket. Also note that Easy Play tickets can’t be purchased in self-service lanes.

But Easy Play tickets can be checked or cashed at any lottery retail location in Iowa. The tickets look a lot like those from a lottery terminal or self-service kiosk, but include the Easy Play logo to identify them.

Easy Play tickets comply with the same security standards as any Iowa Lottery ticket. And,
Fareway cash registers have the technology to ensure that customers buy Easy Play tickets with cash or the equivalent, including debit. It is illegal in Iowa for lottery tickets to be purchased with credit.

In Their Own Words: These Iowans Share What Help Means For Gambling Addiction

In these new videos you’ll see on television and online in the next month, 2 Iowans talk about gambling addiction. It’s a tough issue that can affect people at any time – and help is available for it.

But what would lead someone to think they need help for this often misunderstood condition? What does that help look like, exactly? And what difference can it make?

In the first video, an Iowa man shares his struggle from the time that he gambled too much, how it harmed his life, and the moment he knew he needed to make a change. His bright smile as he says he’s doing well today just shines through!

In the other message, a Burlington counselor who helped the man with his gambling disorder tells you what that treatment looks like, and the turn-around it can make in someone’s life.

At the Iowa Lottery, we're highlighting their stories to help us all have a better understanding of gambling addiction.

March is Problem Gambling Awareness Month. During the next few weeks, you’ll see the Iowa Lottery’s reminders about it across the state. Whether you’re in a store, driving by an outdoor billboard, watching TV, listening to the radio, using a streaming service or going online, you’ll likely see one of the public service announcements.

We hope that by providing these details, we can get the right information at the right time to someone looking for answers.

Remember that people with gambling disorders can come from any background and live anywhere. A gambling disorder can have periods where symptoms subside, and times where it’s more severe.

The universal truth for us all to know is that gambling disorders are treatable.

If you have questions about gambling addiction, free and confidential help is available 24/7 in Iowa by visiting yourlifeiowa.org or calling 1-800-BETS OFF. You can reach someone who cares through text, secure chat, email, telephone or in person.

Player Comment: I Just Had To Pay An Extra Fee To Buy Lottery Tickets!

A player just reached out to us with a question about a fee she paid to buy lottery tickets at a store in her area. We were able to help resolve that situation, and I’m sharing the details here in case you’ve ever experienced the same thing.

The woman bought lottery tickets at an Iowa store and thought she’d been charged sales tax on the purchase. She wanted to know if that was something new.

We reached out to the store involved and learned that it had mistakenly been charging a processing fee to players who used a debit card to buy lottery tickets. We let the store know that fees like that can’t be passed along to the player for a lottery purchase.

Iowa Lottery tickets are sold at the price printed on the ticket. So even if you buy multiple tickets, the total amount of your purchase will always end in 0.

Sales tax doesn’t apply to lottery tickets, and processing and service fees also can’t be charged to a player for a lottery purchase.

The reality of those requirements means that some stores may not accept debit cards for lottery purchases, and that is their decision to make.

In Iowa, it’s legal for a customer to use cash or the equivalent (including gift cards, debit cards, and checks) to buy Iowa Lottery tickets. Any of those methods 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 debit card for the payment of lottery tickets, they are 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 also limit the processing fees they pay.

The bottom line: You should never pay any sort of fee to buy lottery tickets in Iowa. If a retailer is charging you one, let us know so we can help.

Claimed A Big Lottery Prize Last Year? The Tax Form You’ll Need Is Being Processed

If you claimed an Iowa Lottery prize of more than $600 in calendar year 2024, the form you’ll need as you file your income taxes is being processed for mailing.

The document most winners will receive is the W-2G form. It lists the total prize amount won along with any federal and state withholdings applied to the prize. (Lottery winners who aren’t U.S. citizens receive a document called Form 1042S.)

If you claimed multiple Iowa Lottery prizes of more than $600 in 2024, you’ll get multiple forms from us, one for each prize claimed.

The deadline for all W-2G forms to be in the mail is this Friday (Jan. 31). We’re processing the forms now! Depending on the delivery time, you should receive your form in early February.

If you think you should get a tax form from us for winnings in calendar year 2024 and you've moved since you claimed your prize, please let us know your new address as soon as possible. If we don’t get that update, your tax form will be sent to the address provided when you claimed your prize.

You can call the Iowa Lottery at 515-725-7900 or email us at [email protected] if you have questions. Be sure to include your name, old address, new address, and telephone number in case we need to contact you.

Thank you again for playing the Iowa Lottery. And congrats to all our winners!

What Do YOU Call These Tickets?

We asked this question in the lottery's social media contest this month, and the split in the answers tells us to keep asking.

So, we want to know: What do you call the lottery tickets where you scratch off the security coating to see if you’ve won a prize?

Nearly 2,700 people shared their answers during our social media contest Jan. 13-15. Here’s the split:

• Scratch tickets:     50 percent (1,336 answers)
• Scratch-offs:         33 percent (885 answers)
• Scratchers:           17 percent (450 answers)
• Scratch cards:      0.8 percent (21 answers)

A few other people posted comments with even more responses, including: scratchies!

There are 48 U.S. lotteries, and there appear to be nearly that many names for this product, depending on where you live.

We asked the question because we’re curious about what Iowa players say. We don’t want to call our games something that causes confusion or doesn’t mean anything to you.

Under state law, the technical name for the product is “instant ticket” because you can find out instantly if you’ve won a prize. But through the years, that name has fallen by the wayside for more every-day references.

I don’t think we’re wrong to call them scratch tickets, but we may work in the other names from time to time!

Do YOU call those tickets something else?

Thought Starter: Can My Charity Accept A Winning Lottery Ticket As A Donation?

Here’s a question we received that had a really nice outcome for the nonprofit involved: Can a charitable organization accept a winning lottery ticket as a donation?

The short answer is yes. The amount of the prize involved would ultimately be considered a cash donation to the group. And a lottery prize can be claimed by an organization as opposed to a person.

Here is the background about the particular inquiry we received.

The philanthropy director from a shelter in western Iowa said that a woman came to their location and handed an employee a winning lottery ticket as a donation to the organization. The woman didn’t give her name and said she wanted it to just be a gift.

We congratulated the group on receiving a very fun and creative anonymous donation! We also let them know that businesses and other organizations can and do claim prizes from the Iowa Lottery.

In those cases, the name and tax ID number provided on the prize claim form are those of the organization involved. We do request the ID of the person presenting the winning ticket, but they sign the claim form on behalf of the organization.

About a week after our email exchange, the shelter claimed a $2,000 prize. That’s a great ending, and a really generous gesture by the anonymous donor who started it all!

Audience Members Can Win Prizes At Our Live Game Show At The Iowa State Fair!

Our live game show at the Iowa State Fair is just a week away, and we’ve got big news about it: If you’re in the audience that day, you’ll have a chance to win up to $50,000!

So how can you have a shot at the audience prizes? First, you’ll need to be at the 2024 Iowa State Fair on its opening day, Thursday, Aug. 8. Then, you’ll need to register to be an audience member. And most importantly, you’ll need to be at the Cash Fever game show when it's held live on the Grand Concourse.

The 20 lottery players who will be contestants on the Cash Fever game show are each guaranteed to win at least $10,000. And the final contestant that day will win at least $500,000, with a chance at a prize of up to $5 million.

Now we’re excited to announce that during the game show, we’ll give away two prizes of $5,000 and one prize of $50,000 to those in the audience!

As the game show begins at 5:30 p.m. next Thursday, we’ll give away a prize of $5,000 to an audience member. After the show’s first round, we’ll give away another prize of $5,000. And just before the show heads into its final round, we’ll give away a $50,000 prize to an audience member!

We’ll be registering audience members for the game show from 2-4 p.m. on Aug. 8 in front of the Fair Administration Building on the Grand Concourse. I’ve marked that spot on the map below, and it’s where the game show also will be held. We’ll keep registering folks until 1,200 audience members have been registered or time runs out, whichever comes first.

We’ll give each registered audience member a free ticket in our “Iowa State Fair” scratch game! You can only register once to be an audience member.

Then, to be eligible to win an audience prize, you’ll need to be on the Grand Concourse for the game show. When we announce an audience member’s name as a prize winner, that person will have 2 minutes to identify themselves to a lottery representative at the show. We expect it will be pretty easy to see the winner as they’re smiling and celebrating! But in any case, we’ll have lottery folks with flags around the perimeter of the audience section, so the winners can see them.

If the winner doesn’t come forward within the 2 minutes allowed, we’ll move on and call another audience member’s name for the prize. We’ll try a maximum of three times to award each prize.

We hope this added excitement gets you even more amped up to join us next week at the Iowa State Fair! See you there!

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.

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!

Truth or Myth: All the winners are from big cities/small towns, not my area

Here’s another entry in our Truth or Myth series to see if everyone has their thinking caps on! This is about a comment we get a lot, and it comes from people all over the state: All the big winners are from big cities/small towns, this county/that county, eastern Iowa/northern Iowa, etc., etc.

It’s definitely a myth, and it seems to be based upon the area the person is from, no matter where that is. I think the truth of the matter is that the people likely won’t truly be satisfied until they’re the big winner, but maybe you have another theory.

Here's an example of that myth in action, but on a national scale: We were talking one day with the folks from the DC Lottery in Washington. I told them about the comment we get that "no one from here ever wins." They laughed and said what they hear is that "it's always those people from Iowa who win the jackpot."

In reality, people all across Iowa – and all across the country – can and do win lottery prizes every day.

Now, it is true that there will be more winners in spots where more people are buying lottery tickets. Another way of putting that is that if 5 percent of lottery tickets are sold in a particular area, you can expect to find about 5 percent of the overall winners there.

That's always been the case with the Iowa Lottery. Everyone has the same chance of winning but there will be more winners in places where more tickets are being sold.

You want to know when you buy a lottery ticket that you have the same fair chance of winning as anyone else. And it’s our job at the Iowa Lottery to ensure that the case, with winners in our games being determined by nothing other than pure, random chance.

Whether you play the lottery or not, we want everyone to have an accurate understanding of how the lottery works. This Truth or Myth series is part of that effort.

See You This Weekend At The Iowa Speedway!

If you’re headed to the NASCAR® races in Newton this weekend, stop by and see us! The Iowa Lottery has a booth at the Iowa Speedway for all three days of racing.

We’re on the concourse near Ticket Booth 2, just across from the Newton Club! We’re selling and cashing tickets at our booth, there are merchandise prizes you can win in the wheel spin, and we’ve got staffers handing out free pull-tab tickets from time to time along the concourse.

Full details, including our booth hours, are in the video!

NASCAR®, NASCAR Cup Series Championship Weekend™ and NASCAR Cup Series™ are trademarks of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC, and used with expressed permission. Iowa Speedway® is a registered trademark of Iowa Speedway, LLC.

Do Iowa Lottery Winners Really Get to Keep Those Big Checks?

Here’s a new question that just came our way: Do Iowa Lottery winners really get to keep those big checks you see in all the photos? The answer is: Yes, absolutely!

When a winner comes to one of our offices to claim a big prize, we do our best to make it a memorable time. We’re of course paying the person a significant sum, which makes it a notable moment. But we add in other special touches to help them celebrate!

Those oversized, ceremonial checks are of course part of the mix. For our very biggest winners, we custom-print a check that includes their name and details including the store where they bought their winning ticket. Other winners receive slightly smaller ceremonial checks made out in their names.

We send the oversized checks home with the winners along with their real checks, of course. We often say that the oversized checks are their evidence because they have to cash or deposit the real check.

It’s fun when we catch up with big winners later to hear what they did with their oversized checks. Some are framed and hung on the wall at home, some get taken to work, some have even been put up at the winner’s favorite local watering hole.

It’s pretty amazing the life that those oversized checks take on!

So yes, when you win big, the Iowa Lottery definitely will make an oversized check for you. And you’ll get to take it home, provided that it fits in your car!

The State Where You Bought Your Ticket Determines Where You Can Claim A Prize

Lottery players who bought tickets in Minnesota and Wisconsin contacted us this week, wanting to know if they could cash those tickets in Iowa.

The short answer is no. You have to claim any prize you win from the lottery in the state where you bought your ticket.

Here is the background involved:

If you buy a lottery ticket in Iowa, you’ll need to claim any prize you win on that ticket here in Iowa. And if you buy a ticket in another state, you’ll need to claim any prize you win from it in that state.

There’s an enormous amount of technology that goes into running a lottery, and each state lottery has its own computer system to track the tickets it produces and sells. Because each state lottery individually tracks its own tickets, sales and prizes, the computer systems involved are independent from each other.

That means the lottery equipment here in Iowa can’t read tickets from another state, and vice versa. In addition, the money raised from the sale of lottery tickets in each state stays in that state to support valuable causes there.

If visiting an Iowa Lottery retail location or one of our offices just won’t work for you, remember that we always offer players the option of claiming most prizes through the mail. (There are a few exceptions to that. For example, if you win a jackpot, that prize has to be claimed in person at our headquarters location in Clive.)

Many other state lotteries also offer players the ability to claim prizes by mail. Check with the respective state lottery from which you bought your ticket about those details.

Safe travels while you are out and about! And good luck on any lottery tickets you buy along the way!

Truth or Myth: Iowa's Age Limit To Buy Lottery Tix Is Higher Than In Most States

Here’s another entry in our Truth or Myth series to see how well you know the lottery. 

Truth or Myth: The minimum age to buy lottery tickets in Iowa is higher than for most other U.S. lotteries.

That one is true … but it wasn‘t always.

Today in Iowa, you have to be at least 21 years old to buy a lottery ticket. There are three other U.S. lotteries where that’s also the case: Arizona, Louisiana and Mississippi. And in Nebraska, the minimum legal age to buy lottery tickets is 19. The other 44 U.S. lotteries all have a minimum purchasing age of 18 for lottery tickets.

When the Iowa Lottery started in 1985, the legal minimum purchasing age was 18 for lottery tickets in our state. That remained the case for nearly a decade.

But in March 1994, as part of legislation involving several gambling issues, lawmakers raised the minimum purchasing age to 21 for lottery tickets in Iowa so there would be a universal age for all forms of gambling in our state. That age limit still applies today.

We’ll have another Truth or Myth update next month! It’s part of our efforts to keep you up on lottery details. Whether you play the lottery or not, we want everyone to have an accurate understanding of how the lottery works.

Gambling Affects People In Different Ways. Help Is Available 24/7 In Iowa If You Have Questions.

This month, we’re highlighting an issue that can affect people at any time. Help is available 24/7 in Iowa if you have questions.

March is Problem Gambling Awareness Month. During the next few weeks, you’ll see our reminders about it across the state. Whether you’re in a store, driving by an outdoor billboard, watching TV, listening to the radio, using a streaming service or going online, you’ll likely see one of the public service announcements we produced along with the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services.

At the Iowa Lottery, we hope that by providing this information, we’ll get the right message at the right time to someone looking for answers.

Remember that people with gambling disorders can come from any background and live anywhere. A gambling disorder can have periods where symptoms subside, and times where it’s more severe.

The universal truth is that gambling disorders are treatable.

If you have questions about problem gambling, free and confidential help is available 24/7 in Iowa by visiting yourlifeiowa.org or calling 1-800-BETS OFF. You can reach someone who cares through text, secure chat, email, telephone or in person.

The hashtag you’ll see this month is #PGAM2024, with messages from health officials and treatment experts across the country. We’re emphasizing that every story matters as we work to build support and understanding within our communities. Together we can amplify awareness!

I’m a snowbird, can I use my VIP Club free play where I am for the winter?

Here’s a question we just got from a member of our VIP Club who’s enjoying warmer weather for the winter. Other folks may also be out of state at times and have the same question.

The woman said she’s a snowbird currently in Florida, and she wondered if while she’s there she can use the free lottery play she gets each month for being a member of the Iowa Lottery’s VIP Club.

The short answer is no, but here’s the background involved:

We send free plays by email to our VIP Club members each month, and in this instance, the woman was checking her email from another state. We’re all often on the go these days, so we understand that you may check your email from many different places.

But in the case of our free plays, they can only be redeemed at lottery retail locations in Iowa. The free play is from the Iowa Lottery, not a lottery in another state.

From an operational perspective, lottery terminals outside of Iowa can’t redeem our free plays because they’re not programmed to read them. And from a cost perspective, we’re not asking another lottery to cover the expense of the free plays we send out. That wouldn’t be very neighborly of us!

So please know that we’ll continue to send our VIP Club members free plays each month. It’s a thank you from us to show our appreciation for you as a lottery player. You can redeem your free play anywhere in Iowa that lottery tickets are sold!

Calendar Invite: Tomorrow We’ll be at Veterans Day at the Capitol

Tomorrow is an event we look forward to every year for the opportunity to interact with those who have given so much for our country.

It’s the annual Veterans Day at the Capitol event. Tomorrow morning, our state’s veterans and their families will gather at the Statehouse in Des Moines to talk with Iowa lawmakers and advocate for ideas to help support the veterans community.

The lottery will have a booth at the event to provide information about the proceeds that we raise for the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund. We’ll add lottery fun to the day by giving away some lottery prize packs in contests we’ll hold at our booth in the Rotunda on the Capitol’s first floor.

Everyone during the event from 9 a.m. until about noon tomorrow is welcome to enter our contest for a chance to win a prize pack. We’ll also have lottery and veterans-themed swag at our booth to help lift people’s spirits on a cold winter day!

Since 2008, when lottery proceeds were first dedicated to the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund, the Iowa Lottery has now raised nearly $40 million for the cause. A portion of the money raised from the sale of all lottery tickets in Iowa goes to the Veterans Trust Fund to directly help veterans and their families.

It’s another way for us all to say: Thank you, veterans!

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).

I’m Clearly Not 21, But They Still Carded Me

Here’s a question that just came our way from a player who wondered why he was carded at a local convenience store as he was buying lottery tickets.

The man said he’s clearly not 21 – in fact, he’s over 50 – and he still had to show his I.D.

There’s a real-world reason behind that workplace policy: Stores ask customers to verify their age before buying certain products as a way to protect their ability to do business.

Lottery tickets are an age-controlled product, meaning that you have to be a certain age before you can purchase them. Here in Iowa, the minimum purchasing age for lottery tickets is 21.

Retail locations receive licenses to sell age-controlled products, and one of the requirements of those licenses is that they enforce the minimum purchasing age. A business license will be suspended or even revoked if they violate its terms, and some stores therefore choose to I.D. everyone, not just those they think may be under 21.

Losing any business license would have a huge financial impact on the location involved, likely limiting for an extended period of time the products it can sell.

We support our retailers’ decisions to take a careful approach!

So if you’re asked for an I.D. when you buy lottery tickets, know that the store is doing the right thing. (And if you think it’s obvious you don’t look 21, maybe just have fun in that moment!)

Be Aware: We’re Hearing About Scam Attempts Nearly Every Day

For whatever the reason – maybe it’s a hold-over effect from this summer’s giant jackpots – we’re hearing nearly every day about lottery scam attempts. It’s an important signal that we all need to protect ourselves and our personal information.

In some instances, we’re seeing scam attempts directly through our social media channels. In other cases, members of the public have contacted us after seeing something that made them suspicious.

The folks who reached out to us absolutely did the smart thing. First and foremost, they didn’t fall for the scammers’ claims. And second, they contacted us to report what happened and verify that it was a scam.

The scary part is that for every person who contacts us, there could be so many more who also have been contacted by scammers and may have fallen victim. And even some of those who reach out to us want to believe the scammers so badly.

Many of the scams bogusly use the names of popular lottery games such as Mega Millions® and Powerball®. And we know it can be tempting. Who doesn’t want to dream that they’ve won big?

But it’s important to know these simple truths: Games like Mega Millions and Powerball are sold only in the United States, and the ONLY way to win prize in them is to purchase a ticket from a licensed retail location and then match some or all of the winning numbers for that specific drawing.

There are no random Powerball or Mega Millions prizes awarded anywhere in the world simply based on telephone numbers, email addresses or social media accounts. Scammers also often impersonate lottery winners and claim to be randomly giving away a portion of their prize money. Those instances also aren't real.

And, most importantly, there is NEVER a fee to claim a real lottery prize. If you are asked to pay money, it is a scam.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has great details on its Consumer Advice page about the warning signs of fake prizes, sweepstakes and lotteries. The page includes tips for reporting a scam if you’ve been targeted or have been a victim.

Here in our state, the Iowa Attorney General’s Office has a Consumer Protection Division that can help.

But the very best thing that any of us can do is to remain vigilant and continue to protect ourselves.

FY 2023 Results: Iowa Lottery Sales, Proceeds, Prizes to Players All Set Records

The Iowa Lottery’s latest annual results are out, showing that its sales, proceeds to state causes, prizes to players, and commissions paid to local businesses across the state all set records in fiscal year 2023.

At the lottery, we offer huge thanks our players, our business partners and our hard-working team who all were a part of this record moment. The bottom-line result is more proceeds for the good causes in Iowa that benefit from lottery support.

That’s the “Iowa” part of the Iowa Lottery, and we never forget it.

Diving Into The Numbers

The preliminary figures released today show that the Iowa Lottery generated a record $108.2 million in proceeds to state causes for the fiscal year that ended on June 30. Annual lottery sales in FY 2023 were a record $481.5 million, while prizes to players totaled a record $305.3 million.

Lottery sales commissions to the local businesses across the state that sell tickets totaled $31.3 million, a record for traditional lottery products.

The unaudited results show that Iowa Lottery sales in FY 2023 increased 11.3 percent from the previous year’s total of $432.7 million.

Lottery proceeds to state causes in FY 2023 increased 10.5 percent from the previous year, and prizes to players increased 11.3 percent from the previous year’s total. Lottery sales commissions to Iowa businesses increased 10.8 percent from the previous year.

What Led To The Record Year

The lottery’s results in the past year were positively impacted by two main factors: a rebound in sales of scratch games and significant jackpots in national lotto games.

The jackpots in Mega Millions® and Powerball® simultaneously topped the $400 million mark in October 2022, with the Powerball jackpot ultimately hitting $2.04 billion for that game’s drawing on Nov. 7, 2022. That’s the world record for a lottery prize.

The simultaneous huge jackpots generated a corresponding surge in sales in both games.

Lotto America, a smaller multi-state game than Powerball and Mega Millions, also saw a sales surge for the year. Its jackpot reached $40.04 million, a record for that game, in its drawing on April 1 of this year. A Dubuque man won that jackpot.

Sales of scratch games, which have always been the Iowa Lottery’s leading product, rebounded in FY 2023 after falling the previous year amid surging fuel prices and inflationary pressures. Increased fuel costs historically have had the most direct impact on the sale of scratch games among the lottery’s products.

As fuel prices and other economic pressures eased in FY 2023 and new games were introduced, scratch-ticket sales gradually rebounded in Iowa. The product category finished the year up slightly, with scratch-ticket sales representing about 61 percent of total Iowa Lottery sales.

Biggest Prizes, Top Retailers For The Year

Eleven Iowa Lottery prizes of at least $500,000 were won during FY 2023. One of those, a $1 million Mega Millions prize won in September 2022 in Ames, is still unclaimed.

The biggest prize won in Iowa during the year was a $40.03 million Lotto America® jackpot claimed by a Dubuque man.

Lottery players in Iowa also claimed 3 prizes of $2 million, 4 prizes of $1 million, and 2 prizes of $500,000 during the year.

The Top 10 retailers in Iowa for lottery sales in FY 2023 were in 5 different communities: Cedar Rapids, Clinton, Council Bluffs, Des Moines and Marshalltown. The No. 1 retailer on the list is the Hy-Vee at 1843 Johnson Ave. in Cedar Rapids. That store sold more than $1.3 million in lottery tickets during the year.

Where The Money Goes

A highlight for FY 2023 was the $2.5 million the lottery raised for the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund to benefit our state’s veterans and their families. The lottery now has raised nearly $37.4 million for the Veterans Trust Fund since it began providing proceeds to that cause in 2008.

Full details about how lottery proceeds help Iowa are available on our Lottery Gives Back page.

Player Question: Does The “Woo-hoo!” Sound Play For Nonwinning Tickets?

A player who was worried that she may have missed a prize reached out to us about the recording that an Iowa Lottery terminal plays when a winning ticket is scanned. The player wanted to know if the terminal plays the same message for winning AND nonwinning tickets.

The short answer is no. But here is the background involved:

Whenever a winning lottery ticket is scanned on a lottery terminal in Iowa, the machine plays a recorded message. A voice from the terminal says, “You’re a winner!” followed by the lottery’s signature “Woo-hoo!” sound.

The sound is the same for any prize you win, whether it’s $1 or $100 million. It’s not possible for retail employees to adjust the sound level on a lottery terminal, so the recorded message will come through for a winning ticket. The terminal does not play the sound when a nonwinning ticket is scanned.

(The lottery’s self-checkers, self-service kiosks and mobile app display a message on the screen with the amount of any prize won rather than playing a recording.)

And remember that customer receipts also are printed from the lottery terminal for any ticket that is checked or cashed. The receipts are available to you as the customer if you have a question about what you may have won.

No Judgment, Just Help: Problem Gambling Awareness Month

This month, we’re highlighting an issue that can affect people at any time, and for which help is always available in Iowa.

March is National Problem Gambling Awareness Month. During the next few weeks, you’ll see reminders about it across the state. At the Iowa Lottery, we hope that by providing the information, we’ll get the right message at the right time to someone who might need help.

Whether you’re buying a lottery ticket at a store, watching TV, listening to the radio, using a streaming service or going online, you’ll likely see one of the public service announcements we produced along with the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services. Remember that problem gamblers can come from any background and from anywhere. And problem gambling is treatable.

If you ever have questions about problem gambling, free and confidential help is available 24/7 in Iowa by visiting yourlifeiowa.org or calling 1-800-BETS OFF. You can reach someone who cares through text, secure chat, email, telephone or in person.

The hashtag you’ll see during the next month is #PGAM2023, with messages from public health officials, treatment experts and lotteries across the country. By working together, we’ll emphasize that through awareness plus action, help can be provided to those who need it.

Scheduling Note: Iowa Lottery Offices Closed For A Few Upcoming Holiday Dates

A quick scheduling reminder: Iowa Lottery offices will be closed for a few holiday dates in the next two weeks.

Lottery offices will be closed tomorrow (Dec. 23) and Monday (Dec. 26) for the Christmas holiday weekend. And on Monday, Jan. 2, lottery offices will be closed for the New Year’s holiday.

I hope that in the coming days you can relax, spend time with family and friends, and celebrate the things you enjoy.

Happy, happy holidays!

A Reminder for the Season: Is That the Right Gift?

With the holiday season underway, we offer this gentle reminder as you’re shopping.

We know that lottery tickets will be among the items that you may give as presents and put in stockings. And here at the Iowa Lottery, we’re glad to be included in the fun!

But please remember that our tickets – while colorful, entertaining and affordable – may not be something you want to give to those underage.

That’s true for lots of products: The content of some video games and movies may not be appropriate for all ages. Alcohol and tobacco-related products have their own 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. You are gambling when you play the lottery.

To minimize the risks associated with youth gambling, be sure to give youngsters age-appropriate gifts. And when you give lottery tickets as presents, please keep the person's age in mind.

As always, if you or someone you know is being impacted by problem gambling, help is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week by text, live chat or calling 1-800-BETSOFF (1-800-238-7633) or visiting https://yourlifeiowa.org/gambling.