The Mississippi Lottery is one of the newest US lotteries. The Alyce G. Clarke Mississippi Lottery Law that made lottery games legal in the state went into effect in 2018. However, it wasn’t until late 2019 that the first scratch tickets were sold. The Mississippi Lottery was accepted into the Multi-State Lottery Association in August 2019, launching multi-state draw game ticket sales on Jan. 30, 2020.
Today, the lottery offers more than 50 scratch tickets and four draw games, two of which are Mississippi-exclusive. A large portion of the lottery revenue goes to the state infrastructure and education funds.
Keep reading to learn more about the lottery in Mississippi, including the types of games you can play, how and where to buy lottery tickets, other gambling options in Mississippi and the history of lottery in the state.
Mississippi online lottery
Mississippi doesn’t currently allow the purchase of lottery tickets online. However, you can register on the official Mississippi Lottery website and enter your non-winning tickets into second-chance drawings.
The official website also offers information on where you can find licensed lottery retailers. Other information you can find on the website includes detailed game info and recent winning numbers.
What lottery games can I play in Mississippi?
As we already mentioned, the Mississippi Lottery offers four draw games, including two of the most popular multi-state titles — Powerball and Mega Millions. The other two draw games, the Mississippi Match 5 and Cash 3, are state-exclusive. The lottery also offers 56 scratch cards at various price points.
Mississippi Lottery multi-state draw games
Mississippi is one of the youngest members of the Multi-State Lottery Association. The first multi-state draw game ticket sales launched in January 2020. Today, the lottery features two all-time favorite nationwide draw games — Powerball and Mega Millions.
Mississippi Powerball
Launched in 1992, Powerball remains one of the most popular multi-state draw games and awards some of the highest jackpots. It is currently available in 48 US jurisdictions.
To participate in a Powerball drawing, you need to set aside $2 per play. As we already discussed, you can’t currently buy the tickets online, so you need to visit a licensed lottery vendor.
The next step involves selecting the numbers you want to play with. You’ll choose six numbers — five numbers from 1 to 69 and one number from 1 to 26, also called the Powerball number. Alternatively, you can check the quick pick box and let the lottery terminal pick the numbers for you.
An extra dollar per play will add the Power Play feature to your ticket. This feature gives you a chance to multiply any non-jackpot winnings two, three, four, five or 10 times.
If you want to play multiple drawings, just mark the desired number in the multi-draw column. You can enter your ticket into as many as 26 consecutive drawings.
You’ll have nine ways to win, and the prizes start at $4 — which is what you’d win if you match the Powerball number without a multiplier. If, on the other hand, you are lucky enough to match all six numbers, you could be looking at a jackpot worth many millions of dollars.
No one in Mississippi has yet won a Powerball jackpot. However, one fortunate Vicksburg player did manage to win $1 million in January 2021.
Mississippi Powerball key points
- Cost per play: $2 plus $1 for Power Play.
- Nine ways to win.
- Record Powerball prize in Mississippi: $1 million.
Mississippi Mega Millions
Mega Millions began as The Big Game in 1996 and was initially available in six states. Due to its increasing popularity over the years, many states have added it, reaching a total of 28 lotteries that currently offer the game.
The Mega Millions ticket price is the same as the Powerball ticket price — $2 per play. To find the nearest official lottery ticket retailer, you can use the retailer locator on the official Mississippi Lottery website.
To play the game, pick six numbers — five numbers from 1 to 70 and one Mega Ball number from 1 to 25. As is the case with Powerball tickets, you can opt for the quick pick feature if you want the terminal to choose the numbers for you.
Add the Megaplier multiplier feature for $1 and increase your non-jackpot winnings two, three, four or five times. Finally, mark the number of consecutive drawings you want to enter your ticket into.
The game features nine ways to win, with an overall winning potential of 1 in 24. To win the jackpot, you’ll need to match all five numbers and the Mega Ball number.
Although no jackpot-winning Mega Millions tickets have yet surfaced in Mississippi, a woman from Gautier won $2 million on the game in June 2020. This was the largest Mississippi Mega Millions prize at the time of writing.
Mississippi Mega Millions key points
- Cost per play: $2 plus $1 for the Megaplier feature.
- Nine ways to win.
- Record Mega Millions prize in Mississippi: $2 million.
Mississippi lottery multi-state draw times
- Powerball — Drawings take place on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 9:59 p.m. CT. Ticket sales close one hour before the drawing start time.
- Mega Millions — Drawings take place on Tuesdays and Fridays at 10 p.m. CT. You can buy tickets at 9:45 p.m. at the latest on those days.
Mississippi Lottery state draw games
In addition to Powerball and Mega Millions, the Mississippi State lottery features two exclusive draw games: Mississippi Match 5 and Cash 3. Let’s learn more about how they work.
Mississippi Match 5
Mississippi Match 5 is a brand-new game that will soon be available in Mississippi. The game advertises itself as the lottery’s first rolling jackpot, with drawings three times a week.
To participate, you need to choose five numbers from 1 to 35 or choose the quick pick option for automatic numbers. For an additional dollar, you can choose the Multiplier feature, which increases any non-jackpot prizes by two, three, four or five times.
If you match two out of five numbers, the Multiplier feature also brings free quick pick tickets, which depends on the random multiplier value that you’ll receive on purchase. You can enter Mississippi Match 5 tickets into up to 24 consecutive drawings.
The Mississippi Match 5 ticket price is $2 per play. The game features four ways to win, with all prizes being fixed cash amounts, except for the jackpot.
Mississippi Cash 3
Mississippi Cash 3 is Mississippi Lottery’s first statewide game. It launched in September 2020 and has been gaining popularity since.
The game’s rules dictate that players choose three numbers from zero to nine or select the quick pick option. Then, the players must choose the play value and the play type. You can opt for a $0.50 or a $1 play. The play types include:
- Exact order, 1-off, any order, and exact or any order for a $1 game.
- Exact order or any order for a $0.50 game.
You can also play the Three-Way or the Six-Way Combo, equaling three and six exact order plays, respectively. These games cost $3 and $6. You can find detailed information on play types on the Mississippi Lottery website.
To keep your numbers in the game for longer, you can enter your ticket in up to seven consecutive drawings. Depending on the play type and value you choose, there can be up to six ways to win in Cash 3. All prizes are set amounts, starting at $36 and going up to $500.
Drawings take place every day of the week at 10 p.m. CT.
Mississippi lottery scratch tickets
Aside from the four draw games that we’ve discussed, the Mississippi Lottery also has 56 scratch cards. However, this number keeps changing, as new scratch cards join the fold on the first Tuesday of each month.
Mississippi Lottery scratch off tickets come at six price points: $1, $2, $3, $5, $10 and $20. Prizes range from $50 to $500,000. Some of the most prominent titles include Lucky 7s, Sleigh Bills, Double Doubler, 3 Times Lucky, $100 Million Extravaganza and Bonus Crossword.
Other gambling options in Mississippi
In addition to the lottery, there are other legal Mississippi gambling activities, such video slots and table games. The state doesn’t have any licensed greyhound or horse tracks, but you can legally bet on races at any casino sportsbook. Legal sports betting in MS is also available.
On the other hand, online casinos are still prohibited, but you can find some of your favorite games for free on sweepstakes casinos or online social casinos. Additionally, there are numerous land-based casinos throughout the state. Some of the most prominent names include the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino in Biloxi, Hard Rock Hotel and Casino and Gold Strike Casino and Resort in Tunica, among many others.
Mississippi Lottery history
Although the Mississippi Lottery as we know it today has existed for barely three years, the history of lottery activities in the state stretches back much farther.
Namely, there were two distinct periods in the 19th century during which the lottery was legal in Mississippi — from 1803 to 1805 and from 1867 until the Mississippi constitution banned it in 1869.
The first serious attempt at a re-introduction happened in 1990 when Gov. Ray Mabus proposed a repeal of the lottery ban. Although the constitution’s lottery ban was repealed in 1992, it wasn’t until Aug. 31, 2018, that the lottery was finally legal.
After the new Mississippi Lottery Corp. was founded at the end of the year, the lottery finally launched in November 2019. The first lottery sales were scratch-off tickets, while Powerball and Mega Millions tickets became available in January 2020.
September of 2020 saw the first state-exclusive draw game, Cash 3, introduced, with draws held daily and prizes reaching $500. The second Mississippi-only draw game, Mississippi Match 5, is scheduled to begin in April 2021.
The latest information about the Mississippi Lottery revenues states that the organization has collected more than $75 million from July 1, 2020, to mid-February 2021. The state law dictates that revenue of up to $80 million will go to state infrastructure, with the next $80 million benefiting the Education Enhancement Fund. After July 1, 2028, revenues of up to $80 million will go to the State General Fund, while all amounts over that limit will continue to be invested in the betterment of the state’s education system.