To Top

Oregon State Lottery

The lottery is one of several forms of legal gambling in Oregon, alongside horse racing, charitable gaming, social gaming, sports betting, and tribal casinos. The Oregon Lottery was authorized in 1984 after the Oregon Ballot Measure 5 was passed into law by voters, and it began operating in April of 1985.

Three years later, the Oregon Lottery became a charter member of the Multi-State Lottery Association, which soon saw the addition of nationwide popular games such as Powerball and Mega Millions. Today, the Oregon Lottery offers a total of six lottery games, together with scratch-its, raffle, keno, and online sports betting.

Profits made from the Oregon Lottery are used for the state’s economic development, public education, natural resource programs, veteran programs, and problem gambling treatment programs.

In this article, we are going to cover all the most important details regarding the lottery in Oregon, including the ability to purchase lottery tickets online, how to play each of the games offered by the Oregon Lottery, the rules regarding other forms of gambling in the state, and more.

Purchase lottery tickets online in Oregon

Play Mega Millions & Powerball From Your Phone!
Play Mega Millions & Powerball From Your Phone!
$2 Bonus
Bonus Play on Checkout
Jackpocket Review
  • $2 Bonus Play for First-Time Users
  • Available on iOS & Android
  • Use Promo Code: PLAYBONUS

Oregon online lottery

Even though there is enormous potential for selling lottery tickets online, the Oregon Lottery still hasn’t made it available for patrons to buy lottery tickets through its website. You can still check the state’s official lottery website or Oregon lottery app for information regarding the winning numbers and to find a nearby lottery retail store, but purchasing tickets on the site is not possible.

Nevertheless, there is a way for you to purchase a lottery ticket in Oregon without leaving your home. Namely, there are plenty of third-party services that allow you to legally buy Oregon Lottery tickets via a mobile app, such as Jackpocket and TheLotter. Since they are quite similar, here’s a rundown on how Jackpocket works.

How does Jackpocket work?

Jackpocket is a mobile app that allows you to buy lottery tickets online from several US states, including Oregon. Jackpocket is licensed by the US government, so purchasing lottery tickets through this app is entirely legal.

Since the Oregon Lottery doesn’t allow patrons to buy lottery tickets through its official website, third-party services like Jackpocket present an easy way for Oregonians to play the lottery without ever leaving their homes.

To download the app, you simply need to go to the Jackpocket official site and click the ‘Get the App’ button. From there, simply enter your mobile phone number, and you’ll receive a text with a link through which you can download the Jackpocket app to your iOS or Android device.

Here is how the Jackpocket app works

  1. You will first need to create an account and deposit some money into it. Upon depositing, you will be required to pay a small fee, but this is the only fee that you will be charged. All winnings are paid to players in full.
  2. Select a lottery game that you want to participate in and choose your numbers. You can choose the numbers manually or select a Quick Pick feature that picks the numbers for you.
  3. Once you place your order, Jackpocket will buy your lottery ticket from an official lottery retailer.
  4. After your ticket has been purchased, you will receive a scan of the ticket to your app, while Jackpocket will store the physical ticket safely in a fireproof safe.
  5. If your ticket wins, you’ll receive a notification, and the money will be sent to your Jackpocket account. From there, you can withdraw the funds to your bank account or keep it in the app for purchasing future tickets. Note that all winnings exceeding $600 will result in your ticket being securely sent to you by mail.

The Jackpocket app allows you to skip all those long Powerball lines and purchase tickets from your couch. Moreover, you won’t have to worry about losing your lottery ticket as it will be stored in a fireproof safe at an undisclosed location. You can purchase tickets for any individual lottery game available or subscribe for every subsequent draw.

What lottery games can I play in Oregon?

There are six lottery games offered by Oregon Lottery, including the two multi-state games. The Oregon Lottery also allows you to participate in keno games, buy dozens of different scratch-its, and enjoy online sports betting through Scoreboard.

Oregon multi-state draw games

As a charter member of the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL), the Oregon Lottery allows you to participate in the nationwide Powerball and Mega Millions draw games and gives you a chance to earn massive jackpots that often exceed $100 million.

Oregon Powerball

Powerball is the favorite lottery game in Oregon. Twice a week, millions of people from all over the US chip in to give themselves a chance of winning a life-changing jackpot.

Playing Powerball is pretty straightforward. You just need to pick five numbers from one to 69 (white balls) and a single Powerball number from one to 26 (red ball). To win the main prize, you need to match all five numbers and the Powerball number. If you don’t match the Powerball number, you need to match at least three regular numbers.

The ticket costs only $2 per play. You can pay an additional dollar to get the ‘Power Play’ multiplier. After the main draw, the ‘Power Play’ number will be drawn to determine how many times your win is multiplied — 2x, 3x, 5x, or 10x. The ‘Power Play’ multiplier does not affect jackpot wins, and the 5 of 5 Power Play prize is capped at $2 million.

The biggest Powerball jackpot ever won in Oregon was recorded in 2005, when a lucky winner from Jacksonville took home $340 million. However, this is not even close to being the biggest Powerball jackpot ever won, as a three-ticket jackpot worth $1.59 billion was drawn in January of 2016.

Oregon Powerball key points

  • $2 per ticket (+$1 for the optional ‘Power Play’ feature)
  • Nine ways to win
  • Biggest ever Powerball win in Oregon — $340 million

Oregon Mega Millions

Mega Millions is the second most popular multi-state draw game, the main reason being that it usually has lower jackpots than Powerball.

Other than that, the game is very similar. Players pick five numbers from one to 70 and a single ‘Mega Ball’ number from one to 25. You win the jackpot by matching all six numbers on your ticket.

There are nine ways to win at Mega Millions, with the overall odds of winning any prize being 1/24. The ticket costs $2, and you can choose to add the ‘Megaplier’ feature for an additional dollar and multiply your potential prize by two, three, four, or five times. The ‘Megaplier’ does not apply to the Mega Millions jackpot. Unlike Powerball, Mega Millions does not have a cap on the ‘5 of 5 Megaplier’ bonus, allowing you to win up to $5 million.

The most anyone has ever won on Mega Millions in Oregon was $3 million. In 2019, a happy couple from Jacksonville matched all five numbers and got a 3x multiplier. No Oregonians have ever won the main jackpot on Mega Millions. The biggest Mega Millions jackpot yielded a staggering $1.54 billion to a person from South Carolina.

Oregon Mega Millions key points

  • $2 per ticket (+$1 for the optional ‘Megaplier’ feature)
  • Nine ways to win
  • Biggest ever Mega Millions win in Oregon — $3 million

Oregon multi-state draw times

  • Powerball — Every Wednesday and Saturday at 7:59 PM, Pacific Time. The tickets must be purchased at least an hour before each draw.
  • Mega Millions — Every Tuesday and Friday at 7:59 PM, Pacific Time. The tickets must be purchased at least an hour before each draw.

Oregon state draw games

Oregon LotteryWhile Powerball and Mega Millions are by far the two most popular lottery games in Oregon, the state lottery also has four other draw games that are drawn twice weekly. These include Oregon’s Game Megabucks, Lucky Lines, Win for Life, and Pick 4. Here are the highlights:

  • Oregon’s Game Megabucks — Six numbers are drawn out of a set of 48. Match at least three numbers to win a prize and all six to win the jackpot. The jackpot starts at $1 million and increases until someone wins. The ticket costs $1, and you can add a ‘Kicker’ option for an additional dollar to win $4 for matching three numbers and a 4x prize when matching four or five numbers.
  • Lucky Lines — Lucky Lines is a lottery game mixed with tic-tac-toe. Pick eight numbers and hope they connect vertically, horizontally, diagonally, or in a combination. The more lines you connect, the bigger the prize. The jackpot is won once you connect seven or eight lines. The jackpot starts at $10,000, and the ticket costs $2 per play.
  • Win for Life — Win for Life is an exciting draw game that gives you a chance to earn a prize — not once — but for life. Pick four numbers between one and 77, and if you match them all in the Win for Life set, you will win $10,000/week for the rest of your life. Apart from the Win for Life set, you will also get to pick numbers in the two $50,000 sets, four $20,000 sets, and eight $10,000 sets. This is also one of the few lottery games that rewards you for being extremely unlucky. If you don’t match any numbers on a ticket, you will win $3. The ticket costs $2 per play, and there are 46 ways to win.
  • Pick 4 — Pick 4 is a fun game that you win by matching a maximum of four numbers. How many numbers you match, and in what order, will determine your prize. Matching the first, middle, or last two numbers in the exact order wins you $6 on $1 wagered. Matching the first three or last three numbers in their precise order comes with a prize of $150, while matching all four numbers in the exact order guarantees a jackpot of $2,000. You can wager $0.50 or $1 per play.

Oregon state draw times

  • Oregon’s Game Megabucks — Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday at 7:59 PM, Pacific Time.
  • Lucky Lines — Daily at 6:00 PM, Pacific Time.
  • Win for Life — Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday at 7:30 PM, Pacific Time.
  • Pick 4 — Daily at 1:00 PM, 4:00 PM, 7:00 PM, and 10:00 PM, Pacific Time.

Oregon scratch tickets

The Oregon Lottery issues 92 scratch tickets, or, as they like to call them, Scratch-its. The prices of the tickets range between $1 and $20. You can find great variety among the available Scratch-its, as there are several different types of games, including bingo, crossword, beat the score, key symbol or number match, find the symbol, match three, and others. The top prizes range from $1,000 to $250,000.

Other gambling options in Oregon

Aside from the lottery, residents of Oregon have several other legal and regulated gambling options. Oregon is home to 12 tribal casinos scattered all across the state, although online casinos in Oregon are still not permitted.

On the other hand, sports betting and pari-mutuel wagering are entirely legal. People who want to bet on sports in Oregon can visit the Oregon Lottery’s official sportsbook called Scoreboard. The state has several race tracks, and off-track betting is available in 11 different locations.

The Oregon Lottery also organizes a yearly raffle with 1,801 prizes. The top prize is $1 million, while there are also 300 $500 prizes and 1,500 $100 prizes.

Finally, as is the case in most states, Oregonians are able to compete for cash prizes on sweeps coins casinos or social casino apps. These sites offer free contests and action quite similar to that of online casinos, with recommended sites including Wow Vegas, Pulsz, and Hello Millions.

Oregon lottery history

The lottery officially became legal in Oregon in 1984 after the Oregon Ballot Measure 5 was passed by voters in the general election. It was first held in April of 1985. In the beginning, there were only two types of Oregon lottery games available — the Megabucks drawing game and Scratch-it tickets.

In 1988, the Oregon Lottery became a charter member of the MUSL and helped launch Lotto America that later became Powerball. Until now, four Powerball jackpots have been awarded to lucky winners from Oregon. Over the years, the lottery has added several more games, the latest being Mega Millions, introduced in 2010.

Sign up to our newsletter to get PlayUSA’s latest hands-on reviews, expert advice, and exclusive offers delivered straight to your inbox.
You are already subscribed to our newsletter. Want to update your preferences data?
Thank you for signing up! You’re all set to receive the latest reviews, expert advice, and exclusive offers straight to your inbox. Stay tuned!
View Offers