The New Jersey Lottery is run by the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its In-house draw games are Pick-3, Pick-4, Jersey Cash 5, Pick-6, Quick Draw, and Cash Pop. Its multi-jurisdictional draw games are Cash4Life, Mega Millions, and Powerball. The Lottery also sells Fast Play and scratch-off tickets. The New Jersey Lottery is headquartered at One Lawrence Park Complex in Lawrence Township, Mercer County."Contact Us." New Jersey Lottery. Retrieved on March 23, 2009.
Current draw games
In-house draw games
Pick-3 Pick-3 is a three-digit draw game drawn twice daily. It began on May 22, 1975, as a daily game and the nation’s first game where players can choose their own numbers and play type. Midday drawings were introduced in November 2001. It was originally known as Pick-it; the name changed to Pick-3 in 1987 to distinguish from the newer Pick-4 game.
The ways to win, in the order of payouts from highest to lowest, are:
Straight – Match all three digits exactly as they are drawn. Wheel – Match all three digits in any order and win the Straight prize. This play type multiplies the wager amount by the number of straight combinations covered. Box – Match all three digits in any order. Straight/Box – Match the winning numbers in the exact order to win the straight and the box prizes. Match the winning numbers in any order to win the box prize. Pair – Match the first two or the last two numbers (depending on the specific pair selected) in the exact order to win.
Plays in pick 3 range from $0.50 to $5 and prizes range from $25 to $2,500 depending on the player’s choice of play type and wager amount for each game.
As of November 14, 2022, the New Jersey Lottery pays winners fixed prize amounts to players who have pick 3 tickets that match the winning numbers for the play type they choose. Prizes in pick 3 were awarded on a parimutuel basis prior to the November 14th, 2022 drawings.
Pick-4 Pick-4 is a four-digit draw game also drawn twice daily. It was introduced as a weekly game on July 9, 1977, became a daily game, and has been a twice-daily game since November 2001.
Price and play options for pick 4 are the same as the pick 3 game with prizes ranging from $25 to $25,000 depending on the player’s choice for play type and how much they will pay for the game. The prizes are paid on a fixed basis as of November 14, 2022. Prior to November 14, 2022, players won a prize that was awarded to them on a parimutuel basis.
Fireball On February 27, 2017, the Fireball feature was added to Pick-3 and Pick-4, replacing a play type that the NJ Lottery offered until February 19, 2017, called "So Close". This Fireball feature gives players an additional opportunity to create winning combinations. With Fireball, players can replace one of the Lottery drawn Pick-3 or Pick-4 winning numbers with the Fireball number drawn for more ways to win, for example, if a player placed a 3-6-8 Straight bet and the winning numbers were 2-6-8 and the Fireball number was 3, the player would swap out the first number 2 with the Fireball number to match the numbers 3-6-8 and win the Fireball prize. In addition, player matching the winning numbers for their play type and the fireball number is the same as one of their numbers and the player matches the winning fireball combinations win the base game and any fireball prizes for each fireball combination for that play type (for example if a player placed a 1-2-2-7 Straight bet with the fireball feature and the winning numbers were 1-2-2-7 and the fireball number was 2, they would win 3 times). Adding Fireball doubles the cost of the play and can be added to any pick 3 or pick 4 play type.
Jersey Cash 5 Xtra Jersey Cash 5 is a daily game that draws five balls numbered from 1 through 45. Drawings are held nightly, and the cost is $2 per game. The top prize (matching all 5 numbers drawn) is a progressive jackpot that starts at an estimated $100,000. The jackpot increases each day until a wager matches all 5 numbers drawn. The jackpot amount is shared between each winning ticket if there is more than one.
Jersey Cash 5 began on September 20, 1992, as a pick-5-of-38 game. Players won a parimutuel prize by matching at least three numbers. The original version of Jersey Cash 5 did not have a rolling jackpot; instead, if no set of five numbers was a perfect match, the first-prize pool was added to second prize winners (those who matched four of five numbers). In September 2003, two numbers were added to make Jersey Cash 5 a 5/40 game, and the top prize level was changed to a progressive jackpot. On September 14, 2014, Jersey Cash 5 increased its field of numbers from 40 to 43 and became a 5/43 game. Its estimated starting jackpot prize was also increased – from $50,000 to $75,000. On June 29, 2020, the starting jackpot was increased from $75,000 to $100,000 and increased its field of numbers from 43 to 45.
On October 3, 2016, the "Xtra" feature was added to Jersey Cash 5. This feature gives players the opportunity to multiply their non-jackpot winnings up to 5 times by matching 3 or 4 out of 5 numbers. If a player matches 2 out of 5 numbers with the "Xtra" feature, they win $2.
On July 1, 2024, Jersey Cash 5 went through some major changes which include a change in the ticket price to $2 per play, the addition of the new Bullseye feature which allows players to win additional money for matching 3 and 4 numbers with the last number being the bullseye number and the starting jackpot will increase to $150,000 and grow from there. The game’s instant match feature has also been discontinued in honor of the new format, but the "Xtra" feature will continue as an optional add on to the game.
Pick-6 Pick-6 is drawn on Monday and Thursday evenings. It draws six numbers from 1 through 46. Games cost $2 each. The jackpot begins at $2 million annuity and increases by at least $100,000 per rollover until there is a 6-of-6 winner (the jackpot prize is paid in a financial annuity over 30 years or the jackpot winner can choose the available cash option for such annuity). The game requires players to choose how they want to be paid if they win the jackpot prize while playing the game.
Pick-6 began on May 9, 1980, as one of the first games of its kind in the US. It originally was a pick-6 (hence the name) of 36 numbers. Players paid $1 for each game; a winning ticket needed at least four correct numbers in a game. In June 1984, it was changed to 6/39, then in February 1986, later went to a 6/42 matrix, followed by an additional change to 6/46, in January 1989; making even higher jackpots possible. Until 2000, drawings included a five-digit "bonus" number; an exact match entered the player into a special drawing where the top prize was $50,000 yearly in 20 installments, with no cash option. (Although the Pick-6 cash option began in 1997, it applied only to the "regular" game; choosing "cash" on a betslip, then winning the top prize in the "bonus" drawing, still meant receiving mandatory annuity payments.)
In September 2000, Pick-6 adopted the 6/49 format, adding a $3 prize for matching three numbers. Matching at least four numbers has always won a parimutuel prize.
On January 22, 2015, Pick-6 added its "XTRA" option (an additional $1 per play per drawing). Matching five, four, or three of the six numbers means the basic parimutuel prize is multiplied by the "XTRA" number. The "XTRA" feature originally awarded a $2 prize for matching 2 of the six numbers drawn.
On April 7, 2022, the game matrix scaled back to the 6/46 matrix, the price increased to $2 per play and a new feature called Double Play added to the game, giving players additional chance to win up to $250,000, with other prizes being reduced. In addition to that, the XTRA multiplier turned into an instant multiplier on every purchased ticket, and a new 10x multiplier number added, which gives players the chance to multiply any non jackpot prizes up to 10 times, both for the regular Pick-6 and Double Play drawings.
On July 12, 2025, the New Jersey lottery added a Saturday drawing to allow for more excitement in the game with bigger jackpots to happen more frequently.
Quick Draw Quick Draw is a keno-style draw game which was launched on July 17, 2017. The game is drawn every four minutes from 5:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. Players choose 1 to 10 numbers (spots) per play. It is drawn using a random number generator (RNG). The RNG draws 20 numbers from 1 through 80. Minimum play is $1. The 10-spot option has a top prize of $100,000 ($1 million on a $10 play). Players also have the option of how many consecutive drawings (up to 20) they wish to play. Up until September 30, 2018, Quick Draw was only offered at a limited number of lottery retailers (who have an HDTV monitor) showing each drawing.
On October 1, 2018, Quick Draw's Bullseye feature was launched giving players higher chances of winning. During each drawing, one of the 20 drawn numbers is randomly selected as the Bullseye number. If a player matches the Bullseye number, bigger prizes are won. Players can add Bullseye to each play for double the amount of the bet per draw. On the same day, the Quick Draw ePlayslip was also launched where players can generate a bet slip by selecting their own numbers and bets through the NJ Lottery app. Quick Draw is available through all New Jersey Lottery retailers, with the live drawings displayed on each lottery terminal, HDTV monitors, the NJ Lottery app and website.
On June 7, 2021, the Multiplier feature was launched. This feature gives lottery players the opportunity to multiply their winnings up to 10 times. The Multiplier drawing takes place prior to each draw. The cost to add the Multiplier to each play costs double the wager.
Cash Pop The game launched on September 30, 2019. Players select how much to wager; $1, $2, $5, or $10. Players choose from 1 to 15 numbers; the "cover all" option guarantees a win. One number from 1 through 15 is drawn by an RNG. Players can win anywhere from 5 to 250 times their wager, with prizes ranging from $5 to $2,500. Winning numbers are shown on each lottery terminal, HDTV monitors, the New Jersey Lottery app, and website. Since Monday, June 27, 2022, Cash Pop drawings take place every 4 minutes instead of every 15 minutes.
Instant Games Since June 16, 1975, the New Jersey has offered numerous scratchcard games, called "Instant Games", with various price points, prizes, formats and themes.
Fast Play The Lottery offered a form of instant win game known as Instant Match. Available as a $1 add-on to Pick-3, Pick-4 and Jersey Cash 5 tickets, the lottery terminal's random number generator produced a same-sized set of numbers to the main game. If any of the randomly generated numbers match the ticket's chosen numbers, the player wins the indicated prize amount.
In 2015, this was replaced by a series of games known as Fast Play, which are instant games similar to a scratchcard, but generated by the lottery terminal. Cost and prize values vary between games. One game, Jersey Jackpot features a progressive jackpot.
Multi-jurisdictional games
Mega Millions
On September 6, 1996, six lotteries began a multi-jurisdictional game, then known as The Big Game. In May 1999, the New Jersey Lottery became its first additional member. The game became known as The Big Game Mega Millions in May 2002; a short time later, The Big Game was dropped from the name. Mega Millions' starting jackpots is $15 million; a cash option is available.
On January 31, 2010, many MUSL members (until then offering only Powerball) joined Mega Millions; likewise, most Mega Millions members added Powerball; New Jersey offered both games as of the cross-sell expansion date.
The Megaplier option, initially available only in Texas, became available to Mega Millions players in New Jersey during January 2011, the deadline for the then 43 Mega Millions members to offer the Megaplier.