The New York Lottery is the largest and most profitable in the United States. With funds going to public education, and a whole lot of students to help, the NY Lottery is definitely a massive operation and has been since it began in 1967.
Most states hope to raise $4 billion over several years to fund education initiatives. New York nearly did during the 2023-24 fiscal year. Roughly $90 billion has been contributed to public schools over the lottery’s history and there is plenty more coming in the future.
The legal age for participating in the NY Lottery is 18+ for purchasing a ticket and 21+ for playing Quick Draw games at retailers where alcohol is served.
While the state of New York does not directly sell online or mobile lottery tickets, third-party sellers like Jackpocket and Jackpot.com are licensed and approved vendors.
New York Lottery Games
The New York Lottery participates in three multi-state lottery drawings – Powerball, Mega Millions, and Cash 4 Life. In all, there are 10 draw games in the state, with state-specific New York Lotto, Numbers, Win 4, Take 5, Quick Draw, Money Dots, and New York Pick 10.
There are several dozen scratch-off games available with denominations from $1 to $30.
New York Lottery Draw Games
Powerball
For being such a large operation, New York was a bit of a late adopter of Powerball, picking the game up in January 2010. Each play costs $2 or $3 with the Power Play multiplier of non-Jackpot prizes. The NY Lottery does not offer the Double Play feature with a secondary drawing after the main one.
Numbers from 1 to 69 are selected and a Powerball from 1 to 26. Matching all six wins the Jackpot, which starts at $20 million and grows with each draw without a grand prize winner. The drawings are held on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. ET.
Ticket sales are cut off on draw nights at 10 p.m. ET.
Mega Millions
Conversely, New York was one of the early adopters of Mega Millions. In fact, New York and Ohio both added the game in May 2002 as the eighth and ninth states to add the draw. Mega Millions is drawn on Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m. ET and ticket sales are cut off an hour prior on draw nights.
Each play costs $2 with an optional add-on of the Megaplier for $1, which multiplies non-Jackpot prizes. With Mega Millions, five numbers from 1 to 70 are drawn and then a Mega Ball from 1 to 25.
The NY Lottery does offer the “Just The Jackpot” draw, which is an all-or-nothing proposition with two sets of numbers for $3. The Jackpot starts at $20 million and grows when there are no winners.
Cash 4 Life
The New York Lottery also participates in the multi-state drawing of Cash 4 Life. This game is drawn nightly at 9 p.m. ET, with ticket sales cut off 15 minutes prior. The grand prize here is $1,000 a day for life, with a secondary prize of $1,000 a week for life for matching the five basic numbers.
To win the grand prize, five numbers from 1 to 60 and a Cash Ball from 1 to 4 must be matched. Each play costs $2 for this game.
Cash 4 Life is played in Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Virginia.
New York Lotto
The New York Lotto is the primary state-specific lotto drawing. Drawings are held on Wednesday and Saturday at 8:15 p.m. ET and ticket sales are cut off 15 minutes before the drawing. Players get two plays for $1 with this game.
The numbers range from 1 to 59 and a seventh ball from the remaining unpicked balls is also selected. To win the Jackpot, players need to match just the six basic numbers, but the Bonus Ball counts towards the “Second Prize”, which is five basic numbers plus the Bonus Ball. That pays 7.25% of the 40% of sales allocated as prize money, or 2.9% of the sales.
The Jackpot for this game is not fixed because it is based on sales.
Take 5
The NY Lottery’s Take 5 is a five-number draw game held twice a day. The Midday drawing is at 2:30 p.m. ET and the Evening drawing is at 10:30 p.m. ET. Ticket sales end 15 minutes before the midday draw and 10 minutes before the evening draw.
The five numbers range from 1 to 39 in this game and matching all of them wins the Jackpot, which is again based on the percentage of sales.
Players can play the Instant Match for an extra dollar and win up to $500 for matching any one of the numbers on their ticket.
Win 4
Win 4 is the New York Lottery version of a Pick 4. Numbers from 0 to 9 are drawn to produce a four-digit number twice a day at 2:30 p.m. ET and 10:30 p.m. ET.
Each play costs 50 cents or $1 with this game and players can play the numbers Straight, Box, Straight/Box, Combination, Front Pair, or Back Pair.
For an extra $1, the Instant Win match bonus is available with separate odds and prizes.
The top prize on a $1 ticket is $5,000 for matching the four-digit number straight across.
NUMBERS
Numbers is the fancy name for the NY Lottery’s Pick 3 game. Much like Win 4, just with one fewer ball drawn, the drawings are at 2:30 p.m. ET and 10:30 p.m. ET with ticket sales cut off 15 minutes before the daytime draw and 10 minutes before the evening draw.
Each play costs 50 cents or $1 with Straight, Box, Straight/Box, Combination, Front Pair, or Back Pair as the play options.
For an extra $1, the Instant Win match bonus is an option.
The top prize on a $1 wager is $500.
Pick 10
The New York Lottery has two different variations of Keno. The first is Pick 10, which is a once-a-day draw at 8:30 p.m. ET. Sales cut off at 8 p.m. The top prize is $500,000 and each play costs $1.
Players pick 10 spots out of 80 numbers. The numbers are randomly selected during the draw. Players who match zero numbers win $4. Prizes are then given for matching 6+ numbers, with 10 being the grand prize. Players can choose their own numbers or have the computer do it for them.
Quick Draw
Quick Draw is the other Keno variant. Players pick between 1 and 10 spots per game out of the 80 spots available. This drawing is from $1, $2, $3, $4, $5, or $10 and is held every four minutes from 4 a.m. to 3:30 a.m.
There are also additional add-ons to this game that are not present with Pick 10. There is EXTRA, which is a prize multiplier. Party Play is an option to buy a ticket for your server, as this game is played in bars, taverns, and restaurants.
Money Dots is another option that costs another dollar and occurs immediately after the drawing with another number. The top prize is $50.
Money Dots
Money Dots can be played with Quick Draw or as a separate game, so it gets its own section here. The Money Dots draw is part of the Quick Draw, so it takes place every four minutes virtually all day long.
Each play costs $1 and a prize amount is randomly assigned to the winning number. There are $5, $10, $20, and $50 Money Dots. Players get eight numbers for the $1 wager and they are Quick Pick numbers only.
New York Lottery Scratch-Offs
The New York Lottery has a whole lot of scratch-off options. The denominations are $1, $2, $3, $5, $10, $20, and $30 and there are dozens of games available, including holiday and seasonal themes.
Charts on the NY Lottery website show the remaining prizes for each game and also the end date so that players can redeem their winning tickets before they expire. The website also has the rules and regulations for each game, much like what is printed on the back of the ticket.
Scratch-offs are only available at physical lottery retailers. While tickets for draw games can be purchased through third-party sellers like Jackpocket and Jackpot.com, scratch-offs are not available on the site.
New York Lottery App
The NY Lottery does have an app, which functions as a ticket checker to see if you have won and also an update on the winning numbers.
Tickets cannot be purchased on there, but there are special promotions and second-chance games, to go along with a location finder for the closest lottery retailer.
Online lottery tickets can only be purchased through third-party sellers like Jackpocket or Jackpot.com.
How To Claim New York Lottery Prizes
Prizes less than $600 can be claimed at any New York Lottery retail location, Customer Service Center, Prize Claim Center, or by mail.
Prizes over $600 can only be claimed at a NY Lottery Customer Service Center, Prize Claim Center, or by mail.
Prize Claim Centers are at video gaming facilities and casinos, but you must be 21+ to claim at one of those two places.
Claims of $50,000 or more can only be processed at the NY Lottery headquarters in Schenectady.
For prizes over $5,000, New York has a 10.9% state tax withholding. Prizes won in New York City include an additional 3.876% withholding and prizes in Yonkers include a 1.82575% withholding.
New York Lottery Frequently Asked Questions
Can New York Lottery Tickets Be Purchased Online?
Yes, but only through approved third-party sellers like Jackpocket.
The New York Lottery does not directly sell online or mobile lottery tickets.
How Many New York Lottery Retailers Are There?
There are more than 17,000 approved lottery retailers in the state of New York.
How Old Do I Have To Be To Play The New York Lottery?
Players must be 18 years of age or older, except for Quick Draw in places that sell alcohol. That game is 21+ at those locations.