The Illinois State Lottery (known simply as the Illinois Lottery) is an American lottery for the U.S. state of Illinois, operated by Allwyn Illinois.
Overview The Illinois Lottery began operations on July 1, 1974, when lotteries in the United States were confined to areas of the Northeast and Midwest.
The drawings are supervised by an independent auditor who certifies the winning results. Illinois was the only single jurisdictional state lottery to have their drawings televised nationwide (which were broadcast throughout the United States and much of Canada via WGN-TV's national superstation feed WGN America [now NewsNation]). The 9 p.m. newscast was removed from WGN America in February 2014 as they begin their transition to a general cable network.
The Illinois Lottery is one of 45 lottery jurisdictions that participate in Mega Millions and Powerball – of these jurisdictions, 44 of the 45 lotteries offer both games. The Lottery also offers Lotto with a smaller jackpot, which is drawn on Monday, Thursday and Saturday nights. Pick 3 and Pick 4 numbers are drawn twice daily. Until April 16, 2014, with the discontinuation two months before of WGN-TV's 9 p.m. newscast from WGN America, the same numbers applied to those playing the same games in neighboring Iowa; that state now draws their own numbers. Lucky Day Lotto (5/45), with a minimum jackpot of $100,000, is drawn twice a day.
In 2009, the Illinois legislature passed amendments to the Lottery Law that approved the Internet Pilot Program to launch the sale of the Mega Millions and Lotto games on the Internet. The Illinois Lottery suspended the sale of Mega Millions tickets as the state's General Assembly struggled to pass a budget including lottery funding for the 2018 fiscal year. On December 23, 2011, a U.S. Justice Department decision provided much anticipated clarity to Illinois' and other U.S. lotteries by confirming that the sale of lottery products over the Internet by lotteries in United States jurisdictions was legal. On March 25, 2012, Illinois became the first jurisdiction to allow internet lottery sales. Adults with an IP address within the state of Illinois can play the Lottery in this manner. The program was approved to run for 36 to 48 months on a trial basis, before being implemented permanently sometime afterwards. The June 4, 2024 Mega Millions jackpot of $552 million was won by an Illinois resident who purchased their ticket via the Illinois State Lottery's online platform.
On October 1, 2015, the Illinois Lottery started determining the winning numbers electronically, using a computer with a random number generator, instead of using machines with numbered balls; furthermore, live draws were no longer televised, but rather posted on the Illinois Lottery's website, and on the Lottery's YouTube channel. Prior to this date, the selection of the winning numbers had been broadcast on WGN-TV for more than 25 years.Leventis Lourgos, Angie(October 1, 2015). "Last WGN-TV Live Lottery Marks End of an Era", Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
Winners of a Mega Millions (on an Illinois Lottery ticket) or a Lotto jackpot must choose the cash option within 60 days of the drawing if the cash option is desired (a Powerball jackpot winner on an Illinois Lottery ticket has 60 days after claiming to make their choice). Purchasers must be at least 18 years of age to purchase an Illinois Lottery ticket.
In December 2016, a Chicago Tribune investigation found that the Illinois Lottery simply suspended many of its most expensive games before awarding its largest prizes. While many lotteries across the United States do not award all its largest, the Tribune investigation found that Illinois's rate of awarding top prizes was significantly lower. In one example, a game called The Good Life was distributed with tickets at $30 each, with two top prizes of $46 million, but the game was ended before the lottery sold most of the printed tickets.
In January 2018, the Camelot Group, a gaming company based in the United Kingdom owned by the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, became the new operator of the Illinois Lottery. The state of Illinois was the first in the US to privatize its lottery system.
Distribution of funds Illinois Lottery proceeds currently benefit three major areas: 1) the state's Common School Fund (CSF), which helps finance K–12 public schools; 2) The Capital Projects Fund, used for infrastructure improvements and job creation and 3) special causes like Illinois veterans, breast cancer charities and research, assistance for people living with HIV/AIDS, and multiple sclerosis research. Each of the four special causes above is funded by a unique instant scratch-off game authorized by the Illinois General Assembly.
When the Lottery began in 1974, proceeds went into the state's General Revenue Fund. In 1985, a law was enacted to earmark all Lottery proceeds to the CSF. A similar initiative was vetoed a year earlier by then-governor James R. Thompson, who said the bill earmarking Lottery proceeds to the CSF would give people the wrong impression that the Lottery would be a panacea for school funding.
The Lottery's first contributions from special-cause instant games occurred in the 2006 fiscal year. The first contribution to the Capital Projects Fund occurred in 2010. In 2012, the Lottery contributed $639,875,000 to the CSF; $65,200,000 to the Capital Projects Fund; and $3,421,368 in support of the four special-cause instant games initiated to date. The Illinois Lottery has contributed more than $18 billion to charitable causes from its inception through 2013.
Suspension of payouts Beginning on July 1, 2015, the Illinois State Lottery suspended payouts on jackpots of $25,000 or more due to a state budget impasse that would eventually stretch to the end of August 2017. In October 2015, this was extended to all winnings above $600. The stated reason was that there was no legal authority for the Illinois Lottery or Illinois's comptroller to issue checks. Despite this, the state continued to offer its lottery games for play. The move drew criticism from some lawmakers, including one who has described the move as fraud. The following month, the Illinois Lottery became the subject of a class-action seeking to recoup the monies not paid since the suspension of payouts, including a group of players owed at least $288.4 million. Finally, on December 7, 2015, Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner signed legislation which allowed for the resumption of all payouts.
Current draw games
In-house draw games
Pick 3 Pick 3 (originally known as The Daily Game) launched on February 19, 1980. It started out as a single-drawing game that was held on Monday through Saturday evenings. On March 20, 1983, the lottery began to offer Sunday drawings of Pick 3. Ten years later on December 20, 1993, it expanded to 14 draws weekly with the addition of midday drawings. Pick 3 draws three sets of balls numbered 0 through 9. Prices, options, and payouts vary.
Pick 4 Pick 4, similar to Pick 3, began on February 16, 1982, with drawings held on Tuesday and Friday evenings. On August 27, 1984, drawings expanded to six nights a week with the addition of Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday draws. Sunday drawings were added on March 9, 1985. Concurrent with the expansion of Pick 3 to daily drawings, on December 20, 1993, Pick 4 expanded to 14 draws weekly with the addition of midday games. The game draws four sets of ten balls numbered 0 through 9. Prices, options and payouts vary.
Fireball On September 1, 2013, the Illinois Lottery introduced an optional feature to Pick 3 and Pick 4, called "Fireball", to provide a chance to obtain more winning number combinations. The option can be added for a cost equivalent to the player's original base wager(for example, if a Pick 3 wager is 50¢, it costs an additional 50¢ to add the "Fireball" option); The fireball number is drawn from 10 balls numbered 0 through 9 for each game during each day and night pick 3 and pick 4 drawing. Players can use the fireball number to replace a number drawn by the lottery to make new combinations. A fireball prize is awarded to players who match the numbers in any given fireball combination. A bonus prize will be awarded if the player matches the base game numbers and any of the resulting fireball combinations to where the Fireball number can replace a lottery drawn number that is identical to the Fireball number drawn.New Way To Play The Illinois Lottery , WTVO/WQRF, August 29, 2013.
Lucky Day Lotto In the current version of Lucky Day Lotto, a player pays $1 and picks 5 numbers from a field of 1 to 45 (or gets 5 randomly assigned numbers as a "quick pick"). Players matching all 5 numbers split a parimutuel jackpot that starts at $100,000. Players matching 4 of 5 numbers win $200, players matching 3 of 5 numbers win $15, and players matching 2 of 5 numbers win $1. Lucky Day Lotto drawings take place twice a day, seven days a week."Lucky Day Lotto", Illinois State Lottery. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
For an additional $1 per game, players can add an EZMatch option. With EZMatch, five additional numbers are randomly assigned. If any of the EZMatch numbers match any of the regular field numbers chosen by the player, there is an instant payout of an amount varying from $2 to $5,000.
Historically, on June 1, 1988, Illinois created "Cash 5", which began as a 5/35 game that was drawn on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. On May 15, 1989, the game's name was changed to "Little Lotto Cash 5", then "Little Lotto". New drawing balls were introduced on April 6, 1990; the game used a Beitel Criterion drawing machine. On November 7, 1994, five of the possible numbers were removed from the game(with the matrix becoming 5/30). Little Lotto became a Monday-through-Friday game beginning with the August 4, 1998 drawing. On February 25, 2004, the number matrix for "Little Lotto" changed again, to 5/39, with jackpots beginning at $100,000; the game's drawing also expanded to seven days a week. In 2012, Little Lotto was renamed Lucky Day Lotto. On July 14, 2014, Lucky Day Lotto was changed again, to 5/45, with 4/5, 3/5, and 2/5 rewards being doubled while maintaining the same jackpot theology.
Lotto In the current version of Lotto, a player pays $2 and picks 6 numbers from a field of 1 to 50 (or gets 6 randomly assigned numbers as a "quick pick"). Players matching all 6 numbers split a parimutuel jackpot that starts at $2,000,000 and rolls by $150,000 until it is won. Players matching 5 of 6 numbers win a variable amount that averages $2,000, matching 4 of 6 win a variable amount that averages $50, matching 3 of 6 numbers win $5, and matching 2 of 6 win $1. Lotto drawings take place on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday."Lotto", Illinois State Lottery. Retrieved December 25, 2013. Lotto now has three drawings: the Jackpot drawing, Lotto Million 1, and Lotto Million 2.