Lottery In Virginia

The lottery was first made legal in the state of Virginia back in 1987 when a statewide referendum would result in a resounding yes for lottery sales. The first tickets would go on sale in the Old Dominion state on September 20, 1988. Since then over $13 billion has been raised for K-12 public education with $765 million raised in 2021 alone.

Legal Lottery Options in Virginia

There are over 5,000 lottery retailers located within the state of Virginia, you can use the Find A Retailer page on the official website to find your nearest store.

You can also play plenty of lottery games in Virginia with the online software that’s available on mobile devices and computers and even by going to the website.

Virginia Multi-State Games

Virginia was one of the earliest states to join The Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) to offer games like the Mega Millions, which back then was called “The Big Game”.

US Powerball

Coming to Virginia in 2010, this game is now offered across over 40 states and districts in the USA. The game has created some seriously wealthy people with a minimum jackpot of $20 million that regularly exceeds $100 million.

Tickets are on sale across Virginia for $2 with the option to add PowerPlay for an extra $1 that will boost any non-jackpot winnings. Draws are held three times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays, so you’ll have plenty of chances to win some life-changing money.

Mega Millions

This was the first multi-state game to come to Virginia as far back as 1996, in fact, the state was one of the first six states to adopt this massive jackpot game. Payouts have gone anywhere from $40 million which is the minimum jackpot, up to $1.537 billion which was paid out in October 2018 to a single winner from South Carolina.

Tickets are on sale for $2 and there’s an option to add the Megaplier for $1 more that can increase your non-jackpot winnings with draws held every Tuesday and Friday.

Cash4Life

This is the game that pays you until you die, with $365,000 a year for the remainder of your days added to your account, which equates to $1,000 a day. Tickets are sold for $2 and even if you don’t win the jackpot you could still be in for a paycheck of $1,000 a week for life by matching up 5 balls.

Virginia Exclusive Lottery Games

Despite having a relatively minute population of just 692,683 the capital actually offers a fairly wide range of exclusive games.

Cash 5

This is a daily draw game that offers a jackpot of $100,000 that grows until it’s won. Tickets are on sale for just $1 with the option to add EZ Match which is an instant win game where you can bag up to $500.

Pick 3 & Pick 4

These lucky number games offer you the chance to win prizes for as little as $0.50. There are fourteen chances to win each week, with two daily prize draws held each day.

Bank A Million

This is the largest jackpot game you’ll find in Virginia, the deal is you get to bank yourself $1,000,000 and the Lottery will take care of your tax bill for you. Each ticket costs $2 and draws are held every Wednesday and Saturday night.

Additional Virginia Games

Print ‘n Play Games
These come in various themes such as Bingo, Crossword, and Blackjack. These games can win you some serious money and offer a good chance of return with odds of around 1 in 3-4 of a payout and prizes of up to $75,000.

Print ‘n Play Rolling Jackpot
These instant win games offer you some decent odds of winning the jackpot with 1 in every 240,000 tickets netting you a progressive jackpot. You get to decide your stake too, with a $2 ticket getting you a 20% share, $5 gets you 50%, and $10 lets you win the whole piece of cake.

Keno
Keno draws that are held every four minutes and can net you up to $1 million.

Scratchers
These instant win games are offered from $1 up to $30 and can see you win anywhere up to $7 million! These are only available in retail locations, but if you don’t win, you can use the mobile services to enter the second chance prize draws.

Virginia Lottery History

• 1612 – A lottery is started to raise funds for the Jamestown Settlement. This was a vital part of the colony’s survival, but would eventually be outlawed.
• 1987 – A vote is passed that will allow a state lottery, this would be the first lottery since it was banned in the early 20th century.
• 1988 – The first lottery tickets are sold on September 20th, 1988.
• 1989 – The initial plan for the lottery funds where that the proceeds would be transferred to the General Fund.
• 1999 – A provision in the budget changes the revenues made from lottery sales to be dedicated entirely to educational programs.
• 2020 – The lottery goes online, offering all kinds of ticket sales including multi-state draws and online exclusives as of July 1st, 2020.

What Does the Virginia Lottery Fund?

The state of Virginia is a strong believer in the view that the youth of today are the future, and they are backing that with some serious cash. Since 1999 all of the Virginia Lottery profits have been used to help K-12 public education. Since that time there has been over $11 billion raised with a record-breaking $766.7 million raised in the fiscal year of 2021 alone.

Where Can You Play the Lottery in Virginia?

There are over 5,000 retail locations available to you within the state of Virginia where you can play every kind of lottery game from print-off tickets to the biggest draw games and even keno and scratchers.

You can also take part in loads of lottery games via the mobile app or website, just check out the official Virginia Lottery page for more information.

Kristal O' Gribin

Business Development Manager at Gambling Industry News, Kristal brings over 15 years of digital marketing experience in the iGaming Industry. Previously Head of Casino at Entain, Ex Betfair and Amaya Gaming. Kristal's extensive background in the industry enables her to drive growth and innovation in her current role.