Lottery Announces First Of Upcoming Changes To Line-up Of Lotto Games
All or Nothing™ Game Ending June 30, Drawing Schedules Changing In Pick 3 & Pick 4
Digital images of the All Or Nothing logo in JPEG & EPS format are available here.
CLIVE, Iowa - This summer, the Iowa Lottery will make the first of several upcoming changes in its line-up of lotto games. On June 30, the final drawing will be held in the "All or Nothing" game and on July 1, the drawing times will change in the Pick 3 and Pick 4 games, giving players longer to buy tickets each evening.
Iowa Lottery CEO Terry Rich said Friday that the lottery is utilizing the same approach in its lotto game offerings that it uses for its instant-scratch and pull-tab games, making changes to its product mix to keep a fresh selection in the field.
"We've learned over time that our best approach is to vary our offerings over time, with different tickets at different price points and a variety of ways to play and win," he said. "It's all about variety and choices for today's consumers."
The first of the changes on the lotto side will come on June 30, with the final drawing in the All or Nothing game. All or Nothing is a joint game offered by Iowa and Minnesota in which players can win the $100,000 top prize by matching all 12 or none of the winning numbers in one of its drawings. The game has been offered since January 2014, and Rich said that although it initially sold well, sales have tapered off over time.
And starting on July 1, the drawings in Iowa's Pick 3 and Pick 4 games will be held at slightly different times from their current schedule.
The midday drawings in the games are currently held at 12:50 p.m. and will move up to 12:20 p.m. The games' evening drawings, currently held at 8:50 p.m., will move back to 10 p.m. In both cases, the sales cut-off times prior to the drawings will be shortened to just 20 minutes from the current 50-minute delay.
Rich said that as technology has gotten faster, the processing that the lottery has to complete before its drawings can be done in a shorter period of time.
"Based on player feedback, we think this is something they'll appreciate," he said.
Pick 3 was introduced in Iowa in 1998 and Pick 4 was added here in 2003. For those who aren't familiar with them, both are numbers games with a long history along the East Coast. But they're also offered by numerous other lotteries across the country, including the Iowa Lottery.
Pick 3 players choose combinations of three numbers from 000 to 999 while Pick 4 players choose combinations of four numbers from 0000 to 9999. The prize that a player could win depends on the type of play they make.
As the lottery continues to monitor its game offerings, players can expect more improvements and changes to other lotto products in the coming months.
Since the lottery's start in 1985, its players have won more than $3.9 billion in prizes while the lottery has raised more than $1.7 billion for the state programs that benefit all Iowans.
Today, lottery proceeds in Iowa have three main purposes: They provide support for veterans, help for a variety of significant projects through the state General Fund, and backing for the Vision Iowa program, which was implemented to create tourism destinations and community attractions in the state and build and repair schools.
Return to top↑