Lottery Post breaks down every state lottery's response to COVID-19

Comment #23

HoLeeKau — Thu, 26 Mar 2020 18:03:29 GMT

Idaho still doesn't have anything on their website that I have found, but they did send an email to their Club members yesterday.

Effective today at the close of business, the Idaho Lottery will close our Boise office to the public with all essential employees working from home, in compliance with Governor Brad Little s Statewide stay-home order. This comes in response to the growing public health emergency posed by COVID-19.

We are living in unprecedented times in our country.... [ More ]

Comment #22

Stack47 — Thu, 26 Mar 2020 02:31:30 GMT

The IRS statute says $600 or more in gambling winnings but it must depend on the state because in kY a $1 pick-3 straight bet pays $600 and they subtract the ticket cost making it a $599 prize.

Comment #21

AceKicka — Wed, 25 Mar 2020 13:26:02 GMT

... this is the perfect time to abolish the 599 rule. At present, for many states, all winnings above $599 must be redeemed at regional offices.

Increase this amount to $600. This would save a lot of trouble. Also reduce many visits to headquarters just for $1.

NC....what say you

Comment #20

CDanaT — Wed, 25 Mar 2020 10:12:48 GMT

I am thinking that this would be a great time to win a big jackpot. Plenty of time to get all of your ducks in a row, visit all the professionals you need to. Then when your respective lottery opens back up, walk right in with your N-95 respirator on, sunglasses hat... I'm here to collect !! Taaa Daaaa

Comment #19

HaveABall — Tue, 24 Mar 2020 20:39:26 GMT

chris632, exactly! ... Because there's no way that important, once in a lifetime, mailed claim form with lottery ticket would get lost! Instead, there should simply be a heavily guarded Dropbox OR electronic filing where photo of ticket is uploaded. Soon thereafter, a lottery rep could call to set an appointment to meet face-to-face someplace to be given the actual winning ticket. Although this, also, could ruin an anonymous claim though.

Comment #18

Artist77 — Tue, 24 Mar 2020 16:50:49 GMT

If your state lottery office is closed due to an emergency order and you win a large amount such as 100 k plus and the ticket expires during this period, I think you would have a reasonable argument to wait until the lottery office opened again. But it would have to be cashed when the lottery office opened for business, not weeks later.

Comment #17

cbr$ — Tue, 24 Mar 2020 15:45:53 GMT

Great information Todd. I'm now going to add to the IN. Hoosier Lottery response to COVID- 19 . I receive this . Please note, we have extended the deadline for redeeming winning Hoosier Lottery tickets additional [60] days beyond the 180 days all by statute.

Comment #16

music* — Tue, 24 Mar 2020 13:54:34 GMT

A billion dollar jackpot will have players violate Stay At Home rules. The players who need to leave their homes. I hope that both MM and PB Lottery organizations are looking ahead.

Comment #15

chris632 — Tue, 24 Mar 2020 09:50:02 GMT

Yeah I know but it still can get lost in the mail. What then?

Thanks, Chris

Comment #14

noise-gate — Tue, 24 Mar 2020 04:08:37 GMT

Say what you will- Governor Newsum isn't playing games. He said he would close parking lots at dozens of beaches and state parks to prevent the spread of coronavirus after large groups flocked to the coast and mountains to get outdoors on the first weekend under the state's stay-at-home order.

Comment #13

EnReval — Tue, 24 Mar 2020 01:45:57 GMT

I'm buying my tickets but playing for 2 weeks. If nobody wins over next 3-4 weeks, we could be looking at $1billion again! We'll see

Comment #12

gvpazkn — Tue, 24 Mar 2020 00:07:41 GMT

I don't see that many players buying tickets like I used to. Many are staying home.

Comment #11

cottoneyedjoe — Tue, 24 Mar 2020 00:01:06 GMT

Wow! They took that page down fast and they removed the link from the sitemap. I wonder why?

Here is the Google cache version https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:https://www.calottery.com/COVID-19-Updates just in case people think I'm trippin'.

Comment #10

Artist77 — Mon, 23 Mar 2020 23:47:58 GMT

There was an update from the Virginia Lottery today. See last paragraph. 30 days to claim after the emergency order is lifted.

The Lottery understands players want to limit out-of-home travel at this time. As a reminder, if you have winning tickets, you can mail them to the Lottery for validation and prize payment.

Please note that the processing time may be longer than usual. For the safety of our employees and with the latest recommendations from health experts in mind, Lottery staff... [ More ]

Comment #9

Todd — Mon, 23 Mar 2020 23:35:05 GMT

Here's what I see at that link

Comment #8

dpoly1 — Mon, 23 Mar 2020 22:09:15 GMT

Of course Pennsylvania gives you absolutely NO information as to how you will ever claim your prize

Comment #7

Big Joey — Mon, 23 Mar 2020 21:59:23 GMT

Certified Mail, or Registered Mail must be used.

Comment #6

NY10 — Mon, 23 Mar 2020 21:35:44 GMT

Was there any article published this year for 2019 lottery revenues of all states yet

Comment #5

cottoneyedjoe — Mon, 23 Mar 2020 21:21:31 GMT

Todd, CA Lottery has a coronavirus page on their website: https://www.calottery.com/COVID-19-Updates

The odd thing is that there's no link to this page on the front page or the news page of the website. I found it just by chance looking at the sitemap page.

Comment #4

chris632 — Mon, 23 Mar 2020 21:09:40 GMT

Thanks Todd, I figured something like this would happen soon. Not that I've won much lately but I feel a little uneasy about mailing a winning ticket in to claim unless they have safeguards in place.

Thanks, Chris

Comment #3

Todd — Mon, 23 Mar 2020 18:56:47 GMT

Of course, I would strongly recommend that people visit their state lottery website for more information. (Which is why links are provide in the article.) The goal here is to provide an overview of how it is handled from state-to-state, and then provide specific links for more information.

Also, this is a snapshot as of Monday morning. Because things are changing rapidly, you should definitely follow the links for any updates provided by the lottery. I sincerely hope that lotteries that have

Comment #2

dpoly1 — Mon, 23 Mar 2020 18:35:07 GMT

Thanks Todd

Comment #1

rcbbuckeye — Mon, 23 Mar 2020 18:14:40 GMT

Good info Todd.

Regarding Texas, they have more in depth info, clicking on the Media tab.

All Lotto Texas , Powerball and Mega Millions grand or jackpot prizes regardless of the amount,all prizes paid out in annuity payments, and any prize greater than $5 million will be processed by appointment only at theTexas Lottery Commission headquarters in Austin.To schedule an appointment, please call 512-344-5049or email ClaimantProcessingAlert@lottery.state.tx.us .

Lottery Post breaks down every state lottery's response to COVID-19

Lottery Post — Mon, 23 Mar 2020 17:25:28 GMT

By Todd Northrop

Update 3/24/2020: Added Indiana and Montana COVID-19 responses

Update 4/6/2020: A new article with updated COVID-19 responses is published here

As the COVID-19 coronavirus continues to disrupt businesses and lives throughout the United States, individual state lotteries have vastly different responses, and some will have you scratching your head.

Monday morning, Lottery Post cataloged each and every lottery in the United States to see what information the lottery inc... [ More ]