ialottery blog

Curbside Prize Claims Reminder: Our Offices Are Closed Tomorrow

It’s been a very busy and successful first month of curbside prize claims at the Iowa Lottery, and we’re glad to see that our players have found the process convenient and easy to use. And hey, we’re just glad to be able to interact with people again!

We’re doing our curbside appointments with virus-mitigation procedures in place to keep everyone safe, and it’s a process that’s worked well since we began using it on June 1. If you have a prize to claim directly from us at the lottery, check out the details on our Curbside Claims page so you’ll know how and where to make an appointment.

We’re loving the photos of our winners as they claim their prizes at their curbside appointments. There’s a slice-of-life feel to the images that shows it is possible for all of us to still have fun even with the challenges from COVID-19.

As a plan-ahead reminder, our offices are closed tomorrow (Friday, July 3) for the Independence Day holiday weekend, so we’ll see you all again on Monday. Have a very happy Fourth of July, everyone!

Player Question: Why Do You Still Sell That Game After The Promotion Has Ended?

With the Prize Zone now an ongoing part of our VIP Club and the big Summer Cash Bash starting in a couple weeks, I’ll answer a question here on the blog that we’ve received from a few players in the past about the games that can be entered into our promotions.

Those folks have wondered why we continue to sell the games involved in our promotions after the promotions end. What they may not have realized is that the scratch games involved are often already available before a promotion starts and sometimes stay on the market after it has ended. That’s because the promotion isn’t the primary function of the game – it’s an extra, or an add-on, but the game itself is its own vehicle.

The prizes in our games themselves aren’t tied to a promotion – they’re separate and only a part of that game. That's why the game involved will often be on sale for far longer than a particular promotion is offered – players want the chance to win the prizes in the game itself and realize that the promotion is a temporary (and fun) addition with prizes of its own.

We refer to our promotions as “Play It Again” or second-chance opportunities because if you don’t initially win a prize on the ticket involved, you can play it again by entering the promotion for a chance to win the prizes offered there.   

The upcoming Summer Cash Bash is a perfect example of the timing issue I've discussed in this blog entry. The promotion doesn’t start until July 13, but some of the games involved are already on sale, and we’re letting players know that they can save their tickets to enter the Cash Bash when it starts. Those same games may end up being on the market after the promotion ends, it all depends on how long the supply of tickets lasts.

We do our best to come up with fun games and promotions and tie them together when we can for even more chances to win. But the games involved stand on their own and have their own timeline outside of the promotion.

SW Iowa Man Talks About Winning A Big Prize During A Pandemic

Here is Delbert Littleton of Atlantic in his own words as he talks about winning a big lottery prize during a pandemic. Congratulations on your big win, Delbert, and thank you for lifting our spirits with your positive outlook!

Atlantic Man Danced With His Wife In the Kitchen After Realizing He’d Won Big

A southwest Iowa man said he and his wife danced in their kitchen at 4:30 a.m. after realizing he’d won a lottery prize of $25,000 a year for life.

Delbert Littleton of Atlantic said they both were shaking and hugging after realizing the big news. His ticket matched the first five numbers but missed the Lucky Ball in the Lucky for Life drawing on June 15 to win the game’s second prize of $25,000 a year for life.

Delbert, who’s 62 and works at an assisted-living facility, said he realized early the next morning that he’d won a big prize. And even though his wife Jodi was still asleep, he knew he had to share the news. So he carefully told her that she needed to get up and look at something. After they danced and hugged, he said she told him right away that they needed to put the ticket in their safety deposit box so nothing would happen to it.

They kept the ticket safe and Delbert was able to claim his prize today at Iowa Lottery headquarters in Clive.

He bought his winning ticket at Casey’s, 701 Poplar St. in Atlantic, and Casey’s will receive a $500 bonus from the lottery for selling the winning ticket at one of its stores.

Delbert is Iowa’s ninth big winner in Lucky for Life since the game debuted in January 2016 in our state. He said that he and his wife already know how they’ll use the winnings: They plan to buy a new house, both buy new cars, and put the rest away for retirement.

Because he works in environmental services, Delbert takes precautions against COVID-19 every day. He said that winning a big prize during the worldwide pandemic lightens the load a little bit and gives him more hope that we’ll all eventually get through this.

Delbert chose to receive his prize in its lump-sum option of $390,000. He said that no one can predict the future, so he and Jodi decided to take the lump sum and enjoy making plans with the winnings right away.

If I Spend $1 On A Lottery Ticket, How Does That Help Iowa?

We’ve added a new page on the Iowa Lottery’s website that answers a couple of the questions we receive the most: How is the money spent on lottery tickets used in our state, and what kind of help does that mean for Iowa? 

The new page can be found under the “Lottery Gives Back” link on our homepage. It replaces the previous “Where The Money Goes” page we’d utilized for a number of years. The details on the previous page focused on the historical use of lottery proceeds since the Iowa Lottery’s start in 1985. The new page expands on that.

At the top of the new page is a breakdown of how each $1 spent on lottery tickets in Iowa is used. The figures currently listed are for fiscal year 2019, and we’ll update that with each new year’s results as we have them. The biggest share of the money in FY 2019 of course went to players, with 62 cents on the dollar going to pay prizes. The second-largest category was proceeds to state causes, with 24 cents on the dollar going directly to Iowa programs.

Below those details are graphics that highlight how lottery proceeds help Iowa. You’ll find direct links there that you can use to learn more about the state programs that receive funding from the Iowa Lottery.

At the bottom of the page is a list of the programs that received lottery proceeds in the past, but are no longer current recipients. We hope that by dividing out the current and past uses of lottery proceeds, we’re clearly defining how the Iowa Lottery makes a difference in Iowa.

InstaPlay Prize Of Nearly $75,000 Nearing Expiration Date

A lottery prize of nearly $75,000 won in southwest Iowa will expire within a month if it isn’t claimed in time, and we’re reminding players to double-check their tickets.

The winning ticket in the Extreme Green Progressive InstaPlay game was purchased in April at Casey’s, 204 Sixth St. in Corning. It won a progressive jackpot that had reached $74,938.00 in the Extreme Green game on April 6 and the prize will expire in early July if it isn’t claimed by then.

Players in InstaPlay games need to claim their prizes within 90 days of the date they purchased their ticket, so the winner of the prize in Corning has until 4 p.m. on Monday, July 6, to claim it at one of the Iowa Lottery’s offices.

Remember that we currently offer curbside prize claims by appointment at our offices, and Iowa Lottery winners also have the option of mailing or shipping their tickets to us or putting them in the secure dropbox at lottery headquarters.

So if you bought an InstaPlay ticket recently, please get it out and double-check it! You may have won a big prize, and time is running out for it to be claimed.

The money from unclaimed lottery prizes in Iowa goes into the lottery’s prize pools for future games and promotions, so it will be used to pay prizes, just not those prizes that have expired.

It’s So Nice To See Our Winners’ Smiling Faces Again!

This week, we were able to start interacting with our winners in person again through curbside prize claims at our offices in Storm Lake, Mason City and Cedar Rapids. And on Monday, curbside claims will begin at lottery headquarters in Clive.

It’s another step forward as we all do our best to continue navigating safely during the COVID-19 emergency. And I have to tell you, it’s been so incredibly NICE to see our winners’ smiling faces again! We’ve interacted with winners of large and small prizes this week in a curbside claims process that is working well.

Four of our winners from this week are shown here, and to each of them I say: CONGRATULATIONS! Thank you for helping to lift our spirits this week!

Back in March as the COVID-19 emergency was deepening, we made the decision that for the health of everyone, public access to our offices would need to be restricted. For more than two months, winning tickets needed to be mailed or shipped to the Iowa Lottery or put in the secure dropbox available at lottery headquarters. (If you’ve won an Iowa Lottery prize and would prefer to use one of those prize-claim methods, you’re welcome to do so!)

But curbside claims by appointment are now available as well, and the process went really smoothly this week. We hope to see YOU as a prize winner soon!

Additional Prize-Claim Option Coming Soon

As we continue to safely find our way forward during this COVID-19 health emergency, the Iowa Lottery is continuing to restrict public access at our offices, but we’re adding an additional prize-claim option.

Beginning on Monday (June 1), we’ll offer curbside claims by appointment at our offices in Storm Lake, Mason City, and Cedar Rapids. And a week later, on June 8, curbside claims by appointment will begin at lottery headquarters in Clive.

If you’ve won a lottery prize, you also have the option of mailing or shipping your ticket to us if you’d like, and we have a secure dropbox at lottery headquarters. Some people prefer a prize-claim process with no direct human interaction right now, and we understand that. That’s why we’re making a variety of prize-claim options available.

To utilize curbside claims, call the lottery office where you want to claim your prize to make an appointment and receive other details, including the documentation you’ll need to have with you. (Remember that all prizes of more than $250,000 must be claimed at lottery headquarters in Clive.)

Here are our telephone numbers:

Clive: 515-725-7900
Cedar Rapids: 319-395-9313
Mason City: 641-424-6011
Storm Lake: 712-732-6662

(Our How To Claim A Prize page provides a list of the documentation required, including a government-issued I.D., when claiming an Iowa Lottery prize. Direct links to our prize-claim documents are also available on that page.)

Our curbside claims process will be similar to the curbside procedures we’re all using in so many places these days. When you arrive at the lottery office, you’ll park in one of the spaces designated for curbside prize claims and stay in your vehicle. You’ll call the telephone number for the office involved to let staffers know that you have arrived, since the doors to our offices are closed. Please tell the lottery staffer you speak with the number of the curbside claims spot where you’re parked.

A lottery staff member wearing gloves and a mask will then bring prize-claim documentation out to your vehicle and maintain social distance while you complete the necessary forms. The lottery staffer will review the documentation with you, then return to the lottery office to process the claim.

After printing your prize check, the lottery staffer will bring it to you in your vehicle and complete any final paperwork details with you.

Why Can I Sometimes Not Play Certain Numbers In Pick 3 & Pick 4?

A man who reached out to us on Facebook was surprised recently when he tried to buy a Pick 4 play and couldn’t because the lottery terminal showed that the combination was sold out. He wanted to know what that meant.

Every so often, a particular number combination in our Pick 3 and Pick 4 games sells out, meaning that no more plays of that combination can be purchased for the next drawing. Unusual dates often are big sellers and can lead certain combinations to sell out. We saw that back on Sept. 9, 2009, when 9-9-9 sold out in Pick 3 and 9-9-0-9 sold out in Pick 4. The same thing had happened with the corresponding numbers on July 7, 2007, and Aug. 8, 2008.

Some people consider the dates lucky, others just like the play of the numbers involved.

Sometimes it’s not obvious to us why a particular combination of numbers sells out, we just know that the liability limit has been reached. Lotteries have liability limits in Pick 3 and Pick 4 games to protect the integrity of the games and the proceeds that the lottery raises for state causes.

The liability limits don’t get hit all that often, but when they do, that particular set of numbers will be sold out for that particular drawing, and you’ll have to choose a combination to play that time around. The combination will be available again for the next drawing, assuming that the liability limit isn’t reached the next time around as well.

Calhoun County Man Claims Prize Of $25,000 A Year For Life

A northwest Iowa man has claimed a prize of $25,000 a year for life that he won in a drawing late last month.

David Holder of Pomeroy is Iowa’s eighth big winner in the Lucky for Life game since its 2016 debut in the state. He bought his winning ticket at Country Stores of Rockwell City at 730 High St. in Rockwell City. His ticket matched the first five numbers but missed the Lucky Ball in the drawing on April 27 to win the game’s second prize of $25,000 a year for life.

Holder’s prize claim was received in the Iowa Lottery's secure dropbox and processed Wednesday at lottery headquarters in Clive. He chose to receive his prize in its lump-sum option of $390,000.

The winning numbers in the April 27 Lucky for Life drawing were: 1-5-9-28-35 and Lucky Ball 9. Country Stores of Rockwell City will receive a $500 bonus from the lottery for selling the winning ticket at one of its locations.

Lotto America Jackpot Changes Will Follow Those In Powerball & Mega Millions

Changes will be made next month to the jackpot in Lotto America that are similar to the updates already made in Powerball and Mega Millions.

After the Lotto America drawing on June 13, the starting jackpot amount in the game and the rate that the jackpot increases between drawings will be based upon sales and interest rates, with no fixed minimums.

The adjustments are needed to ensure that the game’s ticket sales can support its jackpots and other prizes. The current COVID-19 public health emergency has drastically impacted life for us all and altered normal consumer behavior for all types of products, including ticket purchases in lottery games like Lotto America. Interest rates also have declined during the health crisis, and that in turn drives down the annuity amount of the game’s jackpots.

We know that folks have many more important issues on their minds these days than purchasing lotto tickets, and in many locations around the country, they're not in a position to buy them at all. That in turn means changes have to be made on different fronts, including in the Lotto America game.

Player Question: Why Do Some Tickets Seem to Scratch Differently Than Others?

Some players who buy different scratch games have noticed that the security coating on the tickets can vary from game to game, and they’ve asked why. In many cases, it’s because they’re specifically designed that way, but I have more background below.

The material on scratch tickets that you remove when you play them is called a security coating. There are different types of security coatings on our tickets, depending on the specific game that you’re playing.

For example, in some of our games, the security coating has to be transparent so you can see through it to the letters, numbers and symbols that you’ll scratch off in the play area. In other games, the security coating covers up the details below it so the play area can’t be seen until you scratch the ticket.

In addition, the scratch games that we sell here in Iowa can come from different companies. (There are only three companies that print the scratch tickets available in the U.S. market, and the Iowa Lottery has printing contracts with them all so we can access the popular concepts they each offer.)

For all those reasons, the security coating on our tickets can vary from game to game. Sometimes it can be a powdery substance when you scratch it off and other times it will be a bit gummy. Sometimes the coating is purposefully thin, and other times it can have multiple layers. That also means you likely will need to apply different amounts of pressure as you scratch off the security coating on different tickets.

All our games go through testing to ensure that the security coating involved meets the parameters required for those particular tickets.

I hope this background helps! And, happy scratching.

New Step In the Process When You Check A Ticket Using Our Mobile App

An update being made today to our mobile app allows you to clear out the results of the previous ticket before starting to scan another one.

We’re making the change after input from some players who said this additional step could help make the process of checking tickets on the app more clear for them. This update is designed to do just that.

So now, when you check a ticket on the mobile app and have had a chance to review the results, you’ll click the “Clear Scan Results” button to remove that information from the screen. You then can proceed with checking the next ticket, and since you’ve cleared the results of the previous one, you’ll be starting with a clean slate. We hope this change will be a positive!

We debuted our app for Apple AND Android devices back in 2017, and like any technology, we’ve updated it over time. If you already have our app (it’s called the Iowa Lottery’s LotteryPlus) on your device, there’s nothing you need to do to receive this update. It happens automatically. If you don’t yet have the app, feel free to install it from the Google Play Store® or Apple iTunes Store® as applicable for your particular device.

The most popular way that people use our app is to check the results of their lottery tickets. You can check lotto, scratch and InstaPlay tickets on the app, so you don’t have to visit a store or a lottery office to see if you’ve won. Two other popular ways that people use the app is to enter their tickets into our VIP Club drawings and to check the winning numbers in recent lotto drawings.

Thank you for playing the lottery, and we hope this update makes it even easier for you to use our mobile technology!

Ticket Purchased In NW Iowa Wins Prize Of $25,000 A Year For Life

Someone who bought a lottery ticket at a northwest Iowa convenience store has won a prize of $25,000 a year for life in the Lucky for Life game.

The Rockwell City ticket matched the first five numbers but missed the Lucky Ball in last night’s drawing to win Lucky for Life’s second prize of $25,000 a year for life. The winning ticket was purchased at Kimmes Rockwell City Country Store, 30 High St. in Rockwell City.

It is Iowa’s eighth big winner in the game since it debuted in January 2016 in our state.

Lucky for Life is a $2 game with drawings twice a week, at 9:38 p.m. on Mondays and Thursdays. The game’s top two prize levels are described as “lasting as long as you do,” meaning that they are truly for life. The minimum guaranteed payout for those two prize levels is 20 years, and there is a lump-sum option for players who prefer that rather than lifetime annuity payments.

The winning numbers in last night’s Lucky for Life drawing were: 1-5-9-28-35 and Lucky Ball 9. Kimmes Country Stores will receive a $500 bonus from the lottery for selling the winning ticket at one of its locations.

This prize must be claimed at Iowa Lottery headquarters in Clive. During the current public health emergency, public access to lottery offices is restricted to email and telephone, so players can mail or ship their tickets to the lottery to claim prizes and there also is a secure dropbox option at the Clive location. Full details are available on the lottery’s website here.

If the winner or winners of the Rockwell City ticket have questions before coming forward to claim the prize, they’re welcome to call us at the lottery at 515-725-7900.

There's plenty of time for this prize to be claimed: Players in Lucky for Life have up to 365 days from the date of the drawing to claim prizes won in Iowa.

Player Question: Why Are You Ending That Scratch Game?

Here’s a question that came our way about a scratch game that was ending, and why and how we reach the decision to stop distribution of a particular game. The player involved made it clear he wanted to keep buying tickets in the game he was asking about, and he didn’t understand why we would pull it from store shelves.

There are generally a variety of factors involved, ranging from how long a game has been on the market, its current ticket sales level, and whether stores want to replace it with something newer.

We have dozens of scratch games for sale at any one time, but there are only so many bins for tickets in our self-service kiosks and only so many slots for tickets in our dispensers. That means some retail locations simply don’t have enough room for all the games that are out there, and individual locations can decide which games they want to sell.

Most often, we discontinue sales in a particular scratch game when the last top prize in it has been claimed. We don’t want a game on the market if you can’t still have a chance at its top prize!

Sometimes we have specially-themed games that only run for a short period of time, such as our holiday games. Those games come off the market in January each year because it just wouldn’t make sense if we were selling a snow-themed game in July! But the good news is, we work hard to keep the odds of winning the same in our holiday games as they are in the others that are on the market for much longer.

In other instances, if a game has been available for some time and players show us through their purchases that they prefer something else, it also will be removed from the shelves.

People’s reactions to our procedures are sometimes completely at odds with each other. We’ve gotten complaints from players who don’t want us to end a game at the same time we’ve heard from people who want to make sure we definitely do that, especially when the last top prize has been claimed. I suppose that’s an example of the old saying that you can’t please all the people all the time.

We do our best to design policies that err on the side of players as much as possible. So just know that we’ll keep coming up with fun, new games to replace those that are ending!

Ways To Win: A Number Within A Number, A Word Within A Word Don’t Count

We’ve gotten this question before about words within words on our “Crossword” scratch tickets, but here’s a slightly different twist on it, asking about numbers within numbers in the “Cash Multiplied” game.

The player in this instance asked that if the numbers they needed to match to win were 4 and 8, and on their ticket they found a 14 and an 18, does that mean they won? Could they win if any of the numbers on the ticket contained a 4 and an 8?

The short answer is no. A number within a number doesn’t count. The number 14 is only that number – it can’t be “taken apart” to count as a 1, 4, or 14.

That same concept applies in our Crossword games: Words within words, meaning partial words, don’t count. So, for example, if the word “someone” is in the play area on your ticket, you must complete the whole word. You can’t try to make “some” or “one” a word on their own and ignore the word as a whole.

I hope that the answers we provide here on the blog help make the rules clear for everyone.

Have a good weekend, and stay safe!

Have Iowa’s Back: Participate In The 2020 Census

During the next couple months, you’ll see messages from us at the Iowa Lottery reminding everyone why it’s so important that we help our state by completing the 2020 Census.  

For the next two weeks and again for two weeks in May, the lottery will run special messages on its lotto tickets encouraging everyone to participate in the Census. We’ll also have Census messages on the display screens at our lottery terminals and self-service kiosks where you buy tickets.

If you buy a lotto ticket this week in a game like Powerball® or Mega Millions®, look at the top. We hope the message you see there is self-explanatory:

Make Iowa count! Complete the 2020
Census online or by phone or mail.

The Census is a once-in-a-decade count that gives a snapshot of our nation about who we are and where we live. The results of the Census are used to make any number of critical decisions, like where communities should build new schools, where new roads are needed, and how hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funding should be spent in programs including Medicaid, Head Start, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

The Census also determines the number of seats Iowa has in the U.S. House of Representatives and is used to draw the boundary lines for Congressional and state legislative districts.

In a nutshell, a complete and accurate Census count helps ensure that we as Iowans receive the political representation we deserve and that our taxpayer dollars are spent in a way that helps our state.

Iowa had top ranking in 2000 in getting its residents counted, with 76 percent of households in the state returning their Census forms. And in 2010, Iowa helped lead the way in the mail-in process for the Census, with 78 percent of households sending back their forms.

Earlier this month, U.S. households began receiving official Census Bureau mail with details about how you can complete the 2020 Census online, by phone or by mail. And if a count hasn’t been submitted for your household by later this year, Census staffers will visit homes from May to July to help make sure everyone is counted.

The Census Bureau is required by law to deliver its counts to the president and Congress in December.

So please take a few minutes to complete your Census form. Be counted for Iowa!   

Powerball & Mega Millions Changing, We’re Offering Free Plays For “Multi-Draw” Tickets Involved

***This blog entry has been updated to include details about changes to the Mega Millions game that were announced on Friday, April 3, and to include a direct link to the web page with the claim form for free-play requests.***

After earlier changes were announced in Powerball®, the Mega Millions® game is now making similar adjustments. The deepening COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on everyday life is behind it all.

In both Powerball and Mega Millions, the starting jackpot amount will be eliminated along with any minimum amount that the jackpot will grow between drawings. Instead, both amounts will be determined on a drawing-by-drawing basis and announced ahead of the next upcoming drawing.

The adjustments are needed to ensure that ticket sales in both games can support their jackpots and other prizes. The deepening COVID-19 public health emergency has drastically impacted life for us all and altered normal consumer behavior, including ticket purchases in Powerball and Mega Millions. Interest rates also have declined amidst the health crisis, and that in turn drives down the annuity amount of the games’ jackpots.

The timing of the changes in each game is slightly different, based upon its drawing schedule. (Mega Millions drawings are at 10 p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays, while Powerball drawings are at 9:59 p.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays.)

In Mega Millions: The jackpot for tonight’s drawing remains at an estimated $121 million annuity, $96.7 million lump-sum option. If the jackpot is won tonight, it will reset to a guaranteed $20 million for Tuesday’s drawing (April 7). If there is no jackpot winner tonight, the game’s grand prize will roll to an estimated $127 million annuity for Tuesday. From that point on, the game’s starting jackpot and the rate at which the jackpot increases will be based upon sales and interest rates, with no fixed minimums.

In Powerball: The jackpot for tomorrow night’s drawing remains at an estimated $180 million annuity, $144.8 million lump-sum option. If the jackpot is won tomorrow, it will reset to a guaranteed $20 million annuity for Wednesday’s drawing (April 8). If there is no jackpot winner tomorrow, the game’s grand prize will roll to an estimated $190 million annuity for Wednesday. From that point on, the game’s starting jackpot and the rate at which the jackpot increases will be based upon sales and interest rates, with no fixed minimums.

The leadership of the Powerball Product Group and the Mega Millions Consortium, which are made of up the member-lottery directors in each game, will determine the jackpot details for it.

We know that some of our players may have used the “multi-draw” option to purchase plays in upcoming Powerball and Mega Millions drawings. Those plays, of course, are still valid, but are now impacted by the upcoming jackpot changes.

As a goodwill gesture, we’re offering those players free-play coupons for use in future drawings of the game they played. To be eligible for free-play coupons: 

• In Mega Millions, an Iowa Lottery player must have purchased a multi-draw ticket no later than 4 p.m. today (April 3) for a Mega Millions drawing held on April 7 or later. 
• In Powerball, an Iowa Lottery player must have purchased a multi-draw ticket no later than 4 p.m. yesterday (April 2) for a Powerball drawing held on April 8 or later.

Details about the free plays along with the form you’ll need to complete and send to us to request free-play coupons are available here on the lottery's website.

I’ll add in just a quick personal note to close out this blog entry: I know that these Mega Millions and Powerball changes are coming on top of the many, many other changes that we’re all experiencing. Just know that they’re not being made on a whim or at random. They're being made because the games and the prizes they offer are based upon mathematics. And there simply aren’t enough ticket sales occurring to continue the games in their previous format.

We understand that folks have much more important issues on their minds these days than purchasing lotto tickets, and in many instances, they're simply not in a position to buy them at all. Safety is what matters now, and all of us getting through this together.

But in the meantime, changes have to be made on many different fronts, including in these two games.

How You Can Claim Prizes & Contact Us

Here's a quick recap of how you can claim a prize and contact us right now. Thank you for all YOU are doing to help keep Iowa safe!  

Changes Coming To Powerball’s Starting Jackpot & Minimum Increases

Changes have been announced today that will impact the Powerball® jackpot after the next time it is won.

What’s behind the decision? The amount of the Powerball jackpot is driven by ticket sales, which have been lagging in the game. Normal consumer behavior has been largely disrupted nationwide by the ongoing COVID-19 public health emergency. And the Powerball Product Group, like scores of other organizations around the world, is making necessary adjustments.

The changes announced in Powerball will take effect immediately after the next jackpot win in the game. The changes do not impact the jackpot amount for tonight’s drawing, or the jackpot’s growth up until the next time it is won. (The jackpot for tonight’s Powerball drawing is an estimated $150 million annuity, $114.8 million lump-sum option.)

The next time that the Powerball jackpot is won, it will reset to a guaranteed $20 million annuity, rather than the game’s usual starting jackpot amount of $40 million. And, rather than growing by at least $10 million in between drawings as currently occurs in the game, the jackpot will grow by at least $2 million between drawings.

It remains to be seen whether this change will be permanent. That decision rests with the directors of the U.S. lotteries that are members of the Powerball Product Group, who will continue to evaluate and monitor sales in the game.

The Look Of The Iowa Lottery In Your Local Store Will Change Next Year

One of the biggest projects we undertake here at the Iowa Lottery reached an important milestone today, and it means that the look of the Iowa Lottery will get an update next year.

The lottery itself won’t change, and we’ll still have the products you expect on the market. But much of the equipment now used here in our state to sell and cash lottery tickets will be replaced.

The project was discussed during today’s meeting of the Iowa Lottery Board, a public meeting held via teleconference due to the ongoing public health emergency. The Board voted 5-0 to allow the lottery to proceed with contract negotiations for a new statewide gaming system with Scientific Games International (SGI), a company based near Atlanta. The company was selected following a public and months-long competitive bid process.

Like any technology, lottery equipment needs to be replaced over time. Most of the lottery equipment now in the field in Iowa has been in use since 2011.               

SGI also supplies the Iowa Lottery’s current gaming system, and the lottery’s contract for it expires in July 2021. So during the next 15 months, new equipment for Iowa will be manufactured, and then our existing system will be changed out for a new version.

We’ll flip the switch to Iowa’s new lottery gaming system on July 11, 2021. Like our current system, it will link all 2,400 retail locations in Iowa where lottery tickets are sold. The gaming system includes a central communications backbone as well as the lottery terminals, self-checkers, self-service kiosks, and lighted jackpot signs in the local businesses where you buy lottery tickets.

I’ll emphasize again that with the new system, you’ll still be able to buy lotto tickets in Powerball, Mega Millions and your other favorites. And of course we’ll still sell scratch, pull-tab and InstaPlay games. But the machines that print and cash your tickets will change next year and the lotto and InstaPlay tickets you buy will probably look a little different once the new system begins use.

We’ll have more updates as the go-live date gets closer, but now you know to be on the lookout for cool, new lottery equipment next year!

(And you may have already seen our updates about the Iowa Lottery’s efforts to protect against the spread of COVID-19 illnesses as we continue doing business with safety first, but if not, please check out our Q-and-A here.)

Q&A About Lottery Restrictions To Keep Safety First

This FAQs list was updated on Friday, May 29, to include the latest details.   

We've gotten questions about the new restrictions in place here at the Iowa Lottery as we all do our best to put safety first during this public health emergency. To provide the same details to everyone, I'm including a list of those questions and the answers to them here on the blog. 

The lottery is open for business, but we’ve made some changes to our daily operations to help achieve social distancing and slow the spread of COVID-19 illnesses.

Q: Is the Iowa Lottery closed?

A: We're open for business, but we have additional restrictions in place. Public access to lottery offices is restricted to email and telephone only. Players are welcome to mail or ship tickets to us to claim most prizes. And, beginning June 1, we’re offering curbside claims by appointment at our offices in Storm Lake, Mason City, and Cedar Rapids. Curbside claims by appointment will begin June 8 at lottery headquarters in Clive. In addition, we have a secure dropbox available at our headquarters building. 

Q: As a member of the public, how do I reach you?
A: The Iowa Lottery can be reached during its regular office hours by email at wmaster@ialottery.com, using our contact us form, or by phone at 515-725-7900. We also are available on our social media sites.

Q: If I've won a prize, how can I claim it?
A: All lottery prizes won in Iowa of more than $600 must be claimed directly from the Iowa Lottery, but players are welcome to claim a prize of any size directly from us. In most instances*, customers can mail or ship a ticket to us at:

Iowa Lottery
13001 University Ave
Clive, IA 50325-8225

In addition, beginning June 1, we’re offering curbside claims by appointment at our offices in Storm Lake, Mason City, and Cedar Rapids. Curbside claims by appointment will begin June 8 at lottery headquarters in Clive. We also have a secure dropbox available at our headquarters building in Clive.

If you want to utilize curbside claims or our dropbox, please contact us for the details involved.

*All prizes of $1 million or more as well as some special merchandise prizes must be claimed in person at Iowa Lottery headquarters in Clive. If you're the lucky winner of one of those prizes, please contact us and we'll make an appointment so you can claim it. For all other prizes, there are the claims options listed above at this time.

Q: What if I don't want to mail or ship my winning ticket to you?
A: We know this can be frustrating. What once would have been routine and fun, like meeting with our winners and celebrating their wins, now is an interaction that could threaten the health of everyone involved. We're working to best find our way safely forward, and know you are, too.

Beginning June 1, we’re offering curbside claims by appointment at our offices in Storm Lake, Mason City, and Cedar Rapids. Curbside claims by appointment will begin June 8 at lottery headquarters in Clive. We also have a secure dropbox available at our headquarters building in Clive. Prizes will not be paid immediately through the dropbox, but rather, claims will be processed in accordance with our virus-mitigation procedures. The dropbox is under 24-hour surveillance as part of our security requirements.

If you want to utilize curbside claims or the dropbox option, please contact us for the details involved.

Q: Where can I find the winner claim form?
A: Full details about claiming Iowa Lottery prizes, including links to the Iowa Lottery's Winner Claim Form and required tax documents, are available on the How To Claim A Prize page here on our website.

Q: What if I'm having difficulty with your website?
A: If someone has trouble accessing our website, they are welcome to call or email us and we will answer their questions. We can send prize-claim documentation to you if you're having difficulty downloading the information from our website.

Q: With public access restricted at lottery offices, is there a way I can check my ticket without going to a retail location?
A:  The Iowa Lottery has a mobile app you use to check the results of lotto, scratch and InstaPlay tickets from wherever you are. The app is available for both Apple and Android devices. Full details about it are available here.

Q:  How long will it take for me to receive my prize?
A: If you utilize curbside claims by appointment at our offices, your prize will be paid with a check from the lottery at that appointment.

If you mail or ship your ticket to us or utilize our secure dropbox at lottery headquarters in Clive, the time involved for you to receive your prize will be dependent upon many different factors, including how long it takes for us to get your ticket after you've sent it to us. We process all prize claims as quickly as we can, but it's reasonable to anticipate it will take several days at a minimum for you to receive your prize check in those instances.

During this COVID-19 emergency, some people prefer a prize-claim process with no direct human interaction, and we understand that. That is why we are making a variety of prize-claim options available to our players.

Q:  If I’m a retailer, how can I reach you?  
A: Lottery retailers are welcome to call the Iowa Lottery regional office that serves your area. Here are the phone numbers for our regional offices:
            Cedar Rapids: 319-395-9313
            Mason City: 641-424-6011
            Clive: 515-725-7884
            Storm Lake: 712-732-6662            

Q: How long do you anticipate the lottery restrictions will remain in place?
A: We anticipate our social-distancing restrictions will remain in place for the immediate future.

Q:  If I have a COVID-19 question that's not lottery related, where can I find information?
A: The state of Iowa has established a website to answer COVID-19 questions, and a direct link to it is here. The Iowa Department of Public Health also has expert resources concerning COVID-19 on its website. If you have difficulty navigating the Internet, the statewide telephone number you can call with COVID-19 questions is 211.

Safety First: Public Access To Iowa Lottery Offices Limited To Email & Telephone

The Iowa Lottery is now limiting public access to its offices to email and telephone as we do our best to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 illnesses. We anticipate this will continue until April 16.

We took this step in keeping with the State of Public Health Disaster Emergency that Gov. Kim Reynolds issued yesterday.

If you want to reach us during our regular office hours, our email address is wmaster@ialottery.com and our phone number is 515-725-7900.

If you have an Iowa Lottery prize to claim, in most instances you can mail or ship the ticket to us. We have full details including a link to our Winner Claim Form on the How To Claim A Prize page of our website. If you can’t reach our website, you’re welcome to contact us and we’ll send prize-claim documentation to you. 

All lottery prizes won in Iowa of more than $600 must be claimed directly from us at the Iowa Lottery, but you can claim a prize of any amount directly from us. If you decide to mail or ship your ticket to us, for your peace of mind you may want to send it with tracking and delivery notification enabled.

I’ll note that all prizes of $1 million or more as well as some special merchandise prizes have to be claimed in person at Iowa Lottery headquarters in Clive. If you’re the lucky winner of one of those prizes, please contact us and we’ll make an appointment with you so you can claim it.

Be safe, be well, and let’s keep looking out for each other. We’re all in this together!

Our Weird Week: Spring Forward, A Full Moon & Friday the 13th

This week will likely give us all the opportunity to pause and remember to be kind, even if it’s hard sometimes!

By Friday, we’ll have experienced three different events that each can tend to kick up stress levels. This weekend, we moved our clocks ahead one hour for daylight savings time. Tonight brings us a full moon. And this coming Friday will be Friday the 13th.

Our yearly process of “springing ahead” throws our internal clocks off for a time, and that can take a toll on our overall mood. And we’ve all likely experienced the difference that a full moon can make on humans’ levels of insistence/enthusiasm/noise. Add in Friday the 13th and the beliefs surrounding that particular date, and we’ve got a really interesting week ahead.

So if it seems like your patience is being tried this week, remember that the calendar and Mother Nature are just having their way! Use the moment to remind yourself that you alone control your reactions and emotions. And then choose to be kind.

We’re all in this together, after all, and hopefully others will follow your lead.

And maybe this weird week will end up making YOU a lottery winner. You never know!

Player Question: Can I Win A Jackpot In Iowa If I Don’t Live There?

A man who lives in another Midwestern state recently contacted us to ask if he could win a jackpot in Iowa even if he doesn’t live here. The short answer is yes. Keep reading for further details.

It’s perfectly OK for people from other states and countries to play – and win – the Iowa Lottery. The requirements for them are the same as those for everybody else: They have to be at least 21 years old to buy a ticket and the ticket must be purchased at a lottery retailer here in Iowa.

If you win an Iowa Lottery prize and you’re not a resident of the United States, you may pay a higher amount in withholding than a U.S. citizen would, but you definitely can play and win!

If you’re from another state, you’ll still pay the Iowa withholding rate that applies to your prize, then you’ll file that tax paperwork back in your home state to see if any adjustments should be made due to a difference in the tax rates between the two states.

Our prize winners through the years have of course included lots of Iowans, but also folks from other states and countries. Sometimes we’ll hear grousing that only Iowans should win in Iowa Lottery games, but I would guess the same folks who make that argument also want the chance to play the lottery in other states when they’re traveling. So on that point, as that old saying goes: Turnabout is fair play!

Happy playing to everyone who buys tickets in our games, and we hope to see YOU as a big winner soon.

NW Iowa Man Claims $1 Million Powerball® Prize From Leap-Day Drawing

A northwest Iowa man stepped outside of his normal routine when it comes to buying Powerball tickets and that spur-of-the-moment decision brought him a $1 million prize.

Shane Saxen of Correctionville claimed his big prize this morning at Iowa Lottery headquarters in Clive. He said he usually waits until the jackpot has climbed really high and then he’ll buy a ticket. But last week while he was running errands, he decided to buy two Powerball plays even though the jackpot for Saturday’s drawing was “only” an estimated $80 million.

He said he just decided: Why not?  

Saxen’s ticket came within one number of having at least a share of Saturday’s Powerball jackpot. He matched the first five numbers but missed the Powerball to win a $1 million prize.

News that someone had won big in Correctionville spread quickly in the Woodbury County community of about 800.

Saxen said his sister heard that someone locally had won big and asked if he’d bought a ticket. They checked his numbers and quickly realized he was the winner who had everyone talking. Saxen said his stomach dropped to his feet and then he paused for a second and realized it was just such a cool moment!

Saxen bought his easy-pick ticket at Brew, a convenience store and coffee shop at 404 11th St. in Correctionville. His big win came on Feb. 29, the Leap Year date that falls on a Saturday, one of the days when Powerball drawings occur, only about every 28 years.

Saturday’s winning Powerball numbers were: 24-44-46-50-51 and Powerball 13. The Power Play® number was 3. No one matched all six numbers to win that night’s jackpot, so the big prize climbs to an estimated $90 million annuity ($67.9 million lump-sum option) for Wednesday.

Brew will receive a $1,000 bonus from the Iowa Lottery for selling the $1 million-winning ticket at one of its stores.

Saxen, 31, works as a campus security officer at Briar Cliff University in Sioux City. He said he plans to invest most of his winnings for retirement planning, and there likely will be a new set of wheels in his future.

And he’s glad that his sister sped up his timeline for checking his ticket. He said he eventually would have checked it, but with her help, he claimed his prize much more quickly!

In addition to Saxen’s big win, Iowa also had a $50,000 winner in Saturday’s Powerball drawing. That ticket, which matched four of the five white balls and the Powerball, remains unclaimed. It was purchased at Hy-Vee, 1005 E. Hickman Road in Waukee.

Leap Year Lottery Luck Hits In NW Iowa

Leap Year luck has struck in northwest Iowa! Someone who bought a Powerball® ticket in the Woodbury County community of Correctionville won a $1 million prize in last night’s drawing.

It was the only $1 million-winning ticket nationwide in the Feb. 29 drawing. That leap-year date falls on a Saturday, one of the days when Powerball drawings are held, only about every 28 years. 

The $1 million-winning ticket was purchased at Brew, a convenience store and coffee shop at 404 11th St. in Correctionville. The ticket came within one number of having at least a share of last night's $80 million jackpot.

The ticket matched the first five numbers but missed the Powerball to win a $1 million prize. Last night’s winning numbers were: 24-44-46-50-51 and Powerball 13. The Power Play® number was 3. No one matched all six numbers to win the jackpot, so the big prize climbs to an estimated $90 million annuity ($67.9 million lump-sum option) for Wednesday.

Brew will receive a $1,000 bonus from the Iowa Lottery for selling the $1 million-winning ticket at one of its stores.

Prizes of $1 million must be claimed at Iowa Lottery headquarters in Clive. The lottery’s offices are closed on the weekend, so tomorrow is the earliest that the prize can be claimed.

If the winner or winners have questions before coming forward to claim the prize, they’re welcome to give us a shout at the lottery at 515-725-7900.

Powerball players in Iowa have 365 days from the date of the drawing to claim their prizes.

The Powerball Jackpot Hasn’t Been At This Level In 10 Months

The Powerball jackpot is back up at a level it hasn’t seen in 10 months.

That’s not a typo. The game’s jackpot hasn’t climbed this high since last March. The jackpot for tonight’s drawing is at an estimated $394 million annuity, $274.6 million lump-sum option.

It hasn’t been at this level since last year, when it kept climbing all the way up to $768.4 million annuity in the drawing on March 27, 2019. It was won that night with a ticket in Wisconsin.
     
What’s the story behind our recent “jackpot drought”? There have been a lot of winners in Powerball and Mega Millions, but as luck would have it, the jackpots in both games have been won in the past handful of months at what some would call a “lower level.” Now, all those prizes were still in the tens of millions if not hundreds of millions of dollars. But if it seems like things have been kind of quiet lately on the jackpot front, that’s because they have.

Mega Millions got some steam going last month when it reached $372 million annuity in the drawing on Dec. 17. It was won that night with a ticket in Ohio.

The Powerball jackpot was last won in the drawing on Nov. 2 by a ticket in California.  The next time it’s hit, it will be the first Powerball jackpot won in 2020.

There will always be peaks and valleys in lottery jackpots, so we’ll all just have to wait and see how high the jackpots climb this time around. Maybe we just got used to all the big jackpots we saw in the past couple years!

Christmas Gifts Lead To Two $10,000 Lottery Prizes

Two family Christmas gatherings led to two $10,000 prizes for Iowa Lottery players – both in the same game.

First up was Dylan Day of Monroe in Jasper County. He got a scratch ticket as a Christmas gift from his mom and said he played the “$100,000 Happy Holidays Crossword” ticket the next day. But he said he didn’t realize he’d won big until he counted up all the words he’d uncovered. 

Day says he was pretty much jumping up and down and was so happy, he didn’t know what he was thinking. He said he plans to use his winnings to pay off debt, begin finishing his basement and will treat his mother to a nice dinner – or two.

Next up was a Minnesota woman who claimed a $10,000 prize in that same game. Stephanie Charpentier of Rosemount, Minn., said that her father, who lives in Shell Rock, gives his family lottery scratch tickets as stocking stuffers every year. And when they played this year’s tickets at their recent holiday gathering in Clear Lake, they found multiple winners among the bunch.

Stephanie said they thought they had a $20 winner, a $50 winner, and a $100 winner. But when they checked the tickets at a local convenience store, the clerk gave them the customer receipts from the lottery terminal showing that one of their tickets had actually won a $10,000 prize. Stephanie said they just stood there counting the zeroes.

In the spirit of her family’s holiday gathering, Stephanie said she plans to share the winnings with her family.

Post-Holiday Question: Can I Use A Gift Card To Buy Lottery Tix In Iowa?

Now that holiday celebrations are winding down for a lot of us, we’re hearing from folks asking if they can use gift cards to buy lottery tickets in Iowa. The quick answer is: Yes. But there are more details involved, so please keep reading. 

From a legal perspective, a gift card is the same as cash, so under Iowa law, it can be used to purchase lottery tickets.

But some retail locations may have policies that bar the use of gift cards for lottery purchases, just as they may ban personal checks for any purchase. Stores can and do develop their own policies for what’s allowed in their place of business, and we understand that.

The same thing applies to the use of debit cards to buy lottery tickets. While it’s legal for debit cards to be used to buy lottery products in Iowa, some stores may have policies against that. To be sure, please check with the business involved.

(Here are some further notes about the use of debit cards: In Iowa, state law prohibits the use of credit when making a lottery purchase. But a debit transaction is always tied to available funds, so as long as the card says DEBIT on the front, it’s OK to use it for a lottery transaction so long as the store involved allows that. If it’s a CREDIT card, it’s illegal to use it to buy lottery tickets in Iowa.

When you’re using a DEBIT card, even if it’s run on the credit setting, the money involved is still coming from available funds, so it is still a DEBIT transaction. A debit card never involves anything other than available funds, meaning cash. We had wondered about that particular detail ourselves, so we checked with the network folks who process the transactions. They confirmed that DEBIT always = available cash.)