LOTTO GAMES FAQ

Q: What days are Powerball drawings held?

Powerball drawings are currently held on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays at 9:59 p.m. 

A: Seems like a great idea, doesn’t it? The reality, however, is that people want to play for the big jackpot amounts. Sales at the $200 million jackpot level are three times what they are at the $40 million jackpot level. We also have no control over the number combinations players select. It is possible to have none, one or many winners on any given set of numbers. We offer a variety of games so players can take their pick of jackpot sizes. Powerball and Mega Millions are the big jackpot games but Lotto America jackpots start at $2 million, Gopher 5 jackpots start at $100,000, and North 5 jackpots start at $25,000.

A: This depends on the game you play. For Pick 3, it depends on the bet type you placed. For more information, visit the Pick 3 game page. For Gopher 5 and North 5, the numbers on your ticket are always printed in numerical order. Those numbers need to match the numbers drawn, but not in the order drawn. If you play Powerball or Mega Millions you can match the first five white ball numbers drawn in any order. However, the Powerball number on your ticket (the last number, behind the letters “PB”) must match the Powerball number drawn. The Mega Ball number on your ticket (the last number, behind the letters “MB”) must match the Mega Ball number drawn. You cannot crisscross lines to match numbers on any ticket.

A: Yes. Payments continue to the winner's estate until exhausted. The Lottery also permits the estate to request that all remaining payments be paid immediately to the estate. This permits the estate to pay inheritance taxes immediately, avoiding any penalties, and to distribute the remainder to the heirs. The amount of the payment will be based on the present value of the securities being held by the Lottery. Then, of course, no more payments exist. There also might be certain lifetime prizes in the Lottery. These usually have a guaranteed minimum number of payments. If the winner dies before the minimum number of payments has been made, payments continue until the minimum is reached.

A: The only money that is shared in Powerball and Mega Millions is the prize money paid to jackpot prizewinners. The rest of the revenue from tickets purchased in Minnesota stays in Minnesota.

A: It is a percentage of the sales for each individual drawing. Fifty percent of ticket sales go to the entire prize pool. In addition, game rules specify that the minimum jackpot prize in Powerball and the minimum increase from draw to draw will both be determined by the amount of sales. 

A: Yes, more than one person can receive the same quick-pick numbers. The numbers produced on Lottery quick-pick tickets are created using a random number generator within the lottery ticket printer. The ticket printer uses several calculations based on the printer's internal clock and mathematical algorithms to produce the sets of numbers. The formula has no regard for previously selected sets of numbers and is tested extensively for randomness.

A: This is one of our most frequently asked questions. You need to also consider the odds of getting at least one of the white numbers correct in looking at the odds of getting only the Powerball.

A: The games are designed by the Lottery to pay a specific percentage of prizes and provide a specific occurrence of winning. Game design is a matter of balancing the amount of prize money that is going to be committed to the jackpot prize and the lower set prizes. The more you allocate to the set prizes, the smaller the jackpot will be and the slower it will grow. These decisions are simply professional judgment calls based on industry information and market appeal.