Lotteries in the United States

In the United States, lotteries are run by 48 jurisdictions: 45 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Lotteries are subject to the laws of and operated independently by each jurisdiction, and there is no national lottery organization. However, consortiums of state lotteries jointly organize games spanning larger geographical footprints, which in turn, carry larger jackpots. Two major lottery games, Mega Millions and Powerball, are both offered in nearly all jurisdictions that operate lotteries, and serve as de facto national lotteries.

In fiscal 2018, Americans spent $77.7 billion on various lotteries, up by about $5 billion from 2017.

History

Historian Neal Millikan using newspaper advertisements in the colonial era found at least 392 lotteries were held in the 13 colonies.

Lotteries were used not only as a form of entertainment but as a source of revenue to help fund the colonies. The financiers of Jamestown, Virginia, for instance, funded lotteries to raise money to support their colony. These lotteries were quite sophisticated for the time period and even included instant winners. Evangelical reformers in the 1830s began denouncing lotteries on moral grounds and petitioned legislatures and constitutional conventions to ban them. Recurring lottery scandals and a general backlash against legislative corruption following the Panic of 1837 also contributed to anti-lottery sentiments.

Lotteries in the United States did not always have sterling reputations. One early lottery in particular, the National Lottery, which was passed by Congress for the beautification of Washington, D.C., and was administered by the municipal government, was the subject of a major U.S. Supreme Court decision – Cohens v. Virginia.

The lottery never paid out, This was followed, decades later, by the New Hampshire Lottery in 1964.

Instant lottery tickets, also known as scratch cards, were introduced in the 1970s and have become a major source of lottery revenue. Individual lotteries often feature three-digit and four-digit games akin to numbers games; a five number game, and a six number game (the latter two often have a jackpot). Some lotteries also offer at least one game similar to keno, and some offer video lottery terminals. Presently, many US lotteries support public education systems.

As of November 2019, lotteries are established in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands; the most recent U.S. state to legalize a lottery is Mississippi, with lottery commission members receiving appointments on October 19, 2018.

The first U.S. multi-state lottery game was formed in 1985 in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont; its flagship game remains Tri-State Megabucks. In 1988, the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) was formed with Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Oregon, Rhode Island, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia as its charter members; it is best known for Powerball, which was designed to create large jackpots. Another joint lottery, The Big Game (now called Mega Millions), was formed in 1996 by six lotteries as its charter members.

As of October 2020, each of the 45 state lotteries offer both Mega Millions and Powerball as a result of a 2009 agreement between the Mega Millions consortium and MUSL to cross-license their game to one another's members, although the two organizations continue to administer Mega Millions and Powerball separately. Mississippi was the most recent to join both, beginning sales in January 2020. Puerto Rico is the only jurisdiction not to offer both, as they do not offer Mega Millions.

State revenues

State lotteries have become a significant source of revenue for states, raising $17.6 billion in profits for state budgets in the 2009 fiscal year (FY) with 11 states collecting more revenue from their state lottery than from their state corporate income tax during FY2009.

Lottery policies within states can have conflicting goals. Given that instructions are passed down from state legislatures, lottery implementation is often expected to be carried out with reduced advertising and funding while still producing the same amount of revenue. Nevada's gambling industry has lobbied against a state lottery there, fearing the competition; similarly, the Mississippi Gaming Commission expressed concern that a state lottery would constitute a "competing force" for gambling dollars spent at Mississippi casinos. Despite this, in August 2018, Mississippi passed legislation to create a state lottery. Governor Phil Bryant expressed his support for the lottery to fund transportation in the state and has indicated he will sign the bill. Sales, initially only scratch tickets, began on November 25, 2019. Mega Millions and Powerball tickets became available to the state on January 30, 2020.

Alaska and Hawaii, being outside the contiguous United States, have not felt the pressure of losing sales to competitors.

New technologies

In recent years, new applications such as Lotto.com, Lottery.com, and Jackpocket were created for people to purchase state lottery tickets over their smartphones.

U.S. lotteries

thumb|400px|Map of U.S. states and territories offering Powerball, the most extensively offered lottery — Mega Millions is offered by the same states and territories with the exception of Puerto Rico.

{| class="wikitable sortable"

! State or territory

! Lottery

! Year of<br />first<br />ticket sales

! Other<br />joint<br />games

| align=center | Alabama

| align=Center | No

| align=Center | –

| align=Center | Alaska

| align=Center | No

| align=Center | –

| align=Center | American Samoa

| align=Center | No

| align=Center | –

| align=Center | Arizona

| align=Center | Yes

| align=Center | 1981

| align=Center | 0

| align=Center | Arkansas

| align=Center | Yes

| align=Center | 2009

| align=Center | MFL

| align=Center | California

| align=Center | Yes

| align=Center | 1985

| align=Center | 0

| align=Center | Colorado

| align=Center | Yes

| align=Center | 1983

| align=Center | MFL

| align=Center | Connecticut

| align=Center | Yes

| align=Center | 1972

| align=Center | MFL

| align=Center | Delaware

| align=Center | Yes

| align=Center | 1974

| align=Center | LA

| align=Center | District of Columbia

| align=Center | Yes

| align=Center | 1982

| align=Center | MFL

| align=Center | Florida

| align=Center | Yes

| align=Center | 1988

| align=Center | 0

| align=Center | Georgia

| align=Center | Yes

| align=Center | 1993

| align=Center | MFL

| align=center | Guam

| align=Center | No

| align=Center | –

| align=Center | Hawaii

| align=Center | No

| align=Center | –

| align=Center | Idaho

| align=Center | Yes

| align=Center | 1989

| align=Center | LA, MFL

| align=Center | Illinois

| align=Center | Yes

| align=Center | 1974

| align=Center | 0

| align=Center | Indiana

| align=Center | Yes

| align=Center | 1989

| align=Center | MFL

| align=Center | Iowa

| align=Center | Yes

| align=Center | 1985

| align=Center | LA, MFL

| align=Center | Kansas

| align=Center | Yes

| align=Center | 1987

| align=Center | 2by2, LA, MFL

| align=Center | Kentucky

| align=Center | Yes

| align=Center | 1989

| align=Center | MFL

| align=Center | Louisiana

| align=Center | Yes

| align=Center | 1991

| align=Center | 0

| align=Center | Maine

| align=Center | Yes

| align=Center | 1974

| align=Center | LA, MFL, TSM

| align=Center | Maryland

| align=Center | Yes

| align=Center | 1973

| align=Center | 0

| align=Center | Massachusetts

| align=Center | Yes

| align=Center | 1971

| align=Center | MFL

| align=Center | Michigan

| align=Center | Yes

| align=Center | 1972

| align=Center | MFL

| align=Center | Minnesota

| align=Center | Yes

| align=Center | 1988

| align=Center | LA

| align=Center | Mississippi

| align=Center | Yes

| align=Center | 2019

| align=Center | LA, MFL

| align=Center | Missouri

| align=Center | Yes

| align=Center | 1986

| align=Center | 0

| align=Center | Montana

| align=Center | Yes

| align=Center | 1986

| align=Center | LA, MFL

| align=Center | Nebraska

| align=Center | Yes

| align=Center | 1993

| align=Center | 2by2, LA, MFL

| align=Center | Nevada

| align=Center | No

| align=Center | –

| align=Center | New Hampshire

| align=Center | Yes

| align=Center | 1964

| align=Center | MFL, TSM

| align=Center | New Jersey

| align=Center | Yes

| align=Center | 1969

| align=Center | MFL

| align=Center | New Mexico

| align=Center | Yes

| align=Center | 1996

| align=Center | LA

| align=Center | New York

| align=Center | Yes

| align=Center | 1967

| align=Center | MFL

| align=Center | North Carolina

| align=Center | Yes

| align=Center | 2005

| align=Center | MFL

| align=Center | North Dakota

| align=Center | Yes

| align=Center | 2004

| align=Center | 2by2, LA, MFL

| align=Center | Northern Mariana Islands

| align=Center | No

| align=Center | –

| align=Center | Ohio

| align=Center | Yes

| align=Center | 1974

| align=Center | MFL

| align=Center | Oklahoma

| align=Center | Yes

| align=Center | 2005

| align=Center | LA, MFL

| align=Center | Oregon

| align=Center | Yes

| align=Center | 1985

| align=Center | 0

| align=Center | Pennsylvania

| align=Center | Yes

| align=Center | 1972

| align=Center | MFL

| align=Center | Puerto Rico

| align=Center | Yes

| align=Center | 1934

| align=Center | 0

| align=Center | Rhode Island

| align=Center | Yes

| align=Center | 1974

| align=Center | MFL

| align=Center | South Carolina

| align=Center | Yes

| align=Center | 2002

| align=Center | 0

| align=Center | South Dakota

| align=Center | Yes

| align=Center | 1987

| align=Center | LA, MFL

| align=Center | Tennessee

| align=Center | Yes

| align=Center | 2004

| align=Center | LA, MFL

| align=Center | Texas

| align=Center | Yes

| align=Center | 1992

| align=Center | 0

| align=Center | Utah

| align=Center | No

| align=Center | –

| align=Center | U.S. Virgin Islands

| align=Center | Yes

| align=Center | 1937

| align=Center | 0

| align=Center | Vermont

| align=Center | Yes

| align=Center | 1978

| align=Center | MFL, TSM

| align=Center | Virginia

| align=Center | Yes

| align=Center | 1988

| align=Center | MFL

| align=Center | Washington

| align=Center | Yes

| align=Center | 1982

| align=Center | 0

| align=Center | West Virginia

| align=Center | Yes

| align=Center | 1984

| align=Center | LA, MFL

| align=Center | Wisconsin

| align=Center | Yes

| align=Center | 1988

| align=Center | 0

| align=Center | Wyoming

| align=Center | Yes

| align=Center | 2013

| align=Center | 2by2, MFL

;Key:

2by2 = 2by2
LA = Lotto America
MFL = Millionaire for Life
TSM = Tri-State Megabucks consortium
0 = only multi-jurisdictional games are Mega Millions or Powerball

Notes

Other joint U.S. lotteries

Current

These games also are offered by multiple lotteries. Some of these games feature a shared progressive jackpot (noted by °):

2by2 (four lotteries): Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, Wyoming
Lotto America° (13): Delaware, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, West Virginia
Millionaire for Life (31): Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wyoming
Tri-State Lottery (Megabucks°, Gimme 5, Pick 3 (Day & Night), Pick 4 (Day & Night), Fast Play°): Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont

Former

Cash4Life (2014–2026; 10 lotteries): Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia
Lucky for Life (2009–2026; 23 lotteries): Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Wyoming

Lotteries in the United States

History

State revenues

New technologies

U.S. lotteries

Notes

Other joint U.S. lotteries

Current

Former

See also

References

Further reading