"The VA Lottery – the USA Lottery Company from the State of Virginia"
The Virginia Lottery was first formed in December 1987 – a government-run lottery having been voted in by the people of Virginia – and is operated by the Commonwealth of Virginia.
The Virginia State Lottery is responsible for running, organizing and promoting all of the lottery games throughout the State of Virginia.
The primary aim of the Virginia State Lottery right from the outset was to raise money for various good causes as well as provide exciting and innovative Virginia Lotto games for its population.
To begin with VA Lottery money was used at the discretion of the General Assembly before being used for capital construction projects in 1989. From 1990 to 1998 the state’s General Fund received Virginia Lottery profits and since 1999 all proceeds from Virginia Lotto games has gone towards funding public education throughout Virginia.
The Virginia Lottery is based in Richmond, VA.
The Virginia Lottery sells VA Lottery tickets through its network of lottery retailers throughout the state and has 7 regional offices (including its Headquarters) based in Abingdon, Farmville, Hampton, Harrisonburg, Richmond, Roanoke and Woodbridge.
The VALottery also takes part in 2 of the world's largest lotteries – the huge Multi-State USA Lottery games – Mega Millions and Powerball which you can read about in greater detail below.
We will be looking into the various Virginia Lotto games – how these games work and who can play them – as well as delving into some of the history of the Virginia State Lottery in more depth.
There are numerous games that are offered by the Virginia State Lottery – including 2 of the biggest lottery games in the world – Mega Millions and Powerball.
We will first of all take a look at these multi-state USA Lottery games – that the VA Lottery offers in conjunction with the MUSL – Multi-State Lottery Association and Mega Millions Consortium – and later move on to other games that the Virginia Lottery offers.
Currently – the games offered by the VA Lottery that lottery players anywhere in the world can buy lottery tickets online for are these two huge USA Lottery games – the Mega Millions and the Powerball.
Other games offered by the Virginia Lottery that can be played in-state are noted further down the page – if any of these VA Lotto games become available to a wider audience at a later date – we will be writing about it here.
The Mega Millions is a Multi-State USA Lottery that is run and operated by the Mega Millions Consortium – who administer and syndicate the game across the USA and is one of the largest lottery games in the world – having produced a massive world record jackpot of an incredible US$ 656 MILLION on March 30th 2012. This world record jackpot was split between 3 winning Mega Millions tickets from Kansas, Maryland and Illinois and still stands as the 2nd biggest lotto jackpot ever won to date.
The very first Mega Millions draw took place on May 17th 2002 with 6 USA Lottery companies taking part who were all members of the Mega Millions Consortium.
The game had changed its name and format from the Big Game which had started on August 31st 1996. Upon this change – 2 further State Lotteries joined and many more were to follow.
The Virginia Lottery is 1 of 46 US State Lotteries & District Lotteries that offer the Mega Millions – in this particular case the Virginia Mega Millions – as part of its overall lottery portfolio.
The Virginia Mega Millions was first sold on May 17th 2002 taking part in the very first Mega Millions draw – since the VA Lottery had already been a member of the Big Game Consortium since its conception on August 31st 1996 – selling the VA Mega Millions predecessor – the Big Game.
The VA Lottery Mega Millions works in the same way as the Mega Millions game works in all the States and Districts in the US that offer the game.
Jackpots start off at US$ 40 MILLION and ROLLOVER after each draw when the top prize is not won – making for some enormous jackpot figures that can be won on the Virginia Lottery Mega Millions.
6 numbers are drawn in total for the Mega Millions Virginia – from 2 separate drawing machines – firstly 5 numbers from 70 white balls are drawn and then 1 number (the MEGAball) from 25 gold balls.
Draws for the Mega Millions VA take place twice every week on Tuesdays and Fridays at 11.00pm EST.
MEGAPLIER…
Many USA Lottery companies that offer the Mega Millions game also offer the option of playing using a MEGAPLIER.
This is where in addition to the 6 main Mega Millions numbers a further number is drawn with a Random Number Generator…the Mega Millions MEGAPLIER number…
This separate MEGAPLIER multiplier number drawn will be either 2, 3, 4 or 5 – and is there to give players of the MegaMillions a chance to increase their winnings on all levels of the prize structure apart from the Mega Millions jackpot itself.
MEGAPLIER enables players to multiply their winnings on these levels by 2x, 3x, 4x or 5x – greatly increasing the amount they can walk away with.
If, for example, a player matches the 5 main Mega Millions numbers playing with the MEGAPLIER add-on – and a MEGAPLIER number of 5 is drawn – the second tier Mega Millions prize of US$ 1 MILLION would be increased by x5 and they could win US$ 5 MILLION.
A great improvement to the MEGAPLIER facility occurred on October 19th 2013. | ||
So, for just an extra dollar – you can choose to increase your Virginia Mega Millions winnings on all levels except the jackpot – by adding the Mega Millions MEGAPLIER option when playing.
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With the Virginia Lottery Mega Millions being drawn every week on both Tuesdays and Fridays at 11.00 pm EST there are numerous ways you can check the Mega Millions winning numbers.
You can find the latest Virginia Lottery Mega Millions Results at all Virginia Lottery retailers, on select radio stations, in newspapers and here online at Global Lottery Review where you can also look up previous VA Mega Millions Results.
The Virginia Lottery Mega Millions winning numbers are also published on valottery.com – the official Lottery VA website – and will be broadcast after each draw on the following TV Channels...
WTVR Channel 6 in Central Virginia
WAVY Channel 10 in Hampton Roads
WDBJ Channel 7 in Southwest Virginia
WCYB Channel 5 in the Tri-State area
WRBL Channel 3 in Columbus
WNEG Channel 32 in Toccoa
There are 9 separate ways that you can win on this VALottery game providing a great chance to win something on the VA Mega Millions.
Odds range from 1 in 302,575,350 for correctly matching all the Virginia Lottery Mega Millions winning numbers down to 1 in 37 for matching just 1 number correctly.
Overall odds of winning any prize on the VA Mega Millions are just 1 in 24.
See the Mega Millions Odds and Prizes calculation table on the separate Virginia Mega Millions page for a complete list of odds and prizes for this game.
Powerball is a Multi-State USA Lottery that is run & syndicated across the USA by the MUSL – Multi State Lottery Association – and is one of the largest lottery games in the world having produced a record jackpot of an incredible US$ 1.58 BILLION. This sum is the biggest lottery jackpot ever won to date in the history of lottery games around the world.
The very first Powerball draw took place on April 22nd 1992 with 16 USA Lottery companies – who were all members of the MUSL – taking part after the game changed its format and name from Lotto America which had first begun on February 13th 1988.
The Virginia Lottery is 1 of 47 US State Lotteries & District Lotteries that offer the Powerball game – in this particular case the Virginia Powerball – as part of its overall lottery portfolio.
The VA Powerball was first sold on January 31st 2010 when the Mega Millions consortium – of which the VA Lottery is a member – entered into a cross-selling agreement with the MUSL – allowing the sales of Powerball in Mega Millions States and Mega Millions in Powerball States.
The Virginia Powerball works in the same way as the Powerball game works in all the States and Districts in the US that offer it.
Jackpots start off at US$ 40 MILLION and ROLLOVER after each draw when the top prize is not won – making for some huge jackpot figures.
6 numbers are drawn in total for the Virginia Lottery Powerball game from 2 separate drawing machines – first of all 5 numbers from 69 white balls are drawn followed by 1 number (the POWERball) from 26 red balls.
Draws for the VA Powerball take place twice every week on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 10.59pm EST.
In addition to the 6 main Powerball numbers drawn – a further number is drawn – using a Random Number Generator…the Powerball POWER PLAY number…
POWERPLAY…
This separate Powerball POWERPLAY number drawn will be either 2, 3, 4, 5 and occasionally number 10 – and is there to give players of the VA Powerball a chance to increase their winnings on all levels of the prize structure apart from the Virginia Powerball jackpot itself.
With Power Ball POWER PLAY – you will multiply your winnings on these levels by 2x, 3x, 4x or 5x – greatly increasing the amount you can walk away with.
During special promotions – the Powerball POWER PLAY multiplier will be 10x – allowing VA Lottery players to increase their Powerball Virginia winnings by an incredible 10 times!
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With the Virginia Lottery Powerball being drawn every week on both Wednesdays and Saturdays at 10.59 pm EST there are various ways you can check the Powerball winning numbers.
You can find the latest Virginia Powerball Results at all Virginia State Lottery retailers, on select radio stations, in newspapers and here online at Global Lottery Review where you can also look up previous VA Lottery Powerball Results.
The Virginia Powerball winning numbers will also be displayed on the official Lottery VA website – valottery.com – and are broadcast LIVE after each draw on the following TV Channels...
WAVY (NBC) Channel 10 in Hampton Roads
WHSV (ABC) Channel 3 in Harrisonburg
WTVR (CBS) Channel 6 in Richmond
WDBJ (CBS) Channel 7 in Roanoke
There are 9 separate ways that you can win on this VA Lottery game providing a great chance to win something on the VA Powerball.
Jackpot odds range from 1 in 292,201,338 for correctly matching all of the Virginia Lottery Powerball winning numbers right down to 1 in 38.32 for matching just 1 number correctly.
The overall odds of you winning any prize on the Powerball VA are just 1 in 24.87.
See the Powerball Odds and Prizes calculation table on the separate Virginia Powerball page for a complete list of odds and prizes for this game.
In addition to the Virginia Lottery Mega Millions and Powerball games which can be played from anywhere in the world – the VA Lottery also offers various other lotto games which can be played within Virginia itself – like Cash 5, Pick 4, Pick 3, Win For Life plus numerous VA Lotto Scratchers.
If any of these games should become available to a wider audience outside of Virginia in the future – we will be covering the details right here.
In the past – you would have had to buy your lottery ticket in the state of Virginia itself to take part in any of the Virginia Lottery games – including the VA Lottery Mega Millions and Powerball.
These days though – you can play the Mega Millions Online and the Powerball Online from anywhere in the world due to the presence of accredited and fully authorized online lottery ticket sales companies like TheLotter.com – allowing you to play wherever you’re based.
So if you live outside of Virginia or the US but wish to play either the Powerball or Mega Millions this is simple to do using the right lottery ticket sales companies where you can quickly and easily buy lottery tickets online – and save yourself a fair amount of time too – allowing you to play no matter where you live.
The VA State Lottery requires all players to be at least 18 years of age before purchasing any VALottery tickets including tickets for the Virginia Mega Millions and Virginia Powerball.
If you have won either a VA Lottery Mega Millions or Powerball jackpot – you will be able to claim your prize as either a cash lump sum or as an annuity payment – you will need to make this life changing choice within 60 days of the date of your claim.
If you choose the annuity option – your winnings will be paid to you annually over a 29 year period in 30 installments.
For all Virginia Lotto prizes you will have 180 days from either the date of the draw or the official end of game to make your claim before your VA Lottery ticket will expire.
If your win on the VA Lottery is up to US$ 600 – you will be able to claim your winnings at any of the Virginia Lottery retailers.
If you’ve had a win of US$ 601 or more on the VALottery – you will be able to claim your prize either by mail or by going to one of the VA Lottery offices in Harrisonburg, Hampton, Roanoke, Farmville, Abingdon or Woodbridge.
If you have won a VA Lottery Mega Millions or Powerball Jackpot – you can claim your prize from the VA Lottery Headquarters in Richmond, VA.
These details are all taken care for you if you play lottery online with one of the trusted and genuine online lottery ticket sale companies such as TheLotter as it is their job to make your transaction a seamless process – collecting your winnings and sending them directly to you.
1987
In November – the population of Virginia vote 57% to 43% in favour of the creation of a State Lottery within Virginia.
The Virginia Lottery is formed on December 1st.
1988
On September 20th the very first Virginia State Lottery ticket is sold.
1989
VA Lottery profits are put towards capital construction projects by the General Assembly.
On May 22nd – tickets for the Pick 3 daily game are sold for the first time. This is the first on-line game for the Virginia State Lottery.
1990
From 1990 until 1998 – profits from VA Lottery games go to the state’s General Fund.
1991
A second on-line daily game is introduced by the Virginia State Lottery on September 30th – Pick 4.
1993
January 31st sees the VA Lottery introduce a third daily game – Cash 5 – which is to be drawn twice every day.
1996
On September 6th the first Big Game draw takes place with the VA Lottery being among the original 6 States participating – with the Massachusetts Lottery, Georgia Lottery, Illinois Lottery plus the Michigan Lottery and Maryland Lottery. The Multi-State lottery – Big Game – is later to become the Mega Millions.
1999
The Virginia State Lottery launches its VA Lottery website on April 22nd.
Proceeds from VA Lottery games now go just towards the area of education within the state.
2000
November 7th sees the State Lottery Proceeds Fund created which will see all Virginia Lottery proceeds go towards public education from Kindergarten right through to grade 12.
2001
On November 12th the Virginia Lottery introduces Lotto South – a game born from the merger of 3 smaller jackpot games – its own Lotto Virginia plus games from Kentucky and Georgia.
2002
In May the Multi-State lottery – Big Game – is renamed as the Mega Millions.
The very first Mega Millions draw takes place on May 17th with 6 USA Lottery companies taking part who were all previously members of the Big Game Consortium and now automatically join forces as the Mega Millions Consortium. The VA Lottery is one of the original 6.
2004
A US$ 239 Million Mega Millions jackpot is won on February 20th by J.R. and Peggy Triplett from Winchester. This still stands as the record Virginia Lottery Mega Millions jackpot won to date. The Triplett’s lucky Mega Millions winning numbers are: 01, 13, 20, 21, 30 and the MEGA Ball number 24.
2005
The Lotto South records its record jackpot on December 31st at US$ 27 Million.
2006
The Lotto South game is retired by the Kentucky, Georgia and VA Lottery companies with its final draw taking place on February 25th.
The Lotto South is replaced with the Win For Life game on March 1st – where Kentucky, Georgia or VA Lottery players can win US$ 1,000 a week for life.
2007
March 6th sees the biggest ever lottery jackpot prize in the world won when an incredible US$ 390 Million is claimed by 2 lucky Mega Millions winners – 1 from Georgia and 1 from New Jersey. The Mega Millions winning numbers for the draw are: 16, 22, 29, 39, 42 and the MEGA Ball 20.
August 31st sees a Mega Millions jackpot of US$ 82.5 Million won by VA Lottery players – “T. J.” Adcock of Buckingham and his brother Bernard Adcock of Appomattox. At the time of writing this stands as the third largest VA Lottery Mega Millions win of all time and is a quarter of the massive US$ 330 Million jackpot total for that draw which is shared with winners from Maryland, New Jersey and Texas.
In 2007 the VA Lottery adds to its portfolio of Scratchers, Fast Play games like Bonus Bingo and Find the 9’s.
Another addition to the VA Lotto portfolio of games is introduced this year – the Millionaire Raffle. 330,000 US$ 20 tickets are sold and up to US$ 1 Million is won with numbers being randomly drawn.
2008
The current Virginia Lottery Executive Director – Paula Otto – is appointed on February 1st.
2009
On October 9th an agreement is made between the MUSL – Multi-State Lottery Association – and the Mega Millions Consortium to allow the cross-sales of Mega Millions Tickets within States that offer the Powerball game and the sale of Powerball tickets within States that offer the Mega Millions game. The VA Lottery will be selling Powerball tickets come January.
A Mega Millions Jackpot of US$ 200 Million is won on October 16th by Steve Williams from Shenandoah. This ranks as the second highest Virginia Lottery Mega Millions jackpot ever won to date. Steve’s lucky Mega Millions winning numbers are: 10, 13, 18, 33, 51 and the MEGA Ball 43.
2010
On January 31st the Virginia State Lottery begins selling Powerball Tickets as a result of the cross-selling agreement made between the Mega Millions Consortium and the MUSL – Multi-State Lottery Association.
The February 3rd Powerball drawing produces the very first VA Lottery Powerball winner – Raymond Morris from Glen Allen who had bought his ticket at the Food Lion, 5300 Chamberlayne Avenue in Richmond wins US$ 10,000.
One of the largest wins to date in the very early days of the Virginia Powerball is the US$ 200,000 won by Alex Jiang from Clifton on May 26th who successfully predicted the first 5 Powerball winning numbers.
The proceeds from sales of all Virginia Lotto games go straight back to the state to benefit the people of Virginia.
The principal beneficiary of VA Lotto profits is public education within the state – which receives its monies via the Virginia State Lottery Proceeds Fund.
Another area to benefit from Virginia State Lottery monies is the Literary Fund. Any VA Lotto prize money that goes unclaimed goes to the Literary Fund which is used for things like the construction of schools, renovation and the funding of teacher retirement.
As it stands at the end of fiscal year 2009 the Virginia State Lottery has raised US$ 7.123 Billion for these and other good causes in lottery profits.
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