Minnesota State Lottery

The Minnesota Lottery is the official lottery association in Minnesota. The minimum age to purchase Minnesota Lottery tickets is 18.

As a result of the 2011 Minnesota state government shutdown, sales of Minnesota Lottery tickets were suspended on July 1, 2011. Sales resumed after the shutdown ended.

Money Distribution

The distribution of money from Minnesota Lottery for fiscal year 2010:

Destination	Percentage	Amount
Natural Resources	36.2% of the in-lieu-of-sales tax on lottery tickets	$11,700,000
Game & Fish Fund	36.2% of the in-lieu-of-sales tax on lottery tickets	$11,700,000
Ticket & Online Vendor Expense		$16,285,487
Administration	6.02% of Gross Receipts ($466,575,526)	$28,111,000
Retailers	6.42% of Gross Receipts ($466,575,526)	$29,953,100
Environment & Natural Resources Trust Fund	40% of net proceeds	$31,300,000
General Fund	60% of net proceeds	$67,400,000
Prizes paid	65%	$305,315,741

Gross revenue: $466,575,526

History

Does not include specific games.

• November 1988: Fifty-seven percent of Minnesota voters approve a constitutional amendment to authorize a lottery.
• May 1989: The Minnesota Legislature passes legislation to start a lottery, with proceeds split evenly between the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund and the Greater Minnesota Corporation (GMC).
• April 17, 1990: Sales of instant tickets begin.
• May 1990: The Legislature changes how Lottery proceeds are distributed: 40% for the trust fund, 35% for the Infrastructure Development Fund, and 25% for the GMC.
• August 13, 1990: The Lottery reaches $100 million in sales, paying about 50% in prizes.
• November 1990: With 75% of the vote, Minnesotans dedicate 40% of Lottery proceeds to the trust fund through 2001.
• June 1991: The Legislature changes how Lottery proceeds are divided: 40% for the trust fund, and 60% for the General Fund.
• April 1992: The first drawing of Powerball is held.
• June 18, 1993: The Lottery reaches $1 billion in sales.
• July 1, 1995: The Lottery board is abolished by the Legislature.
• May 6, 1996: The Lottery surpasses $2 billion in sales.
• June 30, 1996: The Lottery celebrates the end of its sixth fiscal year with record sales of $375.6 million.
• June 30, 1998: The Legislature increases the retailer commission from 5% to 5.5%, and adds a 1% bonus for cashing tickets.
• March 11, 2002: Over $1 billion for Minnesota has been generated by the Lottery.
• April 2002: To help celebrate the 10th anniversary of Powerball, the smaller Hot Lotto game is launched.
• July 17, 2004: The Lottery announces a record contribution of $100 million to Minnesota during fiscal year 2004.
• June 1, 2004: The Lottery announced that total contributions to the State of Minnesota reached $1 billion.
• May 2, 2006: Lucky, MN Players Club launches.
• November 1, 2006: The Lottery launches its first Minnesota Millionaire Raffle game. With two guaranteed $1 million prizes, this game offers the Lottery’s best chance to win $1 million.
• July 1, 2007: Projects funded with Lottery proceeds transferred to the Environment & Natural Resources Trust Fund now selected on an annual basis (projects were previously selected every two years).
• January 3, 2008: Hot Lotto Sizzler option begins. For an extra $1 per play, all non-jackpot prizes are multiplied by 3.
• May 3, 2008: Paul Rosenau of Waseca became Minnesota’s largest Powerball jackpot winner, winning $180.1 million. Rosenau selected the $88 million cash option.
• August 5, 2008: Print-N-Play games replace G3 games.
• October 6, 2008: A third drawing is added each week to Gopher 5. Drawings are now held on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
• January 31, 2010: Mega Millions launches in Minnesota.
• August 24, 2010: Progressive Print-N-Play begins.

Scratch

NOTE: This list has not been updated recently.

• Candy Cane Cash (new)
• Holiday Shopping Spree (new)
• Bonus Tic Tac Mistletoe (new)
• Casino Fortune
• Find the 9s
• Lightning 7s
• Slingo
• Diamond Dazzler
• Lucky Loon Loot
• Super Ruby Red 7s
• Panda-Money-Um
• Cash Cow
• Joker's Wild
• 15th Anniversary
• Minnesota Hold 'Em
• Wings of Cash
• Hoppy Go Lucky
• $200,000 Jackpot Riches
• What a Hoot!
• Bonus Match Bingo
• Bankroll
• Sky's the Limit
• Diamond Bingo

Daily 3

Daily 3 is drawn daily. Prices, prizes, and options vary.

Northstar Cash

Northstar Cash also is drawn daily. It draws 5 numbers from 1 to 31. Jackpots begin at $25,000, increasing until there is a 5-of-5 winner.

On February 11, 2007, Raymond Snouffer Jr., an airline pilot from Maplewood, Minnesota, won Northstar Cash for the second time in two days, an occurrence that lottery officials inaccurately described as "virtually incalculable".^[1] (The actual probability of this happening is merely the square of the odds of a single day's jackpot win, viz. 1:28,869,747,921, assuming he held only one ticket for each drawing).^[2]

Gopher 5

Gopher 5 is drawn Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. It draws 5 numbers from 1 to 47. Gopher 5 jackpots begin at $100,000.

Hot Lotto (multi-lottery game)

Hot Lotto currently is played in 15 lotteries including Minnesota's; it is drawn Wednesdays and Saturdays. Hot Lotto draws five white numbers from 1 to 39 and one orange "hot ball" from 1 to 19. The jackpots begin at $1 million and increase by at least $50,000 if there is no top prize winner. Hot Lotto has an optional feature called Sizzler (similar to Powerball's PowerPlay); it triples non-jackpot prizes.

Powerball (multi-lottery game)

Since 1990, Minnesota has been a member of the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL); the organization began Powerball in 1992. Powerball's jackpots currently start at $20 million; it is drawn Wednesday and Saturday nights.

Mega Millions (Multi-lottery game)

On October 13, 2009, the Mega Millions consortium and MUSL reached an agreement in principle to cross-sell Mega Millions and Powerball in U.S. lottery jurisdictions. The Minnesota Lottery added Mega Millions on January 31, 2010. Its jackpots begin at $12 millions, with drawings Tuesdays and Fridays.

References

1. ^ "Man Wins $25,000 Lottery Two Days in Row". SFGate.com. 2007-02-16. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/02/15/national/a200905S70.DTL. Retrieved 2008-03-08. ^{[dead link]}
2. ^ ""In Which We Are Smarter than the Minnesota Lottery"". Muttroxia. 2007-02-18. http://www.muttrox.com/index.php/2007/02/18/in-which-we-are-smarter-than-the-minnesota-lottery/. Retrieved 2008-03-08. 

External links

• Official Minnesota State Lottery website