Virginia Lottery

History

Lotteries date back to the earliest days of Virginia. "The Great Virginia Lottery" was held long before Virginia became a state. It began in 1612 to help raise funds for the struggling Jamestown Settlement; it raised ₤29,000 for the Virginia Company. Lottery proceeds helped establish early universities (including Virginia's College of William and Mary and University of Virginia), churches, and libraries. Gambling was outlawed in Virginia in 1849.

Virginia voters approved a government-run lottery in 1987. Before the vote, supporters of a lottery suggested a number of possible ways in which lottery profits could be designated in Virginia, such as education, transportation and Chesapeake Bay cleanup. However, the referendum made no designation of how lottery profits would be spent. Sales began September 20, 1988. In 1989, the General Assembly directed Lottery proceeds to capital construction projects. From 1990 to 1998, the proceeds went to Virginia's General Fund. Starting in 1999, a provision in Virginia's budget called for all proceeds to be assigned exclusively to education. In November 2000, Virginia voters approved the creation of the State Lottery Proceeds Fund by an 83.5-point margin. The measure, which is a permanent part of Virginia's Constitution, directs the General Assembly to use all Lottery profits for educational purposes. The Lottery does not control how its profits are spent.

Under Virginia law, all unclaimed prizes go to the Virginia Literary Fund, which is also used for educational purposes. As of 2015, more than $256 million in unclaimed prizes have been transferred to the Literary Fund.

In 2004, retired truck driver J. R. Triplett of Winchester won the largest Virginia Lottery prize to date when he claimed a Mega Millions jackpot worth $239 million (annuity value) for the April 1 drawing. Eight Mega Millions jackpots and one Powerball jackpot have been won in Virginia.

Governance

The Lottery is an independent agency, separate from the other branches of government. The department is governed by a five-member board, with each member appointed by the Governor to serve a five-year term. The Lottery is headed by an Executive Director, who is appointed by the Governor. Paula Otto, a former associate director of the School of Mass Communications at Virginia Commonwealth University, is the fourth executive director in the Lottery's history. She was first appointed on Feb. 1, 2008, and has served under three governors.

In Fiscal Year 2015, Lottery sales were more than $1.8 billion. The lottery generated $533.8 million, or 28.9%, for public education, 60.6% was paid out as prizes, 5.6% was paid to retailers as sales commissions, and 4.9% covered the Lottery's operational expenses.

The Lottery sponsors the annual Virginia Lottery Super Teacher Awards. A Commonwealth-wide panel of educators annually select one Super Teacher from each of eight geographic regions. Each winner receives a $2,000 credit for schoolroom supplies from The Supply Room Companies and $2,000 from the Lottery.

Games

The Virginia Lottery gives top-prize winners of certain games a choice of cash or annuity. When a Virginia top-prize winner of Mega Millions, Powerball or Cash4Life is claimed, the Lottery purchases sufficient U.S. Government bonds to cover the prize. (A cash option winner of Mega Millions or Powerball receives the "lump sum" in two installments as both games are offered by multiple lotteries.) The actual cash value depends on the market value of the bonds on the date they are sold. Federal laws require the Lottery to withhold Federal Income Tax on all prizes (whether lump sum or annuity) over $5,000.

Virginia Lottery sales are conducted by licensed businesses which receive a commission. Credit cards cannot be used to purchase Lottery tickets. The Lottery offers a subscription service for Mega Millions by automatic withdrawals from the subscriber's checking account.

Virginia-only draw games

Within Virginia, the Lottery offers "Pick 3", "Pick 4," and "Cash 5." Each game is drawn twice a day (at 2PM and 11PM), seven days a week. R

Pick 3 and Pick 4

Virginia offers three- and four-digit games that are similar to those of other US lotteries. The maximum prize on a $1 play are $500 in Pick 3 and $5,000 in Pick 4.

Cash 5

Virginia's Cash 5 game draws five numbers from a pool of 34. The minimum wager is $1; games can be played for 25 and/or 50 cents providing the total is $1 or more. The top prize on a $1 single-game wager is $100,000; that pool's liability limit is $2,000,000.

Bank A Million

Bank A Million is a drawing game offering a top prize of $1,000,000 after the tax withholding. Drawings are held on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Players choose 6 of 40 numbers. The minimum bet is $2; however, similar to Cash 5, players have the option of splitting the wager into two $1 plays or four 50-cent plays. The Lottery draws six numbers plus a Bonus Ball. The top prize (matching the first six numbers) on a $2 wager is $1,000,000; however, unlike Money Ball, the top prize is "taxes paid" (the actual prize, $1,408,451, is before withholding, which is to be reported for tax purposes; the after withholding amount is $1,000,000.) Top prizes on $1 and 50-cent wagers are proportionally smaller.

Millionaire Raffle

In 2007, the Lottery offered its first Millionaire Raffle; 330,000 tickets were sold at $20 each, after which numbers were randomly drawn to win up to $1 million. The Lottery has held Millionaire Raffles irregularly: some during spring; but most have been drawn on New Years Day. Rules vary with each raffle; the top prize is usually $1 million; generally, raffle prizes are paid in lump sum.

Cash4Life

Cash4Life is a drawing game currently played in six states including Virginia. Tickets cost $2, and players pick 5 numbers from a pool of 60 and 1 "Cash Ball" number from a pool of 4. The top prize (for matching all numbers) is the choice of $1,000 a day for life or a $7,000,000 lump sum, subject to a liability limit.

Mega Millions

Mega Millions is a drawing game played in Virginia and most other U. S. states (Virginia is one of the original six states to first offer the game in 1996 when it was then known as "The Big Game"). Jackpots start at $15 million and grow with each drawing in which there is no jackpot winner. Drawings are held Tuesdays and Fridays. Players select five numbers, 1 through 75, plus a Mega Ball number, 1 through 15. Players also have the option to use the Megaplier, which increases the ticket price by $1 each but raises the value of any non-jackpot prizes won. A ticket matching all six numbers win the jackpot. The jackpot is pari-mutuel, meaning that if multiple tickets match all six numbers, each of them receives an equal share of the total jackpot. Mega Millions jackpot are offered as an annuity, although a cash option is also available.

The odds of matching all six numbers to win the Mega Millions jackpot are 1 in 258,890,850. The odds of winning any prize are 1 in 14.7. As of January 2014, eight Mega Millions jackpots have been won in Virginia.

Powerball

Powerball is a drawing game in which players try to match five numbers from 1 through 69, plus a Powerball number from 1 through 26. A ticket that matches all six numbers wins the jackpot. Jackpot amounts begin at $40 million and grow with each drawing in which the jackpot is not won. Top-prize Powerball winners can choose cash in lieu of annuity payments. The jackpot is pari-mutuel, meaning that if multiple tickets match all six numbers, each of them receives an equal share of the total jackpot.

A basic Powerball ticket costs $2. The Power Play option adds $1 to the price of each ticket in a given playslip, so a Powerball ticket with Power Play costs $3 (up from $2). The odds of matching all six numbers to win the Powerball jackpot are 1 in 292,201,338. The odds of winning any prize are 1 in 25. One Powerball jackpot has been won in Virginia.

Scratcher games and Print 'n Play

From its inception, the Virginia Lottery has sold instant (scratcher) games. Originally, all scratch tickets were $1 each; in the mid-1990s, the first Bingo scratcher was introduced; each Bingo ticket cost $2. Eventually, higher-priced scratchers (including $3, $5, and $10) with larger prizes were introduced. Currently, the most expensive scratchers are $20 each. All $20 and up games currently in circulation and many $10 games offer a top prize of at least $1 million (annuitized). On September 13, 2016, the Virginia Lottery introduced 100x the Money, its first $30 ticket with a top prize of $10 million (annuity): the highest ticket price and top prize for a scratcher in the Lottery's history. Winners of scratcher annuity prizes of at least $1 million can choose cash (just as in the top prizes in Powerball, Mega Millions, or Cash4Life).

In 2007, the Lottery began complementing scratchers with its first Fast Play game: "Fast Play Bingo". As with traditional Lottery games, tickets were printed by the terminal; however as in scratchers, winning status was determined when the ticket was printed (there was no drawing for a Fast Play game). More Fast Play games had been added over the years until there was a continually-changing lineup of games at $2, $3, and $5 prices: each with its own rules and prizes. On April 3, 2016, Fast Play changed to Print 'n Play. The basic rules are the same, but the lineup is now simplified to the three most popular Fast Play games—Bingo, Blackjack, and Crossword—each of which is now available in up to four different price tiers including a new $10 tier.

Security

Virginia Lottery drawings are conducted under elaborate security protocols. The set of balls used for each drawing are randomly selected from a number of sets; and detailed records of "test" drawings are maintained to prevent systematic biases. In addition, forging lottery tickets, or tampering with a Lottery drawing is a Class 5 felony. All Virginia Lottery employees and applicants to become Lottery sales agents are fingerprinted and subject to criminal background checks.

Theft of Virginia Lottery tickets are investigated by both the Lottery Investigators and local law enforcement agencies. Lottery Investigators are fully sworn Law Enforcement Officers. Per Virginia law it vests the Director, the director of security, and investigators of the State Lottery Department with the powers of sheriffs in enforcing the statutes and regulations relating to the lottery.

Compulsive gambling

Virginia law requires that each ticket include a telephone number for a counseling service that addresses compulsive gambling. That number links to the Virginia Problem Gambling Helpline, which is maintained by the Lottery. The Lottery also includes information on compulsive gambling on its website. and has produced Problem Gambling and Play Responsibly public service announcements for TV and radio. The Lottery supports National Problem Gambling Awareness Month.