WV Lottery – West Virginia Lottery

West Virginia State Lottery – WVLottery

The West Virginia State Lottery was created in April 1985 following a referendum during the previous November which had seen 67% of all West Virginian voters voice an overwhelming “Yes” to the authorization & formation of a WV State Lottery.

The West Virginia Lottery is an agency of the West Virginia State government who oversee the administraion, organization and running of all the games produced by the West Virginia Lottery.

Right from when the first West Virginia Lotto ticket was sold back on January 9th 1986 – the aim of the WV Lottery was to benefit the people in the State of West Virginia by raising proceeds via the State’s General Fund – at the same time as providing exciting lotto games offering affordable entertainment and value to players.

Things are not much different today with all monies raised from the sale of WV Lottery games going towards helping the areas of education, tourism and senior citizens throughout the State.

The West Virginia State Lottery is based in Charleston, WV.

WV Lottery – Overview

The West Virginia Lottery sells lottery tickets from its network of nearly 1,800 authorized WV Lottery retailers throughout the state and has its Headquarters at 312 MacCorkle Ave SE, Charleston.

In addition to its Headquarters in Charleston – the West Virginia State Lottery also has 1 Regional Office in Weirton, WV.

The WV State Lottery also takes part in 2 of the biggest lottery games in the world – the huge Multi-State USA Lottery games Mega Millions and Powerball – plus the slightly smaller but highly popular Hot Lotto – all of which we will be looking into in much greater detail.

We will be checking out the various West Virginia Lotto games below – how these games work and who can play them – plus looking at the history of the West Virginia Lottery Commission.

WV Lottery – Games

There are numerous games that are offered by the West Virginia State Lottery including two of the largest lotteries in the world – the Mega Millions and Powerball plus the other big, Multi-State USA Lottery – the Hot Lotto.

We will first of all take a look at these multi-state USA Lottery games – that the WVLottery offers in conjunction with the MUSL – Multi-State Lottery Association and Mega Millions Consortium – and later move on to the other WV Lottery games available.

Currently the games offered by the WV Lottery that it is possible for players anywhere in the world to buy lottery tickets online for are these two huge USA Lottery games – the Mega Millions and the Powerball – as well as the Hot Lotto.

Other games offered by the WV Lottery that you can play in-state are noted further down the page – if any of these West Virginia Lotto games become available to a wider audience at a later date – we will be writing about it here.

West Virginia Lottery Powerall – WV Powerball

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 massive sum is the largest lottery jackpot ever won to date in the history of world lottery games.

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 started on February 13th 1988.

West Virginia Lottery Powerball – Overview

The West Virginia Lottery is 1 of 47 US State Lotteries & District Lotteries that offer the Powerball game – in this particular case the WV Powerball – as part of its overall lottery portfolio.

The WV Powerball was first sold on April 19th 1992 taking part in the very first Powerball draw – since the WV Lottery was one of the original 6 members who formed the MUSL back on September 16th 1987.

West Virginia Lottery Powerball – How it Works

The West Virginia Powerball works in the same way as the Powerball 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 massive jackpot figures.

6 numbers are drawn in total for the Powerball West Virginia 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 WV Lottery 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 POWERPLAY 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 WV Powerball Lottery a chance to increase their winnings on all levels of the Powerball prize structure apart from the West Virginia Lottery Powerball jackpot itself.

With Powerball 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 WV Lottery players to increase their Powerball winnings by an incredible 10 times!

So, for just an extra dollar – you can choose to increase your West Virginia Powerball Lottery winnings on all levels except the jackpot – by adding the Power Ball POWER PLAY option when playing.

Click Here to PLAY Powerball NOW

WV Powerball Results

With the Powerball WV being drawn every week on both Wednesdays and Saturdays at 10.59pm EST there are various ways you can check the Powerball winning numbers.

You can find the latest WV Powerball Results and other WV Lottery results at all West Virginia State Lottery retailers, from WV Lottery terminals, various newspapers and here online at Global Lottery Review where you can also check up on any of the previous WV Powerball Results.

The WV Lottery Powerball results, Powerball winning numbers and other West Virginia Lottery results are also shown on the official WVLottery website – wvlottery.com – and will be broadcast live on the following Television channels throughout West Virginia…

WOAY-TV in Oak Hill
WVVA-TV in Bluefield
WTRF-TV in Wheeling
WBOY-TV in Clarksburg
WTAP-TV in Parkersburg
WSAZ-TV in Charleston/Huntington
NBC25 (WHAG) in Hagerstown, MD

West Virginia Powerball – Odds of Winning

There are 9 separate ways that you can win on this WV State Lottery game providing a great chance for you to gain a prize on the West Virginia Lottery Powerball.

Jackpot odds range from 1 in 292,201,338 million for correctly matching all the West Virginia 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 WV are just 1 in 24.87.

See the Powerball Odds and Prizes calculation table on the separate WV Lottery Powerball page for a complete list of odds and prizes for this game.

WV Lottery Mega Millions – Mega Millions WV

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 record jackpot was shared equally between 3 Mega Millions winning tickets from Maryland, Kansas and Illinois and is still the 2nd largest 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.

Mega Millions WV – Overview

The West Virginia State Lottery is 1 of 46 US State Lotteries & District Lotteries that offer the highly popular Mega Millions game – in this case known as the West Virginia Mega Millions – as part of its overall portfolio of lottery games.

The WW Mega Millions was first sold on January 31st 2010 when the Multi State Lottery Association (MUSL) who run the Powerball game – of which the WV Lottery is a member – entered into a cross-selling agreement with the Mega Millions consortium – allowing the cross-sales of Mega Millions in Powerball States and Powerball in Mega Millions States.

Mega Millions WV – How it Works

The WV Mega Millions works in exactly the same way as the Mega Millions game works in all the States and Districts in the USA 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 West Virginia Mega Millions lottery.

6 numbers are drawn in total for the WV Mega Millions – 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 West Virginia take place twice every week on Tuesdays and Fridays at 11.00pm EST.

In addition to the 6 Mega Millions numbers drawn – a further number is drawn – using a Random Number Generator…the MEGAPLIER number…

MEGAPLIER…

This separate MEGAPLIER multiplier number drawn will be either 2, 3, 4 or 5 – and is there to give players of the WV Mega Millions a chance to increase their winnings on all levels of the prize structure apart from the Mega Millions jackpot itself.

Using the Mega Millions MEGAPLIER feature – you are able to multiply your winnings on these levels by 2x, 3x, 4x or 5x – greatly increasing the amount you can walk away with.

If you match the 5 main Mega Millions numbers playing with the MEGAPLIER add-on – and a MEGAPLIER number of 5 is drawn – the second tier prize of US$ 1 MILLION would be multiplied by x5 and you could win US$ 5 MILLION.

So, for just an extra dollar – you can choose to increase your West Virginia Mega Millions winnings on all levels except the jackpot – by adding the Mega Millions MEGAPLIER option when playing.

Click Here to PLAY Mega Millions NOW

WV Lottery Mega Millions Results

With the West Virginia Mega Millions being drawn every week on both Tuesdays and Fridays at 11.00pm EST there are numerous ways you can check the Mega Millions winning numbers.

You can find the latest West Virginia Mega Millions Results and any other WV Lottery results from any West Virginia State Lottery retailer, from WVLottery terminals, select newspapers and here online at Global Lottery Review where you can also look up previous WV Mega Millions Results.

The WV Mega Millions winning numbers and other West Virginia Lottery results are also published on wvlottery.com – the official WVLottery website – and will be broadcast live on the following TV channels in the State of West Virginia…

WOAY-TV in Oak Hill
WVVA-TV in Bluefield
WTRF-TV in Wheeling
WBOY-TV in Clarksburg
WTAP-TV in Parkersburg
WSAZ-TV in Charleston/Huntington
NBC25 (WHAG) in Hagerstown, MD

Mega Millions WV – Odds of Winning

There are 9 separate ways that you can win on this WV State Lottery game providing you with a great chance to win something on the West Virginia Mega Millions.

Odds range from 1 in 302,575,350 for correctly matching all the WV Mega Millions winning numbers right down to 1 in 37 for matching just 1 number correctly.

Overall odds of winning any prize on the WV Mega Millions are just 1 in 24.

See the Mega Millions Odds and Prizes calculation table on the separate West Virginia Mega Millions lottery page for a complete list of odds and prizes.

Other WV Lottery Games...

In addition to the WV Powerball, Mega Millions and Hot Lotto games which can be played from anywhere in the world – the WV Lottery also offers various other lotto games which can be played within the State of West Virginia like – Cash 25, Daily 3, Daily 4 and Keno plus numerous WVLottery Scratch-Offs.

If any of these other WV Lotto games become available to a wider audience outside of West Virginia at a later date we will write about it here.

WV Lottery – Who Can Play?

In the past – you would have had to buy your lottery ticket in the state of West Virginia itself to take part in any of the West Virginia State Lottery games – including the WV Powerball, WV Mega Millions and the West Virginia Hot Lotto.

These days though – you can play the Mega Millions Online, the Powerball Online and the Hot Lotto 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 West Virginia or the USA but wish to play the Powerball, Mega Millions or Hot Lotto this is simple to do using the best 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 West Virginia Lottery Commission requires that all players are a minimum of 18 years of age before purchasing any WV Lotto tickets including tickets for the WV Powerball and WV Mega Millions.

WV Lottery – How Prizes are Paid?

If you have won a WV Powerball or WV Mega Millions jackpot – you will be able to claim your prize as either a cash lump sum or as an annuity payment and you will need to make this very important choice within 60 days of making your claim.

If you choose the annuity option – your winnings will be paid to you annually in 30 installments over a 29 year period. All Hot Lotto jackpot wins will be paid in the form of a cash lump sum.

For all WV Lottery prizes you will have 180 days from either the date of the draw or the game end date – to make your claim before your WV Lottery ticket will expire.

If your West Virginia Lottery win is up to US$ 600 – you will be able to claim your winnings at any West Virginia Lottery retailer.

If your WVLottery win is US$ 601 or more – you will need to claim your prize from the West Virginia Lottery regional office in Weirton, the WV Lottery Headquarters in Charleston or by mail.

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.

WV Lottery Timeline – History

1984

On November 6th – the electorate of West Virginia State vote 67% in favor of the creation of a West Virginia State Lottery.

1985

April Legislation creates the West Virginia Lottery Commission to oversee the running and organization of WVLottery games.

1986

The very first WV Lottery tickets are put on sale on January 9th – these are for instant, Scratch games.

It is determined from the outset that West Virginia Lottery proceeds will go to the General Fund of West Virginia.

The WV Lottery introduce a weekly WHEEL SPIN TV Show that offered a jackpot prize.

The first online game is introduced by the WV Lottery in November – the weekly LOTTO 6/30 with a jackpot top prize of US$ 250,000.

1987

Two more online games are introduced by the WV Lottery in February. Every night from Monday through Saturday the DAILY 3 and DAILY 4 are drawn. The DAILY 3 offers prizes from US$ 40 to US$ 500 and players pick 3 numbers from 0 to 9 and the DAILY 4 offers higher prizes from US$ 100 to US$ 5,000 with players choosing 4 numbers from 0 to 9.

The WV Lottery change the matrix of the LOTTO 6/30 to 6/36 in July.

July sees the West Virginia Lottery introduce an add-on game to their in-house LOTTO 6/36. EASY 8’s is now included on LOTTO tickets and players can win anything from free lottery tickets up to US$ 88,888 in addition to the LOTTO prizes.

On September 16th – the Multi State Lottery Association – MUSL – is formed by six separate USA Lottery companies. As well as the West Virginia Lottery – other founder members are the DC Lottery, Iowa Lottery, Kansas Lottery, Oregon Lottery and companies.

1988

February sees the WV Lottery retire both its in-state LOTTO 6/36 game and the EASY 8’s add-on game.

On February 3rd – the newly formed Multi State Lottery Association – MUSL – launch their first multi-state US Lottery game. LOTTO AMERICA has a matrix of 7/40, costs US$ 1 per game and offers jackpot odds of 1 in 18,643,560.

The first LOTTO AMERICA draw is conducted by the MUSL on February 13th. West Virginia Lottery players take part from the outset.

The WHEEL SPIN TV show is discontinued by the WV Lottery.

Numerous Instant games are introduced by the WV Lottery that offer prize payouts of up to 60%.

1989

It is determined that WV Lottery proceeds shall now go towards the areas of benefiting education, senior citizens and tourism.

The Multi State Lottery Association – MUSL – change the matrix of LOTTO AMERICA on February 5th to 6/54. WV Lottery players now get 2 games for US$ 1.

February 8th sees the first draw of LOTTO AMERICA with the new game configuration.

1990

February sees the WV Lottery introduce a new game – CASH 25 – an online game with a 6/25 matrix and prizes from US$ 1 to US$ 25,000. Draws for the CASH 25 are held on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday nights.

1992

On April 18th – the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) conduct the last draw of the LOTTO AMERICA game.

The following day sees the launch of a bigger and better game from the MUSL – POWERBALL – which replaces LOTTO AMERICA. The WV Lottery begins selling POWERBALL tickets on April 19th.

The first WV POWERBALL draw takes place on April 22nd. POWERBALL has a double matrix of 5/45 + 1/45, costs US$ 1 per play and offers jackpot odds of 1 in 54,979,155.

The West Virginia State Lottery bring out TRAVEL KENO in December. Players pick from 1 to 10 spots and the West Virgina Lottery computer automatically selects 20 numbers from 1 to 80 using a random number generator.

1994

In September the West Virginia State Lottery introduce 1,200 slot-machine type VIDEO LOTTERY terminals at 3 racetracks following legislation allowing it to do so.

1996

A new game is introduced by the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) on September 16th – DAILY MILLIONS. West Virginia Lottery players can win a top prize of US$ 1 Million by picking 2 numbers from each of three sets of 21.

1997

September sees the WV Lottery introduce VIDEO LOTTERY terminals at the Charles Town Racetrack following approval by voters in Jefferson County.

The POWERBALL game is given some changes by the Multi-State Lottery Association – MUSL. November 2nd sees the matrix change to 5/49 + 1/42 and players are given the option to take jackpot winnings in the form of a cash lump sum. The annuity option is also changed from 20 to 25 years.

1998

On March 29th – the MUSL retire the DAILY MILLIONS game.

March 30th sees the launch of a new game by the MUSL – CASH4LIFE – where WV Lottery players can win US$ 1,000 a week for life.

1999

June sees legislation allow the West Virginia Lottery introduce mechanical reel, coin drop machines in addition to the Poker, Blackjack and Keno games they already offer at their VIDEO LOTTERY terminals.

2000

June 30th sees the West Virginia State Lottery’s contribution to the State’s General Fund near the US$ 777 Million mark since the first tickets were sold back in 1986.

On September 7th – the Multi-State Lottery Association retires the CASH4LIFE game.

A new game – ROLLDOWN – is introduced by the Multi-State Lottery Association on September 8th with draws on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. WV Lottery players take part right from the first draw on September 9th.

2001

On March 4th the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) add a significant feature to the POWERBALL game – POWERPLAY – a multiplier whereby players can increase their non-jackpot winnings by up to 5 times.

March 7th sees the first POWERBALL drawing including the new POWERPLAY multiplier feature.

This year also sees the authorization of 9,000 new VIDEO LOTTERY terminals – VLTs – which the WV Lottery introduce.

2002

On April 6th – the Multi-State Lottery Association discontinue the ROLLDOWN game.

The following day – the MUSL introduce a brand new multi-state game the HOT LOTTO which is added to the WV Lottery portfolio. Tickets are first sold for the West Virginia HOT LOTTO on April 7th.

April 10th sees the first drawing of the new HOT LOTTO game which uses a double matrix of 5/39 + 1/19.

June 8th sees Robert Cogar win a huge WV POWERBALL jackpot of US$ 30.6 Million. Having bought his lottery ticket in Cottrell’s County Store in Morgantown – Robert holds the honour of winning the fourth largest POWERBALL jackpot in West Virginia Lottery history to date.

The Multi-State Lottery Association – MUSL – changes the matrix of the POWERBALL game on October 9th. The new configuration is 5/53 + 1/42 and another feature added is the Match 5 BONUS.

Just 6 months after Robert Cogar’s WV POWERBALL jackpot win – the West Virginia Lottery produce another record POWERBALL jackpot winner when Jack Whittaker scoops US$ 314.9 Million on December 25th having purchased his ticket at C&L Super Serve in Hurricane. This still stands as the biggest WV POWERBALL win of all time.

2003

Another West Virginia POWERBALL jackpot is won on March 25th when Hobert Parnell from Virginia buys a POWERBALL ticket from the at Blue Flash Food Mart #5 in Bluefield and wins a huge US$ 62.4 Million. This currently ranked as the third highest POWERBALL jackpot to have been won in West Virginia.

2004

In excess of 70% of West Virginia Lottery turnover is made up of VIDEO LOTTERY sales by the end of the year.

2005

June 29th sees yet another POWERBALL jackpot win in West Virginia. 15 colleagues from FEMA – Federal Emergency Management Agency – in Berryville, Virginia by a POWERBALL ticket in Charlestown and scoop the top prize of US$ 10 Million. This is the 6th jackpot to be won on the POWERBALL in West Virginia.

The POWERBALL matrix is given another change by the Multi-State Lottery Association on August 28th – to 5/55 + 1/42.

2006

A world record POWERBALL jackpot of US$ 365 Million is won by a group of Nebraska factory workers following the drawing on February 18th. This still stands as the largest lottery jackpot won in the world to date on a single lottery ticket.

The Multi State Lottery Association introduce a new game – CASHOLA – on July 23rd which is sold by the WV Lottery, Delaware Lottery and the Rhode Island Lottery. CASHOLA is the first multi-state progressive, video lottery game to be brought out by the MUSL.

2008

West Virginia State Lottery players see a important addition to the Hot Lotto game on January 3rd – when the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) add the “SIZZLER” option whereby players can now multiply their non-jackpot winnings when purchasing their Hot Lotto Tickets.

A huge POWERBALL jackpot of US$ 276 Million is won on March 15th by 8 colleagues from the Mongolian Tax Office who had purchased their ticket from Paula’s in Westover. This still stands as the second largest jackpot won so far on the WV POWERBALL. The winners choose to take the cash option of US$ 139.4 Million.

2009

January 4th sees some significant changes to the POWERBALL game – the intention being to create larger jackpot prizes and produce even more winners. West Virginia Lottery players will now see jackpots starting off at a vastly increased US$ 20 Million. Also a new prize level is created – where players can win US$ 1 Million with the Match 5 BONUS feature using POWERPLAY. The Powerball matrix changes to 5/59 + 1/39 and draws for the Powerball move to Orlando’s Universal Studios in Florida – with the Florida Lottery now joining in selling Powerball Tickets.

On October 9th an agreement is made between the Mega Millions Consortium and the MUSL – Multi-State Lottery Association – 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 West Virginia Lottery will begin selling MEGA MILLIONS Tickets come January.

2010

On January 31st the WV Lottery sells its first lottery tickets for the national MEGA MILLIONS game – as a result of the recently made cross-selling agreement between the Mega Millions Consortium and the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) – in October 2009.

May 13th sees the first Wes Virginia Lottery MEGA MILLIONS win of US$ 10,000 when Wanda Arney from Ripley strikes lucky.

A second WV MEGA MILLIONS US$ 10,000 winner is produced on May 20th – Jonathan Nester – again from Ripley.

August 21st sees W. Randy Smith from Martinsburg win a jackpot of US$ 79 Million on the WV POWERBALL. The lucky winner chooses the cash option of more than US$ 44 Million.

WV Lottery – Where the Money Goes

Net proceeds realized by the WV Lottery go back to the State and benefit the citizens of West Virginia in a number of different ways.

In the beginning – WV Lottery profits were passed over to the General Fund of West Virginia to be used in whatever way the government saw fit – to help those living in the State.

From 1989 – all WVLottery profits raised have gone straight into the State Lottery Fund from where they go towards a variety of different programs that aid education, senior citizens and tourism.

Areas of education to benefit from WV Lottery funding include elementary, secondary and higher education as well as PROMISE scholarships.

West Virginia State Lottery profits also help fund Medicaid, the costs of in-home health care and senior support services – a great help to the elderly living in West Virginia.

Tourism in West Virginia benefits from WV Lottery money going towards the support of the State’s toll-free tourist information number plus the grants for co-operative tourism advertising.

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