Overview of the Florida Lottery: Results and Game Types

The Florida Lottery has been around for over 30 years and has a significant history with some pretty stellar games. The first lottery ticket in the state was a Scratcher, and they’re still immensely popular today. This comprehensive guide to the FL Lotto will take you through all the distinct game types, with the best odds, prize breakdowns, and most importantly the most Florida winning numbers and results. There’s a lot of lotto opportunities to be had in the Sunshine State, with a lot of lottery games on offer. Read on to find out all the important info about the state lotteries.

We’ll take you through some of the best Florida Lottery games the Sunshine State has to offer! We’ve gone through and selected the top games with the best odds for you to check out and play at your own pace. From the big boys to the small fries we’ve got you covered. Get familiar with the numerous Draw Games in the state, and take a look at the huge array of Florida Scratchers. Additionally, you’ll learn more about the relevant state laws and get a glimpse of the interesting history of the FL lotto. We’ll give you the lowdown on the state’s draw times, the best odds out there, and some of the intriguing and crucial state quirks.

The Numerous Florida Lotteries Available

When it comes to lotteries, there are basically two primary categories. That’s Draw Games and Scratchers. Florida has these two types in spades, and what’s more, they also have some great alternative games to the norm. Draw Games are number games – you’ve probably seen them before. Select numbers from a range in order to win. Scratchers are their distant lucky cousin and offer more instant wins to the keen bettor. Whatever your poison, the FL Lotto will have you sorted.

Draw Games: Those FL Lottos with The Biggest Jackpots

Draw Games have some pretty high odds, but accordingly some stellar jackpots. You basically select a set amount of numbers from a range, and then match those numbers to a drawn amount at a later time in order to see if you’ve won! It’s quite hard to match all your numbers exactly, and you’ve got to be pretty lucky to win the jackpot, but if the jackpot’s big enough, the odds don’t matter. In 2013, a Florida resident snagged a $590 Million jackpot! For something that size, you’ve simply got to be in it to win it. Check below for the FL Lotto’s draw times for the state’s main games.

To us, the Florida Lottery seems to have the games with the most frequent draw times! There’s Cash4Life and Fantasy 5 will daily evening drawings 2 hours apart, as well as Pick 2, with two draw times every day! With one in the afternoon, and another time in the evening, you’ll never have to wait more than half a day to hear if you’re a winner. The FL lotto also isn’t lacking any of the bi-weekly Draw Games, there are quite a few chances to win huge jackpots. Check the breakdowns of our picks of the best below.

Mega Millions: Multiplying Wins

Mega Millions has an absolutely huge portfolio of states to showcase, and Florida has been a part of its story since 2013. It’s a 5/70 game, with a 1/25 ‘Megaball’ bonus to select, winning you sometimes up to $500 million when the rolling lottery builds high enough! Tickets cost $2, but you can also purchase an optional ‘Megaplier’ for $1, to potentially win up to 5 times what you would have! Check out the odds and prize breakdown in the table below.

Powerball: Lucky in FL

Powerball is the bigger brother of Mega Millions, and as big brothers are often want to do, they show off in front of the whole family. The biggest jackpot in the history of United States Lotteries was a Powerball jackpot, won in 2018 to the fabulous tune of $1.54 billion! One of the three winners was a Floridian, proving the Sunshine State has plenty of luck on for its residents. Buy your ticket for $2, boost your odds with a $1 Power Play, and select 5/69 numbers and a 1/26 Powerball to win.

Cash4Life: A Lifetime Supply

Cash4Life is a favorite in the Southeast, and a popular Florida lottery for those who can get their hands on a ticket, for only $2. This FL lottery is a 5/60 game, with a bonus of only 1 in 4! This makes for some pretty low odds for a payout, considering the other draw games on offer in Florida. Two spectacular things about this lottery – match 5 numbers with or without the Cash Ball and you’ll have a steady income for the rest of your life, and what’s more, there are daily drawings! Check out the table below.

Fantasy 5: More Winners

Fantasy 5 is something we haven’t seen before – a Florida Draw Game that rewards mid-tier prize winners is nobody snags the top prize! That’s right, if there are no winners of the top prize by matching 5 numbers out of 5, the amount rolls down to the 4 out of 5, and 3 out of 5 prizes, distributing evening amongst the winners. This does mean, however, that this is a Draw Game without a jackpot that builds and builds, the top prize is always $200,000. You can also add an extra bonus game for $1 (on top of a $2 ticket) in order to win instantly!

Jackpot Triple Play: Flexible and Fun

Jackpot Triple Play is a feature of the FL lotto that is customizable based on your needs and budget. You get three play lines of 6 numbers from 46, but the catch is, you can only choose the first set. Add a $1 Combo purchase to your $1 ticket to significantly lower the odds of winning one of the lower level payouts – basically increasing your chances of winning something! Drawings are held on Tuesday and Friday evenings. Take a look at the table below to scope out the prizes and odds.

Pick 2

Pick 2 is simple. I know we talk about simplicity in the lottery a lot here but Pick 2 truly is the real deal. You only have to pick 2 numbers, both between 0 and 9, but the fantastic thing about the lotto is the variety of ways in which you can play those numbers. Straight, means that you’re going for an exact match of your umber to the drawn pair, while box means that you’ll win if your numbers match, no matter the order. You can also wager for just one of the numbers, which is really basic when you boil it all down, or win by being close to the number, in a 1-off play.

The Top Florida Lottery Scratchers With The Best Odds

There are a whole bunch of Scratch Off tickets on offer in Florida, just like many of the other lottery states out there. Just like every other state, the Florida Lottery offers Scratcher tickets unique to the state, and also unique from each other – each FL Scratch Off is distinct. This means that you can play your way through the whole lot and still have more to choose from! You don’t have to though, we’ve selected the best from the bunch, with the top overall odds of returning a prize on your investment.

1. Florida 100X The Cash (Odds: 1 out of 2.59)
2. $15,000,000 Gold Special Ed. (Odds: 1 out of 2.60)
3. Fastest Road to $1,000,000 (Odds: 1 out of 2.79)
4. Lucky $200,000 A Year For Life (Odds: 1 out of 2.94)
5. $5,000,000 Luck (Odds: 1 out of 2.97)

These Scratchers are all pretty expensive, relative to the usual Scratcher pocket change price. That’s just the way it goes for good odds. Pay a bit more for a ticket – in this case, $20-$30 – and the odds of returning a prize on that ticket skyrocket. All Scratchers are not created equal however, and just because it’s expensive doesn’t mean it has good odds of getting you a prize. Do your research, or use our list above, since we’ve done the research for you, and be a smart bettor!

Alternative Florida Lottery Games

State Lotteries seem to be dominated by the standard Draw Game and Scratcher categories, and for good reason too, as they are truly quality, popular and a lot of fun too. There are a few games on the FL lotto roster that fall outside of these popular types. Florida has a collection of in-house ticket lotteries, called Fast Play games. Match words on your ticket to win instant cash in Word Search, or toss the horseshoe in Horseshoe Ringer and see what comes up. We think these games have some pretty fair odds and are super fun and instantly rewarding. While their top prizes are not as big as the other lotteries out there, they offer a bit of a fun quirky spin as an alternative. It can be so gratifying to get an instant thrill and play something a bit out of the ordinary, when your luck is down and you haven’t had many wins from Draw Games or Scratchers. Sometimes we need a bit of fun – that’s what we’re all about!

Some Important Laws Regarding FL Lotteries

You might have noticed that lottery winners out in California, for example, pay less taxes than a lottery winner from New York. For whatever historical or cultural reason, the distinct states have their separate, but sometimes similar, rules and regulations surrounding the playing of lottery games. What’s legal in one state is not necessarily legal in another. Florida has got it pretty good when it comes to their lottery laws. Check out the basics in the table below.

We think Florida has some generous lottery laws, that help bettors make the most of their winnings. The identity of FL lotto winners must be publicly released according to the law on anonymity, which is a bit of a bummer, considering that the best way to not attract any undue attention is to not have your identity known. While that is the case, on the other hand Floridians don’t have to pay any state tax on any of their winnings, only federal taxes. How good is that!

History of the Florida Lottery

The Florida Lottery has been in official operation for almost 35 years. Founded in 1984, the FL lotto was voted into being in order to raise revenue for matter of education for the state. State lotteries are useful as methods of funding for state government issues, from environmental concerns to social matters to education, in the case of Florida and some other states – for example Georgia, as well. In its time, the Florida Lottery has raised over $68 billion for the state. You can buy your tickets with the confidence that your money goes to those in need, supporting important government initiatives.

Florida has been a part of some huge jackpot winnings, in its history. In May of 2013, state resident Gloria Mackenzie became the biggest single winner of a jackpot in history, at the time. Taking in $590 million, Gloria chose to receive $370 as a lump sum payment, rather than breaking the winnings into annual payments. Florida was also on the lottery map in Jan 2016, where the Kaltschmidts took home a third of the history making $1.586 billion jackpot, the biggest ever in the history of lotteries across the United States.

Conclusion

Okay, we hope you’re all caught up on the state of lotteries in the spectacular Sunshine State, and the best Florida lottery games out there. The usual suspects in the Draw Game category are there, with Mega Millions and Powerball tickets sold around the state. There are also many regional and local games to get stuck into, like Cash4Life and Fantasy. Some stellar scratch off tickets can be picked up too, if you like to be rewarded instantly, like we do. Check back here for new winning numbers – you can follow the links to your state of choice via our American lottery overview page.

Common Questions that People Also Ask

You’re likely to have a few lingering questions, following our comprehensive overview. No matter, it’s always good to keep asking questions and learning more. Remember – a winning bettor is a well informed bettor! We’ve collected and answered a bunch of the most common questions that people ask. Take a look below.