Virginia Lottery General Information
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The Virginia Lottery plays three state drawn games - Pick 3 (with midday and evening draws), Pick 4
(with midday and evening draws), and Cash 5 (with midday and evening draws). Plus, four multiple-state games -
Powerball, Mega Millions, Win For Life, and Decades of Dollars.
Compared to other states, the Virginia Lottery offers a large variety of lottery games.
Drawings for Virginia lotteries are performed using a set of mechanical ball machines. All Virginia Lottery drawings (including
daily draw shows) are broadcast live by satellite to TV stations across the state free of charge. Drawings are also shown LIVE on
the VA Lottery web site at 1:59 p.m. and 11:00 p.m.
Cllick here to view VA Lottery live or past drawings.
Moreover, you might also be interested in Drawing Procedures of the Virginia Lottery.
This page is a quick reference, or a summary of the most relevant information contained in the Virginia Lottery
web site. Links to details are provided for more pertinent information.
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Virginia Lotteries Drawing Days and Times
The following table lists the drawing schedule of all Virginia lottery games. Drawing times are local and approximate.
| Game | Draw Days | Draw Time |
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| Pick 3 Day | Everyday | 2 p.m |
| Pick 3 Evening | Everyday | 11 p.m |
| Pick 4 Day | Everyday | 2 p.m |
| Pick 4 Evening | Everyday | 11 p.m |
| Cash 5 Day | Everyday | 2 p.m |
| Cash 5 Evening | Everyday | 11 p.m |
| Mega Millions | Tuesday and Friday | 11 p.m |
| Powerball | Wednesday and Saturday | 11 p.m. |
| Win For Life | Wednesday and Saturday | 11 p.m. |
| Decades of Dollars | Monday and Thursday | 11 p.m. |
Virginia Lottery Games - Types, Top Prizes, Odds
The following is a compact summary of each Virginia lottery game. It includes a brief description of how to play a game, the top
prizes/jackpots, and the odds of winning the top prize. You can click on a game name for detailed information.
| Game | How to Play | Top Prize | Top Prize Odds |
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| Pick 3 | Select 3-digits 000 to 999 | $500 | 1 in 1,000
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| Pick 4 | Select 4-digits 0000 to 9999
| $5000 | 1 in 10,000 |
| Cash 5 | Select 5 numbers, 1 through 34
| $100,000 | 1 in 278,256 |
| Mega Millions | Select 5 numbers, 1 through 56
+ 1 Megaball number, 1 through 46 | $12,000,000
Rollover, Pari-mutuel | 1 in 175,711,536 |
| Powerball | Select 5 numbers, 1 through 59
+ 1 Powerball number, 1 through 35 | $40,000,000 +
Rollover, Pari-mutuel | 1 in 175,223,510 |
| Win For Life | Select 6 numbers, 1 through 42
| $1,000 a week for life
| 1 in 5,245,786 |
| Decades of Dollars | Select 6 numbers, 1 through 47 | $250,000/year for 30 years,
or $4,000,000 | 1 in 10,737,573 |
Top prizes listed with "rollover" are the starting amount. The Jackpot prizes will grow after every draw until someone wins.
Pari-mutuel prize structure means players' winnings are determined by dividing the prize pool allocated for that winning category by the
number of winners.
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Virginia Lottery General Rules and Regulations
The following are the most prominent rules and regulations that the player should be aware of before playing the Virginia lottery games.
- Virginia Lottery players must be 18 years of age or older.
- Losing a lottery ticket is almost like losing cash. Protect yourself by signing the back of your tickets when you buy them.
At the very least, sign any winning tickets, even before claiming your prize. Lottery tickets are bearer instruments. Unless you
sign a ticket, anyone else who has the ticket can claim the prize.
- Credit Cards are NOT allowed for Lottery purchases, however, players can use debit cards to play Virginia Lottery games. Also,
gift cards like Visa or MasterCard which have a pre-paid balance may be used for Lottery purchases..
- You can purchase Mega Millions and Win For Life Subscriptions for $26 (3 months), $52 (six months) or $104 (entire year) if
you have a Virginia mailing address. Subscription forms are available at Virginia Lottery retailers throughout the state or on the
VA lottery web site.
- For more information, please see Virginia Lottery FAQ page
Claiming Prizes of the Virginia Lottery
Here are the steps you have to follow if you are a lucky winner of any Virginia lottery,
- Winning tickets must be claimed within 180 days of the winning draw date on the ticket.
- The viginia Lottery web site has little or no information on how to claim prizes. The only essential information that we are
able to find is following:
You can claim any prize by mailing your SIGNED ticket to:
Virginia Lottery Claims
P.O. Box 1254
Richmond, VA 23218-1254
All prizes are subject to income taxes. The Lottery must withhold federal and state taxes from each prize over $5,000 - 25% for federal taxes and 4% for state taxes. For all prizes over $600, the lottery will issue a federal form W2-G to the winner.
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Where do the Virginia Lottery profits go?
Under the current allocation, 59.4% of lottery revenues is paid out in prizes, 30% to public education grades K-12, 5.3% went
to the retailers who sell Virginia Lottery tickets, and 5.1% went to operational expenses.
More information can be found here
Information on Each Virginia Lottery Game
Further information on each Virginia lottery lottery game such as how to play, how to win, prizes, etc., is available on
this site at the following pages.
Disclaimer
US-Lotteries.com is not in any way affiliated with the Virginia Lottery. The information listed here is just a summary of important facts
extracted from Virginia Lottery web site. The main purpose of US-Lotteries.com is to present statistics and analysis of winning numbers, plus, online
tools and calculators such as wheels and combinations generators. Click below to see the contents of the tools available for each game.
Pick 3
Pick 4
Cash 5
Mega Millions
Powerball
Win For Life
Decades of Dollars
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