Lotto America Draw Timeline
Use this draw timeline for Lotto America to find out the schedule of events around each drawing. Learn when you need to buy your tickets, what time the draw takes place, the procedure behind the selection of the numbers, and what time the full results are announced.
Drawing days are Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. Here's a rundown of what happens on draw nights, although you should remember that the exact timings may be subject to change. All the times on the Draw Timeline are shown in Eastern Time.
Ticket Sales Close
The only way to be in with a chance of winning a Lotto America prize is to have a valid ticket for that particular drawing. You need to make sure you enter before the cut-off time in your state. The deadline for each state is shown below and is usually around an hour before draw time.
- Delaware - 9:45pm ET
- Idaho - 7:55pm MT
- Iowa - 8:59pm CT
- Kansas – 8:59pm CT
- Maine – 9:30pm ET
- Minnesota – 9pm CT
- Montana – 8pm MT
- New Mexico – 8pm MT
- North Dakota – 8:58pm CT
- Oklahoma – 8:59pm CT
- South Dakota – 9:00pm CT
- Tennessee – 9:00pm CT
- West Virginia – 9:59pm CT
10:15pm - The Drawing
The Lotto America drawing takes place at 10:15pm Eastern Time (9:15pm Central Time/8:15pm Mountain Time) on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. It is held in Johnston, Iowa, having previously taken place in Florida until April 2023.
The drawing follows a different process to Powerball or Mega Millions, using a digital system which sees the winning numbers generated at random, instead of a mechanical ball machine. The draw is still subject to rigorous security procedures, with the room used under constant audio and video surveillance. An independent auditors is always present, while the draw system is regularly tested to ensure it is producing random results and cannot be accessed remotely.
The draw itself consists of multiple stages. The All Star Bonus multiplier is randomly selected first. The five main balls are drawn from a pool of 52, followed by the Star Ball from a pool of 10.
Find Out If You're a Winner
Once the drawing has taken place, the results are published on the Lotto America Payouts page. You can see the winning numbers to find out how many you have matched. All of the prize amounts are fixed, apart from the jackpot, so you can tell the value of any prizes straight away. If you've matched the Star Ball without any of the main numbers, for example, you've won $2. If you've matched all five main numbers without the Star Ball, a $20,000 payout is due. The next step is to claim your prize before the deadline in your state.
The full list of prize payouts is only released in the hours after a drawing, as it takes some time for the results to be processed. Each state lottery discloses how many winners they have had in each prize level. If the jackpot has not been won, the estimated value of the grand prize for the next drawing will also be announced, based on predicted ticket sales.
