Missouri - Lotto

Lotto

Lotto is one of several popular state lottery games operated by Missouri Lotto.

Lotto draws are held twice weekly on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 20:59 local time. Players can purchase tickets right up until the draw is made, which resume again at 21:15. Ticket sales are frozen between 02:00 and 05:00 local time, both in stores and online.

Entry into Lotto costs $1.00 for two sets of six numbers between 1 and 44, or go for a Quick Pick to enter with randomly generated numbers.

Players can win even larger prizes if their ticket becomes a Doubler, with selected tickets being upgraded at no extra cost. Players with one of these tickets will have their winning non-jackpot prizes doubled.

Lotto also offers EZmatch for an extra $1.00 per play, with six random numbers being printed onto the ticket. If the previously chosen numbers match any of these, the amount shown next to the number is won as an instant cash prize. Players can win up to $500 per number and multiple times per ticket!

Jackpot

Lotto has a minimum guaranteed jackpot of $1 million.

Lotto has no rollover or jackpot cap, with the jackpot for the next draw increasing by $100,000 when there is no winner.

The highest ever Lotto jackpot was $11.5 million on July 24, 2004.

Odds and Prizes

The odds of winning the Lotto jackpot are 1 in 3,529,526.

Not all secondary prizes offer cash, with players who match three numbers simply winning a free ticket for the next draw.

The overall odds of winning a prize are 1 in 20.

Payout and Taxes

Lottery prizes over $600 are subject to 4% state tax, with winnings over $5,000 subject to additional federal tax of 25%.

All prizes must be claimed within 180 days of the draw.

Jackpot winners can receive a cash lump sum or 25 annual payments; however, the cash option only pays around 50% of the jackpot, which makes annual payments a much more attractive proposition. Jackpot winners have 60 days to notify Missouri Lottery about their choice of payment, which is paid in annual installments by default.

Who Can Play Lotto?

Players must be at least 18 years of age to buy lottery tickets in Missouri.

Lotto tickets can be purchased from authorized lottery retailers across Missouri, on the official website or via the Missouri Lottery app.

Lotto tickets are only available to Missouri residents due to a local address being required to register on the official website or app, with Lotto not being available on popular Lottery Agent websites either.

History of Lotto

Lotto was launched in January 1998 and is operated by Missouri Lottery. 

The Doubler feature was added on November 4, 2012.