The Lottery is fun. Entertaining. Exciting. So naturally people want to know about us. Here, you'll find answers to some of the most popular questions we've gotten.

Click on your area of interest or scroll down to read everything.

Why do you have schools select the LOT Scholarship candidates?
To select the scholarship candidates, we give officials at each eligible public and private high school the ability to exercise their own discretion in choosing the selection process, based on the criteria provided by the New York Lottery.  We rely on school officials as professionals to do whatever is necessary to accomplish this task.  Since there are varying populations, class sizes and administrations across the state we could not, nor would we attempt to put internal controls on the selection processes of each individual school other than setting deadlines and requesting two complete applications.  We feel they are in the best position to decide what two students should be recommended to the statewide selection committee in Albany.  For more information on the LOT Scholarship program, click here.

What are the tax implications for winning a Lottery prize?
For more information on tax liabilities, click here.(This is a PDF file from www.nystax.gov  Acrobate Adobe is needed to view this link).

Why are there no drawings on Christmas Day?
While it may appear like the Lottery takes a day off on December 25th, the fact is that our retail operations and computer operations are still very much at work. The decision to suspend our televised drawings for one day was, and still is, a practical one. In order to air the drawings, we need the support of not only our own staff, but a variety of external organizations as well (e.g. the camera operators, draw team, production team, broadcast stations and satellite uplink facilities, independent auditors, etc.). We found out a long time ago that while we may be able to require our own staff to work on this day, we do not have control over the other organizations who are critical to the production and broadcast of our daily drawings.

What is the default payout option for Lotto and Mega Millions when a player does not specify "cash" or "annual payments?"
Unless otherwise specified (verbally or on a playcard), players will receive a CASH OPTION payment.  The reason for this is that the overwhelming preference of our players is CASH.

How can I obtain all the drawing results for particular Lottery games?
Past winning numbers for most of our Lottery draw games for the past 5 years are available on our Web site www.nylottery.org

Players may also obtain these results by calling 518-388-3415 or by writing to: New York Lottery, One Broadway Center, P.O. Box 7500, Schenectady, NY 12301-7500.

Historical lists of winning numbers for each game may be generated under the rules of the Freedom of Information Law.  Copies of these lists may be obtained for a fee of $.25 per page.  Please send your request in writing to:

New York Lottery

Attn:  Records Access Officer

One Broadway Center

P.O. Box 7500

Schenectady, NY 12301-7500.

How does the Lottery set the LOTTO jackpots?
The estimation of Lotto jackpots is based upon projected sales. Sales are estimated based upon recent historic trends, weather, competing jackpots and the amount to which potential players are distracted by current events. Once sales are estimated, the jackpot is set using a formula regarding how much of each sales dollar goes to the jackpot. This amount of cash is then multiplied by a factor to estimate the announced jackpot annuity value.
The jackpot factor is based on the market for 100% U.S. government guaranteed treasury securities. The factor takes into consideration the amount of each scheduled annual payment and the expected interest earned on funds to support those payments. The expected interest rates are estimated before the drawing. Real-time market information (based upon quotes from several brokers) from the first working day after the drawing is used to set the particular drawing’s factor.

How does the Lottery set the jackpots for the Mega Millions multi-state game?
The estimation of Mega Millions jackpots is based upon projected sales. Sales are estimated by a Finance Committee consisting of Finance personnel from each Mega Millions state. The committee bases its estimate upon recent historic trends, weather, competing jackpots and the amount to which potential players are distracted by current events. Once sales are estimated, the jackpot is set using a formula regarding how much of each sales dollar goes to the jackpot. This amount of cash is then multiplied by a factor to estimate the announced jackpot annuity value. The Directors of the Mega Millions states have the final decision on setting jackpot levels.
The jackpot factor is based on the market for 100% U.S. government guaranteed treasury securities. The factor takes into consideration the amount of each scheduled annual payment and the expected interest earned on funds to support those payments. The expected interest rates are estimated before the drawing using real-time market information.

Why do some retailers continue to sell an Instant game ticket even after the last top prize for that game has been sold?
The New York Lottery has a policy to recall and replace all outstanding instant tickets as soon as we learn that the final top prize in any particular game has been claimed. We purposefully place the disclaimer on the back of all of our instant tickets to let our customers know that there is always the possibility that the retailer has not yet received the recall message or has not yet replaced the tickets. As always, we want to remind our customers that it is always best to check your tickets before leaving the store. If you find a retailer that continues to sell an instant game ticket even after the last top prize has been sold, we'd like to know about it so we can notify the store and replace the tickets ASAP.

Why doesn't anyone in my town win?
Millions of New Yorkers win lottery prizes everyday. The following list shows the number of prizes claimed around the State during fiscal year 2003/2004.

Location	Claims	Dollars
Retail	N/A	$2,666,709,759
Mail-in (excl. annuities)	92,247	$   150,078,832
Metro NYC	46,485	$   146,708,027
Long Island	26,457	$     72,788,930
Syracuse	5,688	$     15,397,354
Buffalo	7,517	$     18,578,701
Capital/Adirondack	6,772	$     13,987,135
Hudson Valley	8,216	$     24,313,596
Rochester	4,533	$     10,596,598

How long does it take to become a retailer?
It takes approximately 30 - 60 days for the entire license approval process to be completed. Once the application is approved, the installation of the terminals may begin.