Iowa Lottery

About Lotto America

Lotto America^® is today's version of the original lottery game from the 1980s that paved the way for big jackpots.

How To Play

Choose 5 out of 52 numbers for the white balls, then pick your Star Ball® number from 1 to 10. The more numbers you match in a drawing, the more you win. If you match all six numbers, you win the jackpot!

Choose your own numbers or request an easy pick for the lottery terminal or self-service kiosk to select the numbers on your ticket. Check the multi-draw box to buy tickets for up to 10 consecutive drawings at a time.

All Star Bonus Option

You also have the option of adding the All Star Bonus to your Lotto America purchase! For an extra $1 for the All Star Bonus, you could multiply your prize (except the jackpot) by 2, 3, 4 or 5 times.

There are nine prize levels in the game, so be sure to check your ticket for any prize you may have won.

Prizes & Odds including the All Star Bonus Option**

Lotto America drawings are held at about 9:15 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Tickets can be purchased until 8:59 p.m. on the evening of the drawing.

Lotto America prizes won in Iowa must be claimed within 180 days of the drawing in which they were won.

Cash vs. Annuity Option

When a player wins the Lotto America jackpot, the winner can choose to receive the prize in annuity payments or elect to take a lump-sum payment. A player has 60 days from the date they claim their prize in Iowa to choose the cash or annuity option.

If the player selects the cash option, they will receive a single payment equal to the amount available in the jackpot prize pool from the sale of tickets in the game. If the player chooses the annuity option, the prize will be paid in 30 payments over 29 years. The annual payment will increase by 5 percent to accommodate for factors like inflation. If the cost to purchase the annuity is less than $250,000, the lottery may elect to pay the prize as cash.

For further details, click the Game Rules link at the top of this page.

History

Today's Lotto America is a throwback version of the first multi-state lotto game that became known for big jackpots in the United States. Iowa was a founding member of that original version of Lotto America, which began in 1988 and made headlines around the world at the time for its jackpots. That game ultimately was replaced by Powerball in 1992.

* The advertised jackpot is based on prize payment as an annuity. The jackpot prize will be divided equally among multiple winners based on the amount available to the lottery for the jackpot prize pool.

**The set prize amounts published here are based on the expected number of winners sharing in the prize pool. In some cases, these prizes may be paid on a pari-mutuel basis and will be lower than these prizes levels.

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