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Lottery In Delaware
Delaware legalized a state lottery back in 1974 when The Delaware Lottery was established by an act of the General Assembly. Tickets would go on sale the following year with weekly draw games launched in October 1975. These days Delaware is pretty liberal with its betting and was even the first state to allow Lottery-operated iGaming which means residents can now play casino games online via a few casino websites.
Legal Lottery Options in Delaware
You can find over 600 licensed lottery retailers throughout the state of Delaware. If you would like to find your retailer where you can play the lottery, instant win games, keno, or even place sports bets then you can use the official lottery’s Where To Buy page to help you.
Below we take a look at all the draw games you can play in Delaware.
Delaware Multi-State Games
Delaware joined forces with the Multi-State Lottery Association in the early 90s and launched its premier pari-mutuel game in 1991 when the Lotto America game was introduced which would later be re-branded to the Powerball.
US Powerball
Powerball draws are held every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday night and you can buy your tickets in Delaware from $2 each with the option to boost your non-jackpot winnings with the PowerPlay.
Despite being the 7th smallest populated state in the country, Delaware has had its fair share of big Powerball winners, the largest and most recent of which came in 2016 when $121.6 million was won by a lucky player who bought a ticket from the Selbyville Goose Creek store.
Mega Millions
Delaware began offering the Mega Millions multi-state game back on January 31, 2010. Over one decade has passed since then and sales for this ever-popular game have never been higher, with some of the biggest jackpots you’ll find in any lottery around the world offered up.
Tickets are sold for $2, with the option to add the Megaplier which can boost your non-jackpot winnings with a randomly selected multiplier. Draws are held Tuesday and Friday so you’ll have plenty of chances to win a jackpot that is regularly hundreds of millions and has even paid out as much as $1.537 billion to one incredibly lucky winner.
Lucky For Life
This lottery game offers you the chance to get paid every day for the rest of your life, with jackpot winners collecting $1,000 a day and runners up getting paid $25,000 a year for life. Draws are held every night at 22:30 and tickets are sold for $2 across Delaware.
Lotto America
The game that is named after the original multi-state offering was launched in Delaware on November 12, 2017. Tickets for the game are sold across 13 states including Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Montana, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, and West Virginia at a cost of $1 with the option to include the All-Star Bonus multiplier for an extra $1 which will boost any non-jackpot winnings. Draws are held every Wednesday and Saturday at 23:00 and the jackpot starts at $2 million and rolls over until there’s a winner.
Delaware Exclusive Lottery Games
The small mid-Atlantic state of Delaware only has a population of around 973,764 based on data from 2019, therefore there aren’t any huge prizes to be won with the in-state games, however, you will still be able to win a few hundred thousand in the larger games.
Multi-Win Lotto
This game offers the largest prizes you’ll find in any Delaware exclusive game, jackpots start at $50,000 and often roll over to become much larger. You can get tickets for $2 with 3 lines of play and draws are held every Monday, Wednesday Friday evening.
Play 3 & Play 4
This is a cheap game that offers you good odds of winning a prize with fewer numbers to pick. Play 4 offers prizes of up to $5,000 and tickets are sold for just $0.50 for both games. There are draws held twice a game for both of these games, with numbers drawn at midday and in the evening.
Keno
Delaware Keno is drawn every few minutes from 6:04 am till 1:04 am each day. Tickets are sold from $1 up to $200 depending on how many games you play and you can win up to $1 million.
Additional Delaware Games
It’s not just traditional draw games that you will find sold within Delaware, you can also enjoy a wide selection of scratch-off games that are on sale from $1-$25 allowing you to win up to $250,000 instantly.
Since 1996 you have also been able to play over 6,200 video lottery games and plenty of table games including poker, craps, blackjack, roulette, and baccarat across the state’s three casinos. You can also enjoy playing a fun sports lottery branded as “Sports Pick” at these same locations.
Delaware State Lottery History
- May 1974 – The Delaware Lottery is established when Governor Sherman W. Tribbit signed an Act into state law.
- October 1975 – The first lottery tickets go on sale with a weekly draw game launched.
- February 1976 – The first scratch card goes on sale in Delaware, named “Diamond Instant Dollar”.
- July 1994 – The state launches video lottery machines.
- January 2013 – Delaware begins offering Keno games.
- November 2017 – Lotto America is launched in Delaware.
What Does the Delaware State Lottery Fund?
All profits from the state lottery have gone towards the State General Fund since 1975, during this time over $5.8 billion has been raised for some great causes. The lottery also allocates 10% of revenues for retail commissions, paying for the distribution of tickets and handing out bonuses when winners are
Revenues raised go towards helping causes like:
- Public and higher education
- Public safety schemes
- Youth and family services
- Judicial and correctional services
- Nature schemes and environmental control
Where Can You Play the Lottery in Delaware?
You can access over 600 retailers within Delaware in order to play most games such as draws, instant win games, and keno. If you are interested in playing video lottery, table games, or sports lottery then you will need to head out to one of the casinos in Delaware such as Delaware Park Casino, Dover Downs Hotel and Casino, or Harrington Raceway and Casino.
Whilst you can’t purchase tickets for these lottery games online you can access a huge iGaming library on any of these casino’s websites or mobile apps. You can also sign up for the Players Club on the Delaware Lottery website and even enter second-chance drawings with any non-winning tickets.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I play the lottery online in Delaware?
No, you can play all lottery games in over 600 retail locations but the official lottery website doesn't currently sell any online tickets, despite online betting allowed on various casino apps offered in the state which are controlled by the Delaware Lottery.
What are the odds of winning the Delaware lottery?
You have a 1 in 1,623,160 chance of winning the largest in-state jackpot which begins at $50,000 and often exceeds $100,000.
Compare this with the odds of winning some of the multi-state games that offer a 1 in 302,575,350 chance of winning the jackpot and you can clearly see you are way more likely to win some life-changing money with these smaller in-state games.
What lottery games can I play in Delaware?
You can play plenty of draw games including Powerball, Mega Millions, Lucky for Life, and various in-state games with regular draws like Multi-Win Lotto, Play 3, Play 4, and even Keno.
There are also scratch cards, a sports lottery, and even table games, and three iGaming platforms that you can access when you sign up for one of the three casinos in the state.
How old do I have to be to play the lottery in Delaware?
You must be 18 or older to purchase lottery tickets in the state of Delaware.
If you would like some more in-depth information on the rules and regulations on the Delaware lottery you can find them here.