Guide to Virginia Lottery Results & Games

Hey there keen bettor, whether you’re a resident of Virginia, or wanting to make the move, or just passing through and wondering what the status of the lotto is like in the Old Dominion, we’ve got you covered. The Virginia Lottery has been in operation since the mid 1980s, and has showed no signs of slowing down. In fact, lotteries run deep in the state’s culture: long before an ‘official’ version was established. Early Virginians played ‘The Great Virginian Lottery’ to raise fund for the Jamestown settlement in 1612! The games and style have definitely developed, and we’ll take you through them, but the coherent thread of lottery culture remains intact and stronger than ever.

Stick with us through this comprehensive and extensive guide and we’ll show you just how fun and rewarding it can be to play the VA Lotto. There are the Draw Games big and small, and everything in between to tickle your fancy and get the blood pumping, as well as the Scratchers that give you instant wins and will have you jumping for joy in the lottery retailers. Between those there are also Virginia’s alternative games that don’t quite fit in either of those categories, and we’ll also take you through the history of the Virginia Lottery, and the genesis of some of the most important laws and why the lottery culture is how it is today. We also update regularly the most important Virginia lottery winning numbers.

The Virginia Lottery Games That Are Available

The Virginia Lottery offers a range of games and prosperous betting opportunities to put your hard-earned cash towards. While there are those familiar national lotteries and regional games that appear across many states of the lottery playing America, Virginia also has its fair share of local games, in both the draw games standard as well as the always-unique scratchers. Those two style titans of the lottery industry take up most of the room on the Virginia Lottery roster, but there’s also plenty of unique games that exist between the two.

Draw Games: Virginia Lottery Games with Huge Jackpots

The Virginia Lottery Draw Games boast a selection of some of the best Virginia Lottery games out there, for those on the hunt for huge jackpots and also those looking for better odds of winning anything. The games with the biggest jackpots tend to have the highest odds and are quite a bit harder to win, but it’s hard to argue with a billion-dollar jackpot when the opportunity to win one arises. They’re simple to play, select a set of numbers from a wider range and tune in to an official drawing later in order to match your numbers and win the often-progressive jackpot! We’ve compiled Virginia’s official drawings into a table for you below.

As you can see from the drawing schedule above, there’s a huge range of draw times and plenty of varied games to play – you’ll never need to wait very long to hear your numbers called! The games with the bigger jackpots tend to have fewer drawing times, so as to allow the progressive jackpot to build and build and for people to get excited. The smaller games have more frequent drawing times – in the Virginia Lottery, there are daily draws for some games, and even drawings twice a day for three of the games! We’ll take you through the lot and ensure you’re up to speed with all the odds and prizes.

Powerball: A New Virginia Favorite

Powerball joined the Virginia Lottery selection in 2010, when the two pseudo-national multi-jurisdictional lotteries agreed to cross-sell their tickets in each of their territories. Since then, there’s been one Powerball jackpot winner hailing from Virginia, bringing the game a reputation of riches within Virginia. It’s a five/69 game, with a bonus ‘Powerball’ drawn from 26. That’s a pretty high range and therefore the odds are too, but you can increase your payout by opting for a $1 ‘Power Play’ on top of your $2 ticket, multiplying non-jackpot winnings by a random amount.

Mega Millions: The Big Game

Mega Millions has been a part of the Virginia Lottery since the game’s inception as ‘The Big Game’ in 1996, as Virginia was a territory of that multi-jurisdictional game rather than Powerball. It’s a big contender for biggest Draw Game status along with its counterpart, raining down immense jackpots upon Virginia’s Lottery players. It’s a five/70 game, with an additional ‘Megaball’ drawn from 25 numbers. Like Powerball, the game has an additional bonus ‘Megaplier’ play of $1 on top of a ticket, which can increase your non-jackpot winnings by up to $5 million through a random multiplier drawn at the scheduled drawing time.

Cash4Life: America’s Biggest Daily Draw Game

Cash4Life is a regional multi-jurisdictional game, offered in nine states across the US. It’s the biggest game in the Lottery scene that has daily draws! Daily draws usually tend to mean that the top prize is relatively small compared to the less-frequently drawn games, but that is not the case at all with Cash4Life: a full win gets you $1,000 a day for the rest of your life! It’s similar in structure to the other big draw games – select five from 60, and an additional ‘Cash Ball’ from 4 to win. Drawings are held live from Cash4Life’s home, in lucky New Jersey.

Bank a Million: Generous Virginia

If you’re looking for a Draw Game that is home-grown and tax-free, then Bank a Million is the game for you. There’s no asterisks or conditions on your prize winnings – $1 million means $1 million in your bank account. It’s this kind of generosity that could have only come from a Virginia Lottery Draw Game. The specifics are pretty simple, select six numbers from a range of 40. A bonus ball is drawn for you, but not selected by you, taking a little bit on control away from the bettor. It also has some pretty high overall odds, at 1 in 18.3, but that’s understandable for a deal like this one.

Cash 5: Scaling Bets

Cash 5 is a simple game that gives flexibility in the way a bet is constructed. You can place a bet for $0.25, $0.50, or $1, meaning that you can stack up multiple plays and scale your bets, but the total amount you wager has to be a minimum of $1. Handy if you have a lucky feeling about multiple sets of numbers. You select five numbers from a range of 34, and do it up to twice daily, once in the afternoon and again in the evening!

Pick 4: Many Ways to Play

Pick 4 is simple in the number selection – you only need to select four numbers each ranging from 0-9. Select your favorite four digit number and your set. The real complexity and depth in this VA Lotto Draw Game comes from that many ways in which you can play those numbers. Play them for an exact match to win the top prize, or in any order for lesser prizes, and in combos and with pairs of numbers to increase your chances of winning. You can even split your $1 bet, and put half towards an exact match, and half towards any order, using the same selection of numbers!

Pick 3: Misleadingly Simple

Pick 3 bears a striking resemblance to Pick 4. They are very similar concepts, only Pick 3 requires playing only three numbers of 0-9, rather than four. This means there are significantly better odds than the other game– but the prizes aren’t quite as big. Again, you play the numbers for an exact match, for matches in any order, and for a combo of the two. You can also play for pairs – at the front of the selection, the back, or split down the middle, and disregarding whatever third number is played! It’s a daily Draw Game, with drawings twice a day in the afternoon and evening.

The VA Scratchers with The Best Odds

Virginia, like most other states in America, has an exciting array of instant win games called scratchers or scratch cards. These gratifying tickets can be picked up from lottery retailers across the Old Dominion, and are incredibly fun and useful for filling those times between drawings, or for just when you don’t have any time to wait for a win. Each state has a unique selection of Scratchers, and Virginia is no exception. We’ve broken them all down according to their overall odds of returning any kind of cash prize, and compiled the top five for you below.

1. 100X The Money (Odds: 1 out of 2.77)
2. Millionaire Maker (Odds: 1 out of 2.78)
3. Extreme Millions (Odds: 1 out of 2.95)
4. $5 Million Dollar Series (Odds: 1 out of 3.05)
5. Limited Edition (Odds: 1 out of 3.05)

Scratch Off tickets vary in prize, scale, and odds, as well as price, and these top tickets cost between $20 and $30 a pop, but the fact that a specific amount is printed and recorded means that the odds are certain. What’s more, these Scratch Off tickets have better overall odds than the Draw Games, but that’s the general rule of thumb when it comes to most lottery games – the more a ticket costs, the more the bettor risks, the better the odds of winning.

Unique Virginia Lottery Games

Lotteries primarily fall under two categories – Draw Games and Scratchers. Often, these make up all the lotteries that are offered by a state lotto, but not in Virginia’s case. The state offers Print ‘n’ Play games from terminals, Bluetooth e-games available from your mobile, and an online Virginia lottery, soon to be fully implemented across the state.

Print ‘n’ Play games are instant win tickets, and function much in the same way as Scratchers. There is no drawing of numbers – the winning status of a ticket is determined once it is printed from a terminal. Games mostly fall under three themes of Bingo, Crosswords and Blackjack, but there is a Rolling Jackpot Print ‘n’ Play game that has a top prize that builds with each non-winning ticket printed!

Get the Virginia Lottery app and gain access to a huge range of e-games that can be played within Bluetooth range of a lottery retailer. These games can be bet on from a pre-loaded wallet that you can set up prior to playing.

As of the 1st of July 2020, the Virginia Lottery will be able to be played online. Thanks to recent developments in the legal situation, Virginia players will be able to buy their favorite Draw Game ticket online, and also gain access to some fun and exciting instant win online games! Beginning with Northern Wilds, these will function much like online slot games, with spinning reels and symbol matching generating you money.

Important VA Lottery Laws

All states in the US operate under distinct jurisdictions and regulations, and the same is true for Virginia and her lottery. What’s legal in Virginia isn’t necessarily legal across the border in Maryland. One major development to note in Virginia – a recent bill passing in the state’s General Assembly has resulted in the state’s limited online access to the lottery to be expanded, meaning that tickets can be bought for all major games, and an online interactive component is available to play. Great news!

Virginia has further interesting recent legal developments, resulting in a state that is quite rewarding for lottery players. First of all, the legal age is standard, at 18 years old, as is the limit to claim lottery winnings. The taxes are relatively lower than other states, at 4.0%, in addition to federal taxes, which is pretty damn good. Most interestingly, winners of above $10 million can retain their anonymity, which is crucial for big jackpot winners if they don’t want to be bothered by any kind of intruders in their life. Win under that amount and you’ll have your name on public record. This kind of set up is unique in America.

History of the Virginia Lotto

The Virginia Lottery was formed in 1987, after the voting public of the state called it in resoundingly. This statewide approval for the lottery dates back to the early days of white settlement in America, with the Jamestown settlement in present-day Virginia holding lotteries to raise funds for public and educational institutions in the Old Dominion, a tradition which holds true today. Since it was officially formed, the $12.4 billion in funds generated from the Lotto have gone to various state initiatives and public portfolios, but presently all the revenue after prizes goes towards funding K-12 public education.

While bringing in a heap of revenue for important state projects, the Virginia Lottery has also made plenty of dreams come true. Mega Millions has been a part of the Lottery since its early days, and has made 9 jackpot winners out of Virginia residents in its time. The most notable of them, J.R. Triplett, won a Virginia record jackpot of $239 million in a Mega Millions draw in 2004.

Conclusion

As we hope you can attest now, Virginia has a long history with many forms of lottery, resulting in a rich and diverse playing field of stellar Draw Games and opportune Scratchers that continues to grow today, with the recent advent of an online component of the Virginia Lotto. Check back regularly on this page, as we have all the recent Virginia lotto winning numbers and results updated constantly, as well as having guides to all other states in the United States over on our American Lottery homepage.

Common Questions that People Also Ask

We’re sure you’ll have a few lingering questions, or maybe you’ve come straight down here to have a crucial one answered. Regardless, we hope the answers here. We’ve compiled a list of the most common questions regarding the Virginia Lottery, so you’ll now be able to play with full confidence.