Virginia is for lovers…of the lottery! The Virginia Lottery is one of the most progressive and diverse lotteries in the United States. From its humble beginnings in 1987 to a string of record-breaking years throughout the 2010s and 2020s, the Virginia Lottery is a huge operation.
The state has sales well over $5 billion on an annual basis and is knocking on the door of $1 billion in annual proceeds for K-12 public education. Since 1999, all lottery profits have gone to fund education initiatives, including scholarship programs for higher education. In total, nearly $17 billion has gone back into education. That doesn’t even include unclaimed lottery prizes, which go to the Literary Fund.
Players must be 18 or older to play the Virginia Lottery, however, the VA Lottery also oversees casinos and sports betting in the state, which both require players to be 21 and older.
Virginia Lottery Games
It is hard to find a place to begin with the Virginia Lottery. Along with oversight of the casinos and sportsbooks in the state, Virginia offers 10 different draw games, plus an annual raffle. Scratchers from $1 to $50 are also available for purchase, as well as “Print ‘n Play” Games, which are known as Fast Play Games in most states.
The Virginia Lottery is part of the multi-state Powerball, Mega Millions, and Cash 4 Life drawings. The seven other draw games in the state include Keno and Cash Pop, which are popular in other states as well.
Online and mobile sales are allowed in Virginia of the main draw games and online Instant Games. Because Virginia focuses on selling online lottery tickets themselves, sellers like Jackpocket and Jackpot.com have not been approved for licenses in the state.
Virginia Lottery Draw Games
Powerball
Virginia joined Powerball in 2010 and partakes in the drawing on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. ET. Ticket sales are cut off at 10 p.m. on draw nights.
Each play costs $2 with a $1 optional add-on for the Power Play, which serves as a multiplier of non-Jackpot prizes. This is a six-number draw game with base numbers from 1 to 69 and then a Powerball from 1 to 26. Players can select their own numbers or have the lottery terminal select for them with the Quick Pick option.
The Jackpot starts at $20 million and grows if a winner is not found. To be that winner, the player must match all six numbers. Matching all five basic numbers is still worth $1 million, or $2 million with the Power Play option.
Mega Millions
Virginia was one of the original six states to offer Mega Millions, joining Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Michigan in September 1996. Drawings are held every Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m. ET and ticket sales are cut off at 10:45 p.m. on those nights.
Each play costs $2 and an optional $1 Megaplier add-on serves as a multiplier for non-Jackpot prizes. Five numbers are in play from 1 to 70 for the first five balls and then a Mega Ball from 1 to 25 is also drawn. Matching all six wins the Jackpot, which starts at $20 million and rolls from there if no winner is found.
The Virginia Lottery also offers “Just The Jackpot”, which is two plays for $3 that is all or nothing. Either you match every number on your ticket or you don’t win a prize.
Cash 4 Life
Cash 4 Life is another multi-state draw game. Most states have either opted for Cash 4 Life or Lucky For Life. The VA Lottery is part of Cash 4 Life, which has a top prize of $365,000 a year for life, or $1,000 a day.
Drawings for this game are held every night at 9 p.m. ET and each play costs $2. There are no bonuses or add-ons, as this is just a straightforward six-number draw, with the five basic numbers from 1 to 60 and a Cash Ball from 1 to 4.
Ticket sales are cut off at 9:45 p.m. on draw nights.
Cash 4 Life is played in Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Virginia.
Bank A Million
Bank A Million is the Virginia Lottery’s state-specific Jackpot draw game. Every Wednesday and Saturday this game is drawn with a top prize of $1 million. The Virginia Lottery pays your taxes if you win the grand prize, so the top prize is a take home of $1 million.
Each ticket costs at least $2 and the drawings are at 11 p.m. ET. It is worth noting that online ticket sales are not available for this game.
Six balls are drawn from 1 to 40. A seventh Bonus Ball is drawn from the remaining balls. The player does not pick that ball. Players only pick the six main balls. If one of your numbers matches the Bonus Ball, you can win, but the Jackpot comes from hitting the six main numbers.
The other wrinkle to this game is that you can “Play Your Way”. Each ticket must be $2, but you can play four lines at 50 cents each, two lines at $1 each, or one line for $2. The top prize on a $2 line is $1,000,000 after the taxes are paid. The top prize on a $1 line is $500,000 and the top prize on a 50-cent line is $250,000.
Cash 5 with EZ Match
The VA Lottery has another lotto-style drawing with Cash 5. This is a five-number game with a Jackpot that starts at $200,000 and grows from there. The numbers range from 1 to 45 and this game is drawn daily at 11 p.m. ET.
This Virginia-only Jackpot game costs $1 per play and the EZ Match option is another buck to possibly grab an instant win prize. EZ Match picks up five random numbers selected by the lottery terminal with a corresponding prize amount. If that number comes up, you win the associated prize.
The EZ Match can be redeemed right away and a new ticket will be printed for the Cash 5 drawing that was selected.
Pick 5 with Fireball
A top prize of $50,000 is available with Pick 5, a five-number draw game at 1:59 p.m. ET and 11 p.m. ET daily. Ticket sales are cut off six minutes before the early draw and 15 minutes before the late draw.
Pick 5 plays cost 50 cents or $1. The Fireball option double the cost of each play. A five-digit number must be selected by the player or computer with each digit ranging from 0 to 9. Players can play Exact Order, Any Order, or 50/50, which is a combo of Exact Order or Any Order. The Fireball number serves as a wild in any combination if added to the ticket.
Pick 4 with Fireball
Pick 4 is Pick 5, just minus a ball. The Fireball option is still available here to double the cost of a ticket, but create more ways to win. The top prize with this game is $5,000 and it is drawn twice a day at 1:59 p.m. ET and 11 p.m. ET.
Pick 4 plays cost 50 cents or $1 and can be played Exact Order, Any Order, 50/50, or Combo to cover all of the possible combinations. Once again, the balls range from 0 to 9 to make a four-digit number and players can select their own numbers or take their chances at random.
Pick 3 with Fireball
Pick 3 is Pick 4, just minus a ball. Or Pick 5 minus two balls. The top prize here is $500 and the wild Fireball is once again an option that doubles the price of a ticket, but provides more chances to win.
Drawings happen twice a day at 1:59 p.m. ET and 11 p.m. ET with even more ways to win. Players can play Exact Order, Any Order, 50/50, Combo, or Pairs. Each base play costs 50 cents or $1.
Ticket sales end six minutes before the day draw and 15 minutes before the night draw.
Cash Pop
Cash Pop is a game gaining steam across the country. There are five draws daily for this game – “Coffee Break” at 9 a.m. ET, “Lunch Break” at Noon ET, “Rush Hour” at 5 p.m. ET, “Prime Time” at 9 p.m. ET, and “After Hours” at 11:59 p.m. ET. This game cannot be purchased online or mobile; it can only be purchased at a retailer.
With Cash Pop, players can select anywhere from 1 to 15 available numbers. Each number selected has a random prize attached to it and the player wins that prize if that number is drawn. Players can pick more than one number and each prize is guaranteed to be at least 5x the cost of a number.
Each number costs $1, $2, $5, or $10 to select, so the minimum prize for a $1 ticket would be $5, for a $2 ticket would be $10, etc. Only one of the 15 numbers is drawn, though, so players have to weigh the risk and potential reward. The max prize for a $1 wager is $250, so multiply that by the wager amount to find the max prizes of all the numbers.
The prize and the number are randomly generated, so there is no guarantee of making a profit, even if a player plays all 15 numbers.
Keno
The Virginia Lottery also offers Keno at approved retailers. Keno draws can be watched online or on the Virginia Lottery App, but Keno tickets cannot be purchased on those platforms.
Keno games are drawn every four minutes. Players have 80 numbers to choose from and can pick up to 10 of them. The game randomly draws 20 numbers. Players have to match as many numbers as possible in order to win prizes.
Keno wagers cost $1-10 per draw and players can play up to 20 consecutive draws if they wish. There are no multipliers or add-ons, though there is a separate “Instant Keno Multiplier” online game available for those who have an account with the VA Lottery.
New Year’s Raffle
As of 2024-25, the Virginia Lottery had five $1,000,000 prizes in the Virginia New Year’s Millionaire Raffle. Raffle tickets went on sale October 29, 2024 and winners were drawn on January 1, 2025. Check back every fall to see if the lottery is doing the Raffle. The last time Virginia did not do the raffle was 2006.
Each raffle ticket costs $20 per play and there were 1,012 total prizes available with the 2025 version.
Virginia Lottery Print ‘n Play Games
Print ‘n Play Games are instant-win games that can only be purchased at an approved retailer. These are games that cost $1, $2, $3, $5, $10, or $20 and are randomly generated by the lottery terminal. Each game has a different top prize and different rules and ways to win.
The rules and the prizes will be clearly printed on the ticket or players can do their research on the VA Lottery App or VA Lottery website before playing.
Virginia Lottery Online Lottery Games
The Virginia Lottery offers online and mobile sales for the Powerball, Mega Millions, Cash 4 Life, Cash 5, Pick 5, Pick 4, and Pick 3 drawings. There are also online Instant Games that are like a combination of slot machines and scratch-offs.
The Online Games come with instructions and also the ability to play a Demo version before taking your shot with real money. The cheapest Online Games start at 5 cents per play and go all the way up to $50.
Games can be set to Auto Play and players can decide exactly how much they want to spend per game. Most prize amounts won will just be credited to the player’s account, but there are exceptions for high-dollar prize winnings.
Virginia Lottery Scratchers
New games are unveiled on Tuesdays by the Virginia Lottery and that sometimes includes Scratchers. The VA Lottery offers Scratchers at $1, $2, $3, $5, $10, $20, $30, and $50 and there are also some promotional games and second-chance opportunities as well.
Top titles like The Price Is Right, Monopoly, and Let’s Make A Deal are almost always running in some capacity. The VA Lottery website, app, and some retailers will also display the remaining top prizes for the games.
Scratchers are one of the few Virginia Lottery games that cannot be purchased on the website or the app.
Virginia Lottery Mobile App
This is an incredibly powerful tool for lottery players because it is the best way to purchase tickets for draw games and access the online-exclusive games. You can carry a Real Money “Online Cash” balance on the app, access the Players Club, get the drawing results, find retailers, and do so many more things with the app.
The VA Lottery also runs specials for downloading the app and creating an account that will help players get closer to drawings, earn additional entries, and more.
As a reminder, Powerball, Mega Millions, Cash 4 Life, Cash 5, Pick 5, Pick 4, and Pick 3 can all be purchased online. This is the exclusive home of buying Virginia Lottery tickets online, as vendors like Jackpocket and Jackpot.com have not been approved.
Virginia Lottery Casinos & Sports Betting
The VA Lottery also controls casino licensing in the state. Hard Rock Bristol, Rivers Casino Portsmouth, and Caesars Virginia are the three operating in the state after the lottery took regulatory oversight in 2020.
Numerous sports betting operators hold licenses in Virginia, including BetMGM, FanDuel, DraftKings, Caesars, BetRivers, and Sporttrade.
How To Claim Virginia Lottery Prizes
Prizes equal to or less than $5,000 can be claimed in the Virginia Lottery App. Prizes in excess of $100 require an online claim form to redeem.
Prizes of $600 or less can be claimed at any Virginia Lottery retailer. They can also be claimed at a Virginia Lottery customer service center, a prize zone, or through the mail.
Prizes over $600 can be claimed at a Virginia Lottery customer service center or a prize zone. There are eight customer service centers, with locations in Richmond (x2), Harrisonburg, Hampton, Abingdon, Roanoke, Woodbridge, and Farmville.
Those prizes can also be claimed via mail with the appropriate documentation.
Prizes over $5,000 are subject to the 24% federal tax and a 4% state tax.
Virginia Lottery Frequently Asked Questions
Can Virginia Lottery Tickets Be Purchased Online?
Yes. They can be purchased through the Virginia Lottery website and the Virginia Lottery Mobile App.
How Many Virginia Lottery Retailers Are There?
There are over 5,000 approved lottery retailers in the state of Virginia.
How Old Do I Have To Be To Play The Virginia Lottery?
Players must be 18 years of age or older to enjoy the Virginia Lottery. The Lottery does have regulatory oversight over casinos and sports betting, but those are for players 21 and over only.