How To Play Lotto America Lottery?

Whether it’s Powerball or Mega Millions lottery in USA, Lotto America is familiar to punters.  If you look back at the history then the original Lotto America game was launched in 1988 by the Multi-State Lottery Association. At the time, there were seven participating lottery states: Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Oregon, Rhode Island, West Virginia and Washington DC. Nine more stated began selling the Lotto America game in the years that followed. On April 19, 1992, sales began for a new multi-jurisdictional draw game called the Powerball

Currently 13 lottery states offer Lotto America (the Lotto America Product Group) and also recently approved rule changes that allow the starting jackpot and roll amounts to be determined by sales and interest rates. The Lotto America rule changes took place after the June 13, 2020 drawing; however, the Lotto America Product Group does not anticipate changes to the current $2 million starting jackpot or $50,000 increases at this time. 

How To Purchase Lotto America Ticket?

To play lotto America lottery you need to visit nearest lotto retailer and buy Lotto America lottery ticket. It only takes $1 to get in this game and Jackpots start at $2 million.

To purchase a Ticket, players must pay the purchase price and any fee associated with a Ticket purchase and submit a completed Play Slip, or request number selection by Quick Pick to an authorized Retailer. The Retailer will issue a standard game Ticket that contains the six number selections played in each game grid, the Drawing date, amount bet, and validation number data.

 A standard Game Ticket is the only valid proof of a bet placed, and the only valid receipt for claiming a prize. The standard Game Ticket is valid only for the Drawing date or dates printed on the Ticket. If Play Slips are unavailable, Plays may also be given verbally to an authorized Retailer in groups of six (6) number selections for each one dollar ($1) wagered.

• The selections are manually entered into the Terminal by the Retailer.
• Tickets can also be generated by the Terminal using the Quick Pick feature.
• A player may select numbers for up to fourteen  Drawings, specifically the next Drawing and the thirteen subsequent Drawings.
• No Ticket may be purchased or issued for a Drawing within a specified time, to be designated by the Director, of that Drawing
• Plays may be entered manually only by using a Lottery Terminal keyboard, or by means of a Play Slip provided by the Lottery and hand-marked by the player or by such other means approved by the Lottery.
• .A Retailer may not permit the use of facsimiles of Play Slips, copies of Play Slips, or other materials inserted into the Lottery terminal’s Play Slip reader that are not printed or approved by the Lottery.
• Ask for the All Star Bonus with your Lotto America purchase!

For an additional $1 per play, the Lotto America All Star Bonus® can multiply your winnings by 2, 3, 4 or 5 times! 

The multiplier number is randomly selected just before each drawing. 

The All Star Bonus does not apply to the Grand Prize.

How To Play Lotto America Lottery?

Once you have your ticket select five numbers from 1 to 52 and one Lotto America Star Ball number from 1 to 10, or select the “quick pick” option for randomly selected numbers.

There are nine ways to win, starting with $2 for matching just the Star Ball. Match the first five numbers plus the Star Ball to win the jackpot. 

The cost per play is $1. For an additional $1 per play, you can purchase a multiplier option called the Lotto America All Star Bonus which can multiply all prize levels except the Grand Prize by 2-5 times (players can win $4-$100,000). 

Multi-draw Tickets where you can purchase a ticket good for up to 14 draws at your favorite retailer. If you choose to play more than one draw, your ticket will include a drawing date range instead of a single drawing date.

The approximate overall odds of winning a Lotto America prize are 1 in 9.63.

To confirm that your lotto ticket is a winner, you need to have the ticket validated through a sales terminal at any state Lottery retailer.

Thus to play Lotto America a player selects five (5) different numbers, between one (1) and fifty-two (52) and one (1) additional number between one (1) and ten (10), for input into a Terminal operated by a Retailer. The additional number may be the same as one (1) of the first five (5) numbers selected by the player. The player may select each set by communicating the six (6) numbers to the Retailer, or by marking six (6) numbered squares in any one (1) Game Board on a Play Slip and submitting the Play Slip to the Retailer or by requesting a “Quick Pick” from the Retailer. The Retailer will then issue a Ticket, via the Retailer terminal containing the selected set or sets of numbers, each of which constitutes a game play.

MUSL will conduct a separate random All Star Bonus drawing and announce results during each of the regular Lotto America drawings held during the promotion. During each Lotto America drawing a single number (2, 3, 4, or 5) will be drawn. The MUSL Lotto America Product Group may modify the multiplier features for special promotions from time to time.

Prizes To Win

There are 9 ways to win a prize in Lotto America. Based on the winner’s selection, the Grand Prize won by matching the first five numbers in any order and the Lotto America Star Ball  is either an annuitized prize or a lump-sum payment.

Grand prizes are paid by a winner annuity, except a player may elect to receive the grand prize in a single cash payment, provided the election is made by the player within sixty (60) days after the player becomes entitled to the prize. The election to take the single cash payment may be made at the time the prize is claimed or within sixty (60) days following the date that the Lottery determines that the player is entitled to the grand prize. An election made by a player to receive the prize via an annuity or in a single cash payment is final and cannot be revoked, withdrawn, or otherwise changed.

All annuitized prizes are paid in thirty (30) payments, with the initial payment being made in cash, to be followed by twenty-nine (29) payments funded by the annuity. The initial payment of an annuitized prize may be made by the Lottery upon validation of the winning ticket. Each subsequent payment will increase each year by a rate as determined by the MUSL Lotto America Product Group. Prize payments may be rounded down to the nearest one thousand dollars ($1,000). Annual payments after the initial payment are made on the anniversary date of the selection of the grand prize. Winning Numbers or if such date falls on a non-business day, the first business day following the anniversary date.

All low-tier cash prizes (all prizes except the grand prize) are paid in cash by the Lottery. The Lottery may begin paying low-tier cash prizes after receiving authorization to pay from the MUSL central office. Rollover If the grand prize is not won in a drawing, the prize money allocated for the grand prize rolls over and is added to the grand prize pool for the following drawing.. Limited to Highest Prize Won The holder of a winning ticket may win in only one prize per Board in connection with the Winning Numbers drawn, and is entitled only to the prize won by those numbers in the highest-matching prize category.

Period Prize claims must be submitted within one year of the drawing date. For prizes claimed by mail, date of claim is date of receipt by the Lottery. For prizes of $600 or more, the claim period ends at the close of business on the last day of the claim period that Lottery offices are open. Lottery offices are closed for the holidays and events listed on mnlottery.com, and one or more Lottery offices may close unexpectedly due to weather or other unforeseen circumstances.

When Are Lotto America Drawings Held?

Drawings of Lotto America are held every Wednesday & Saturday after 10:00 p.m. 

Tickets must be purchased by 9:00 p.m. on drawing days. 

However, the Director or the MUSL Lotto America Product Group may change the time of the Drawing without notice.

Lotto America Drawings are conducted by MUSL in locations designated by the MUSL Lotto America Product Group.

MUSL will draw, at random, five (5) numbers between one (1) and fifty-two (52) and one (1) number between one (1) and ten (10), which, after verification, are known as the Winning Numbers.

Players win the Grand Prize or one of 8 set cash prizes by matching one of the 9 ways to win. 

The Grand Prize payout shall be determined on a pari-mutuel basis. Prize payments are subject to the rules of participating lotteries; pari-mutuel payments may occur under those game rules.

As said above Lotto America is available to play in 13 jurisdictions: Delaware, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Montana, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee and West Virginia.

Drawings are held every Wednesday and Saturday after 11 p.m. ET at the Florida Lottery draw studio in Tallahassee using mechanical machines and ball sets.