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Lottery In Washington D.C

By - Thursday 1st May 2025 9:12 PM

Lottery went live in Washington D.C back in 1982, since then it’s helped raise over $1.6 billion in funds for the General Fund that supports education, senior citizens, housing, and many more worthy causes. In late 2020 the lottery went online, meaning you can now buy various draw tickets and instant play games from your computer or mobile devices whilst in the district.


Legal Lottery Options in Washington D.C

There are over 100 lottery retailers within the district of Washington D.C, a handful of which also offer self-service machines and even monitor games. If you would like to know your nearest location to play these kinds of games, take a look at the “Where To Play” page of the official Washington D.C Lottery website.

You can also play various lottery games online now too, with various E-Instant games that are available online anywhere within the district.

Below we take a look at all the draw games you can play in Washington D.C.

Washington D.C Multi-State Games

The district of Washington D.C has offered multi-state lottery games since 1988 when they joined up with The Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL).

US Powerball

This game offers huge jackpots and has even created billionaires, prize drawings are held every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday so you’ll have multiple chances to win each week. Tickets are on sale for $2, with the option of adding the PowerPlay for an extra dollar that can multiply your non-jackpot winnings.

Mega Millions

This is the largest lottery you’ll find anywhere, with a jackpot that starts at a cool $40 million and regularly gets into the triple figures, you can play this game every Tuesday and Friday night. Tickets are priced the same as the Powerball, with $2 for a basic ticket and an extra $1 for the Megaplier which boosts any non-jackpot winnings by a randomly selected multiplier.

Lucky For Life

This game offers you the chance to get paid every day for the rest of your life, with a jackpot that gives you $1,000 a day and a second prize that pays you $25,000 a year for life. Tickets are on sale for $2 across the district and you can play every single night of the week.


Washington D.C Exclusive Lottery Games

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

DC-2, DC-3, DC-4, and DC-5

These are a range of lucky number games that you can play from as little as 50 cents and be in with a chance of winning up to $50,000 with the five-number version. Draws are held twice a day, every day at mid-day and in the evening.

Race2Riches

This is an interactive horse racing themed draw game where you can win up to $1,000,000. Draws are held every four minutes, seven days a week and you can play this fun game for just $1.

The Lucky One

This is a monitor draw game that you can only purchase in retail locations across the district. The draw is held every few minutes and to win you just have to match up your number with the single number that is drawn.


Additional Washington D.C Games

You can also check out plenty of scratch cards where you can win up to $1,000,000 instantly. There’s also the DC Fast Play game where you can get a printed instant win ticket from the lottery retailers that can score you some serious cash. You can also play Tap-N-Play games from the self-service terminals located in some retailers within the district. DC iLottery is now online, with e-instant tickets available on your smartphone, computer, or tablet at the click of a button.


Washington D.C Lottery History

  • 1982 – The first lottery game was introduced to Washington D.C titled “Match 3”.
  • 1984 – The first draw game within Washington D.C is released, the game is called “Lucky Numbers” which is a three number game that is held daily.
  • 1988 – Washington D.C joins the MUSL.
  • 1992 – The Powerball is introduced to the district of Washington D.C.
  • 2010 – The first Mega Millions draw tickets are sold in January 2010.
  • 2015 – Lucky for Life comes to Washington D.C.
  • 2020 – The lottery launches ticket sales online in December 2020, with thousands of users using the service to buy draw tickets and play online exclusive games.

What Does the Washington D.C Lottery Fund?

Since beginning operations in 1982, the lottery within Washington D.C. has raised over $1.6 billion for the District’s General Fund. This supports important services within the region for education, recreational facilities, parks, public safety, housing, senior citizens, and child services.


Where Can You Play the Lottery in Washington D.C?

You can purchase tickets for pretty much every kind of draw online with the iLottery services that went online in late 2020. There are also plenty of retail locations where you can play draw games, keno, scratch cards, and other instant win games.


Frequently Asked Questions

Can I play the lottery online in Washington D.C?

Yes, as of December 18, 2020, the lottery has been available to play on mobile devices as well as computers via the official Washington D.C Lottery website.

You can also now bet on sports within the district of Washington D.C, if you'd like to learn more about that side of things then take a look at the sports betting page here.

What lottery games can I play in Washington D.C?

You can play popular country-wide games like Powerball, Mega Millions, and Lucky for Life as well as plenty of local games to Washington D.C with regular draws. There are also plenty of instant win games that you can get your hands on both in retail locations or online.

How old do I have to be to play the lottery in Washington D.C?

You must be 18 or older to purchase lottery tickets in the district of Washington D.C.

Can I purchase lottery tickets in advance in Washington D.C?

Yes, you can buy your local draw tickets up to 7 days in advance, and when it comes to multi-state games like Powerball, Mega Millions, and Lucky for Life you can get tickets for the next 20 consecutive draws if you wish.

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