Which State has the Biggest Lottery in the US?

Each state offers a varying number of local draw games in addition to the large national games such as the Mega Millions. If you’re on the hunt for the largest lottery jackpot prizes, it’s helpful to know which state has the largest lottery in the US. In this guide, you’ll learn all about these states.

To get this guide started, we’ve broken down each of the large lottery states and described their options, jackpot prizes, and entry conditions. We’ve then looked at the states that are the best to win lottery games in regards to taxation, before discussing the nationally-available major draw games.

From there, we have explored the largest lottery prizes in US history, before looking at the states with online lotteries, such as the online lottery in Michigan. You can use the following links to jump to each section or keep scrolling to learn all about this fascinating topic.

• The Best State Lottery by States
• The Best State to Win Lottery Games
• The Biggest Lottery Games
• The Biggest US Lottery Prizes of All Time
• States With Online Lottery

The Best State Lottery by States

It can be helpful to know how your state fares when it comes to lottery ticket sales and draw game options. The more that locals play the game, the higher the prizes will build and the more money will be generated for important local government programs. We’ve looked at the best state lottery to win options in this section.

Massachusetts

Massachusetts has the highest per capita lottery income of any legal US lottery state, with ticket sales amounting to around $746 per resident in 2020. This is a huge increase over the sales of the second-performing state, New York, which generated $412 per resident. The high sales probably have to do with its great game options.

Popular draw games include Mass Cash, Lucky for Life, Megabucks Doubler, and Keno. You can also play scratch cards. Over its 50-year history, the Massachusetts lottery has sold over $141 billion in tickets and awarded $100 billion in prizes. You can find more Massachusetts lottery information in our guide.

New York

Although the state generates the second largest per-resident spending on lottery tickets in the USA, its large population means that around $10 billion is spent every year on local and national games. Popular and best state lottery options include Cash4Life, New York Lotto, Take5, and Numbers. The revenues go toward funding local education programs.

California

Not only does California have one of the largest per-capita spendings on the lottery, but it also now holds the record for the largest lottery prize ever won by a resident. Annual ticket sales exceed $9 billion, with winners having to pay no local taxes on their Mega Millions wins. SuperLotto Plus and Fantasy 5 are two popular local games.

Idaho

Although the annual lottery ticket sales in Idaho are relatively small compared to other states, it has the distinct honor of offering the best payout rate in the USA. With 78.5% of lottery sales going toward prizes, this means that players benefit more from their spending. The largest prize ever won in the state is $220 million.

The Best State to Win Lottery Games

We consider the best state to win lottery games as those that have low local income tax rates on winnings. While you’ll always need to pay federal taxes on gambling winnings at a rate of 24% over $5,000, some states have very low state tax rates or none at all on the lottery.

This is great news considering that ticket sales already generate huge earnings for government programs. There are 10 states that charge no taxes, and these include Delaware, Florida, Mississippi, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Texas, Tennessee, Wyoming, and Washington. California does not tax Mega Millions wins or the California Lottery.

North Dakota has an especially low-income tax rate, which is set at 2.9%. Pennsylvania is close behind, with a tax rate of 3.07% on lottery prizes, while Indiana charges a 3.23% tax on lottery wins. As for the state with the highest taxes for lottery in the US, New York takes the lead with a 10.3% tax on wins under $25 million and 10.9% over $25 million.

The Biggest Lottery Games

If you’re looking to play games with the biggest lottery jackpot prizes, you’re best to favor national draw games. Although the competition will be much stiffer, the jackpots can increase to billions of dollars. Below, we’ve looked at the two large national draw games for lottery in the US.

Powerball

With single tickets costing either $2 or $3, the Powerball game is played in 45 states across the USA. While the odds to win are lower than 1 in 292 million, it does mean that its prizes can increase to huge amounts. The largest lottery prize of all time, which will be explored in the upcoming section, was a Powerball jackpot.

Mega Millions

The Mega Millions game enjoys the same popularity as the Powerball, with tickets costing $2. It is also played in all states with legal lotteries, and has offered grand prizes that exceed $1.5 billion. The odds to win are 1 in 302 million, making it harder to win than the Powerball.

The Biggest US Lottery Prizes of All Time

In November 2022, Edwin Castro became the lucky winner of the largest lottery jackpot prize in US history. He was the sole winner of a $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot, which came to a payment of $997.6 million once taxes were deducted. The second-largest prize was won by three players in 2016 and came to $1.58 billion.

The following top prizes include:

• $1.537 billion Mega Millions prize to one player in 2018
• $1.35 billion Mega Millions prize to one player in 2023
• $1.33 billion Mega Millions prize to one player in 2022

States With Online Lottery

When you play lottery in the US, you may have the option to buy your tickets online. Currently, there are seven states that permit online lottery ticket sales. These include New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, and New Hampshire. Depending on where you are, there will be varying options.

For example, while New Jersey and Pennsylvania only provide options to buy draw game tickets online, states like Georgia and Kentucky provide Keno and exciting online-only instant-win games. These are similar to scratchies and online slots, which are great options considering that online casinos aren’t available in these states.

You’ll be able to watch draws and claim your prizes online, making these a convenient option for everyone. You will need to be over the required minimum age as set in each state to participate.