Guide to the Mississippi Lottery: MS Results & Games

After a prolonged battle to bring the lotto to Mississippi, players in the Magnolia State can finally get involved in the chance to hit the jackpot in the brand new Mississippi Lottery. With the first games going on sale in November 2019, we expect to see a whole lot more exciting changes in the coming years.

Because it is so new, it’s incredibly important for Mississippi gamers to do their research into the games so they know exactly what to expect from the contests and their odds. By reading this dedicated MS lotto guide, you can stay up to date on the latest game results and learn of any new games as they drop.

In this Mississippi lottery guide, you can expect to learn all you need to know about what games are currently on offer, from draw games to scratch cards. We’ve described every step of the lottery process from the rules of the games to how to claim your prize if you’re lucky enough to win a prize.

Of course, it’s important to stay up to date with your local laws and regulations, so we’ve provided a look at the laws governing lottery games in the state. We’ve capped things off with a brief overview of the background of the state lottery because as locals would know, it wasn’t an easy road to get here.

The Various Mississippi Lottery Games Available

Due to its young age, the Mississippi lottery does not offer as many games as other states. However, we do expect this to change as the state generates more funds and gauges the potential interest in local-only games. For now, players are limited to playing the two hugely popular national lotteries.

Both of these games, the Mega Millions and the Powerball, are draw games, which is perhaps the most well-known kind of lotto game. The other kinds of games that Mississippi offers are instant scratch games. Below, we’ve gone into further detail about what players can expect from each.

Draw Games: MS Lottos with Huge Jackpots

Draw games are a widely enjoyed style of lottery game that can, at their best, offer huge jackpot prizes. In the past, these kinds of games have created not just millionaires but billionaires but be warned that the odds of winning these games are quite small and they incredibly competitive.

To play, participants must purchase a select set of numbers from a lottery retailer, either by choice or at random. In some cases, bonus bets can be made. These numbers and bets will be printed on a ticket, and later the game’s runners will draw a set of numbers at random. If your numbers match, you can win a cash prize.

As the above schedule shows, both the draw games available to Mississippians are drawn twice a week. Both have progressive jackpots, meaning that the top prize will continue to increase without an upper limit depending on how much is bet. The jackpot won’t stop building until someone matches all the numbers.

Below, we’ve looked into both games and their odds. Each game is widely popular and are designed to build to mega jackpots. Although the chances of winning either is unlikely, you don’t have any chance of winning if you don’t enter it at all!

Mega Millions: Loved Across the Nation

Since it was launched as The Big Game in 1996, the Mega Millions has gradually grown to accept players from 45 states in the country. For the low price of $2 a ticket, players can enter the draw. All they need to do is select five numbers between 1 and 70, then 1 Mega Ball number between 1 and 25.

For an additional $1 per play, players can choose to add the chance to add a Megaplier, which is a multiplier that will increase your non-jackpot wins by a random number selected before the draw. Players can also select a multi-draw option, which allows up to 26 more consecutive draws with the same numbers for an additional $2 per draw.

Powerball: Huge Jackpots Always

Like the Mega Millions draw, the Powerball lottery is played in 45 states across the USA and attracts huge numbers of participants every draw. The game regularly awards jackpots above $100 million, so it’s no wonder why players feel little worry in parting with the $1 it takes to participate in a draw.

Like the Mega Millions, Powerball players can potentially multiply their non-jackpot wins by placing an extra $1 Power Play bet. As the odds below reveal, players have a slightly better chance than hitting the jackpot and $1 million prize over the Mega Millions, though it offers lower-valued mid-tier prizes.

The Best Mississippi Scratchers: Lottery Scratchers with Best Odds

Wherever you go, every state has its own unique scratch cards and Mississippi is no different. There are currently more than 20 unique cards that locals can play that each has varying prize pools. A general rule of thumb is that the higher the price of the ticket, the larger the jackpot prize.

Unlike draw games, scratch cards usually offer more than one jackpot prize. This information is available on the Mississippi lottery website, and it will be updated whenever a jackpot prize remains. It can be useful to look up this information before buying a ticket to be certain that you don’t chase a claimed jackpot

There are currently five different prices for scratchers in Mississippi, starting from $1, then $2, $3, $5 and $10. Below, we’ve listed five of the best Mississippi lottery games that are unique to the state, all of which are scratch cards.

1. Mega CA$H – $10 (Odds: 1 out of 3.61)
2. $100,000 Diamond Dazzler – $5 (Odds: 1 out of 3.98)
3. Mississippi Blues – $5 (Odds: 1 out of 3.91)
4. $25,000 Payday – $2 (Odds: 1 out of 4.59)
5. 1 Mississippi- $1 (Odds: 1 out of 4.96)

Please note that the odds listed are to win any prize, not the jackpot. As the above shows, the more a ticket costs, this generally means the lower the odds of winning a prize. It also impacts the size of the prize, with the $1 1 Mississippi card offering a $2,500 jackpot while the $10 Mega CA$H card offers a $200,000 prize.

Currently, the largest jackpot ever won in Mississippi is the $200,000 Mega CA$H jackpot. For this reason, we suggest trying your hand at these local lottery games as the odds are certainly more favorable than those offered by the national draws.

Unique Mississippi Lottery Games

Aside from the games that have already been mentioned, Mississippi offers no unique games to players in the state. What this means is that there are no special games like KENO, bingo or online scratchers available as some other states offer.

However, it’s worth keeping in mind that the lottery in Mississippi is only in its infancy, and like most states who’ve legalized lotteries before have shown, it sometimes takes time for options to appear. As more players participate and show a demand for unique games, it’s only a matter of time until the state delivers.

Important Laws Regarding Mississippi Lotteries

It’s important to remember that every state has its own laws and regulations that govern how their lotteries operate. These rules can cover everything from how the lottery revenues are spent, how much is returned to players and who can participate in the games.

Like the Louisiana Lottery, Mississippi requires participants to be over the age of 21 to participate. This is in line with its gambling laws, though differs from most other states that require players to be over 18 to partake in lotto games.

Mississippi’s lottery also stipulates winners can remain anonymous if they wish. This isn’t always allowed in some states, with many claiming that the integrity of the game relies on locals knowing who exactly won the money. Those who oppose this believe that winners should be able to retain their privacy no matter what.

The Mississippi Lottery Corporation also requires that all winnings over $600 be subject to a 3% state tax in addition to the 24% federal tax on winnings over $500. This is a relatively small figure, meaning those who hit the Mega Millions or Powerball jackpot in Mississippi would have a lot more cash for themselves.

Overview of the Mississippi Lotto

For the entire duration of Mississippi’s history, lotteries were outlawed. This all changed in November 1992 when 53 percent of the state’s voters approved the repeal of a section in the state constitution that declared “no lottery shall ever be allowed…” It took over a decade for the game to be legalized.

This happened in 2004 when Democratic representative Alyce Clarke introduced a bill to create a state lottery. However, this was met with harsh opposition by the state Governor. For years, the politicians battled it out until finally in 2018, the bill passed under the title Alyce G. Clarke Mississippi Lottery Law.

Shortly after the Act was passed, the Mississippi Lottery Corporation was established to regulate the games. The Mississippi Lottery Corporation is made up of a Board of Directors that must be approved of by the state’s Governor, with the first and current president of the corporation being Thomas N. Shaheen.

As outlined in the bill, the revenues will fund numerous state programs. What exactly is being funded is set to change as the lottery evolves, though the main argument for allowing a lottery was to provide much-needed funds to updating and maintaining the state’s aging infrastructure.

Conclusion

As the newest state to offer the lottery in America, we believe that Mississippi is off to a great start. Not only does it offer the mega-jackpot draw lotteries that are loved by most of the country, but there is a great selection of unique scratch games available for locals that, if won, are minimally taxed.

As the game offerings shift in change in Mississippi, we always recommend you return to this guide to find out the latest changes. Of course, we will always continue to offer the latest Mississippi lottery winning numbers as they are released, so be sure to visit us on drawing day to see if you’ve hit the jackpot!

Common Questions that People Also Ask

If you still have questions about how the Mississippi lottery works, you’re not alone. Below, we’ve listed some frequently asked questions about the MS lotto and provided detailed answers for each so that you can start betting with confidence.