New Jersey FAQs
Although playing the lottery is usually fun, it can also be very confusing. Especially with so many games on offer, each of them with their own rules. Below you can find some of the most frequently asked questions along with their answers. From learning how to claim your prizes to discovering more about the available games.
Powerball draws are held three times per week, every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday evening at 10:59 pm EST.
In order to enter Powerball, you must select five main numbers between 1 and 69, as well as a red Powerball number from 1 to 26. You also have the Power Play and Double play options which you can add to your ticket.
The Powerball page explains the rules of playing in greater detail.
You need to get your Powerball tickets before 9:59 pm on the day of the draw.
You need to get your Powerball tickets before 9:59 pm on the day of the draw.
For a single Powerball entry, you need to pay $2. The Power Play and Double Play options each cost an extra $1 each.
Yes, you are able to use the same set of numbers for up to 39 consecutive drawings. Simply mark the 'Multi-Draw' box if you want to play Powerball in advance.
If you choose the Power Play option, you have a chance to increase your non-jackpot prizes by x2, x3, x4, x5 or x10 times, depending on the Power Play number drawn.
The Powerball page explains how this option words.
Double Play is an extra which can bring you prizes up to $10 million for an additional $1. A Double Play draw is held right after the main draw, giving you the opportunity to win big.
Take a look at the Powerball page to find out more about Double Play.
The Powerball jackpot starts at $20 million and rolls over until someone matches all the winning numbers.
The Powerball jackpot can often reach billions as there is no rollover limit and no jackpot cap. The grand prize keeps on rolling until it is won.
The largest Powerball first prize was won on November 7, 2022 by a Californian player. The amount was $2.04 billion and it was reached after 40 rollovers. The jackpot was claimed by Edwin Castro, who took the cash option of $997.6 million.
Although not even close to the amount mentioned above, the biggest Powerball jackpot ever won in New Jersey was worth $427 million. It was claimed by the Smith family from Trenton, Mercer County. You can read more about this win and other impressive prizes won in the Garden State on the New Jersey Lottery Winners page.
Mega Millions take place two days per week, on Tuesday and Friday evenings at 11:00 pm ET.
If you want to play Mega Millions, you need to choose five main numbers from 1 to 70. You must also pick a Mega Ball from 1 to 25.
Learn more about entering Mega Millions here.
In New Jersey, ticket sales close at 10:45pm, so you must purchase your tickets before that deadline.
You need to pay $2 per play. You can also add the Megaplier extra for an additional $1. If you're in the game for the jackpot only, the Just the Jackpot option will cost you only $3 for two lines.
Yes, there is a 'Multi Draw' Option which allows you to enter up to eight consecutive drawings.
With the Megaplier option, you can boost your non-jackpot winnings by 2X, 3X, 4X, or 5X times. It costs $1 to add it to your Mega Millions ticket.
The starting amount of the Mega Millions jackpot is $20 million.
Luckily, no. The Mega Millions grand prize can roll over until a player (or more) manages to match all the winning numbers.
The largest Mega Millions jackpot was worth $1.6 billion and it was won on August 8, 2023 by Saltines Holdings, LLC. The big prize went to Florida as the ticket was sold at a Publix in Neptune Beach. The winners took the cash option of $794.2 million.
Here in New Jersey, the biggest Mega Millions first prize is also the fifth-largest in the history of the game. A single ticket holder matched all the numbers and won the impressive $1.13 billion amount. Many big prizes were won in the Garden State and we've listed some of them on this page.
The overall odds of winning a Mega Millions prize are 1 in 24. If you've got your eyes on the jackpot, you need to beat the 1 in 302,575,350 odds. You can check the odds for every prize, including Megaplier, on the Mega Millions page.
Pick 6 draws take place twice every week, on Monday and Thursday evenings at approximately 10:57 pm EST.
If you want to play Pick 6, you must pick six numbers between 1 and 46. You can also add the Double Play option.
Discover how the game works on the Pick 6 page.
You need to purchase your tickets before the 10:53 pm deadline on the day of the draw.
The price of a ticket is $2 per play.
Double Play is an extra option you can add to your Pick 6 ticket and which gives you a chance to win up to $250,000 in cash. The Double Play draw takes place after the main Pick 6 draw. Adding Double Play to your ticket will cost you an additional $1 more per play.
Yes, the 'Multi Draw' option allows you to enter up to 26 consecutive draws.
The starting amount of the Pick 6 jackpot is $2 million.
No, the Pick 6 grand prize will keep on rolling over until someone matches all six winning numbers.
The overall odds of winning a Pick 6 prize are 1 in 44.70. The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 9,366,819.
Cash 5 draws take place daily, at approximately 10:57 pm EST.
Entering Cash 5 can be done by choosing five numbers between 1 and 45. There are a couple of options you could add to boost your winnings, namely XTRA and Instant Match.
A more in-depth guide for Cash 5 can be found here.
You are able to purchase your tickets until 10:53 pm EST.
You need to pay $1 per line. Adding the XTRA or Instant Match options would cost you an extra $1 for each.
XTRA allows players a chance to increase their non-jackpot prizes by up to five times. The XTRA numbers draw works as a multiplier for the prizes in lower tiers. For example, if the XTRA number is two, the amount of your non-jackpot prize would be doubled.
With Instant Match, you can win up to $500 instantly. When choosing this option, you get a ticket with three Instant Match numbers. If you match any of these numbers with any of your chosen numbers for Cash 5, you win a prize on the spot!
Yes. You can enter up to 21 consecutive draws.
The Cash 5 jackpot starts at $100,000.
No, the jackpot rolls over until it is won.
The odds of winning any Cash 5 prize are approximately 1 in 153, without the XTRA option. The odds of winning the first prize are 1 in 1,221,759.
Cash for Life draws are held every day at 9:00 pm EST, here in Lawrenceville, New Jersey.
If you want to enter Cash for Life, you have to select five numbers from 1 to 60, as well as a Cash Ball numbers from 1 to 4.
The ticket sales stop at 8:45 pm EST.
The price of a ticket is $2 per line.
Yes, the 'Multi Draw' option allows you to enter the same set of numbers for up to 28 consecutive drawings.
The Cash for Life first prize is $1,000 per day for life and you can win it by matching the winning five main numbers plus the Cash Ball.
The odds of winning a Cash for Life prize are 1 in 8. However, the odds of winning the top prize are 1 in 21,846,048.
In New Jersey, Cash Pop drawings take place once every four minutes.
Cash Pop is one of the easiest games to play as you only need to pick one number from 1 to 15.
You can learn more about the game on the Cash Pop page.
They start at 5:06 am and go until 1:31 am.
There is a variety of wager amounts: $1, $2, $5 or $10.
Yes, you can enter Cash Pop for up to 20 consecutive draws.
You could win up to $2,500 for a $10 wager if you match the winning number.
The odds of winning are different for each type of wager. You can explore them on the Cash Pop page.
Pick 3 draws happen twice every day. The Midday draw takes place at approximately 12:59 pm EST. The Evening draw is held at approximately 10:57 pm EST.
If you want to get involved in the Pick 3 game, you need to pick three numbers between 0 and 9.
For the Midday draw, you need to get your tickets before 12:53 pm. For the Evening draw, the deadline is 10:53 pm.
The cost to play costs between $0.50 and $5.
The Fireball option gives you extra chances to win by replacing one of the Pick 3 numbers with the Fireball number drawn. Adding it to your ticket will double the cost of your wagers.
Instant Match gives you the chance to win up to $500 instantly. You need to pay an extra $1 in order to add it to your ticket.
Yes, the 'Multi Draw' option allows you to enter up to seven draws for up to seven days.
The maximum prize for a $1 bet would be $500 and you could win it by choosing these play types: Straight, Wheel: 3-Way and Wheel: 6-Way.
As there are several play types, there are different odds for each of them. You can check them out on the Pick 3 page.
Pick 4 draws are held twice daily. There is a Midday draw which is held at 12:59 pm and an Evening draw at 10:57 pm.
To enter Pick 4, you must select four numbers between 0 and 9.
The ticket sales close at 12:53 pm for the Midday draw and 10:53 pm for the Evening draw.
The great think about this game is that you can choose how much you spend. You can wager from $0.50 to $5.
Fireball can increase your chances of winning. When a Fireball number is drawn, you can use it to replace one of your Pick 4 numbers in order to create a winning combination. Adding this option to your ticket will double the amount of your wager.
Win up to $500 instantly by adding the Instant Match extra! This feature costs an additional $1 per play.
Yes, you can enter the same set of numbers in up to seven draws for up to seven days.
The biggest prize you could win is $2,500.
The odds of winning are different for each play type. We recommend checking out the Pick 4 page to get a comprehensive look at the odds of winning.
You can take your ticket to the nearest authorizes lottery retailer to check if you won a prize. If you don't want to make a trip to the store, we have an online ticket checker. that is easy to use.
Congratulations are in order if you indeed won a prize! Before you start planning how to spend it, make sure your ticket is valid. If it is, then you can start the claiming process.
Prizes up to $599.99 can be claimed at any New Jersey Lottery retailer.
Prizes over $599.99 can be claimed at a retailer or at the New Jersey Lottery Headquarters. You will need to fill out a claim form.
You can also claim by mail. You need to sign the back of your ticket, complete a claim form, and send them to: New Jersey Lottery, Attn: Validations, P.O. Box 041, Trenton, NJ 08625-0041.
For more information, please visit our How to Claim page.
Yes, New Jersey is one of the few states which allows its winners to stay away from the public eye. Although you can remain anonymous, in order to be able to file a claim, you need to present proper identification. This is for internal processing purposes and for reporting to the IRS.
Another alternative is claiming your prize through a trust or another type of legal construct.
YYou need to claim your New Jersey Lottery prizes within one year from the date of the drawing. For scratch-offs, you must claim the prize within one year of the end of the game.
The New Jersey Lottery is improving their claims and payments process. Currently, the claiming process takes between four and six weeks from the time they receive your claim.
After the claiming period had passed, unclaimed prizes are forfeited. A minimum of 30% returns to the state as revenue. More recently, the New Jersey Lottery has returned most of the amount to the state as revenue and only kept around 10%. The amount they keep is used for funding special prizes or promotions.
The short answer is yes. The long answer is as follows: the federal law requires the New Jersey Lottery to keep 24% from any prize with an amount over $5,000. If you win over $600 and you do not provide a taxpayer identification or social security number, you will need to pay 30% tax.
For prizes between $10,000 and $500,000, you will also need to pay the 5% state tax. For prizes larger than $500,000, the state tax is 8%. This 8% tax also applies to winners of prizes with an amount over $10,000, who do not provide a taxpayer identification or social security number.
At the end of the financial year, a Form W2-G report will also be sent out to you.
We recommend getting in touch with a tax advisor as this can vary greatly from case to case.
First of all, you cannot win a prize if you did not enter the lottery. And if something sounds too good to be true, it most probably is. Moreover, legitimate lottery providers would not contact you to advise you have won a prize. If you win a prize, you need to contact the lottery yourself in order to be able to claim it. The lottery never asks for money so you can claim your prize.
Do not provide any of your personal information such as full name, home address, phone number and, most importantly, bank account details.
If you believe you are the victim of a scam, we recommend that you report it as soon as possible to the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-FTC-HELP.
Our website covers the archives of all available games in the Garden State. Simply visit the game's page from the navigation menu, tap the 'Payouts' or the 'More Results' button, then scroll and tap the 'Past Results' button. You will then be taken to that game's archive page, where you can choose the year you wish to check out.
Second Chance is a promotion run by the New Jersey Lottery that gives VIP Club members the chance to re-enter their non-winning tickets or scratch-offs and win great prizes.
You can read more about this promotion on the Second Chance page.
Over $42 billion in prizes had been awarded so far since 1970 when the New Jersey Lottery was launched. A contribution of $28 billion has been made to the state in order to protect the retirement benefits of crucial people within the community such as teachers, firefighters, police officers, and others.
The New Jersey Lottery often organizes a 'Where the Money Goes Tour' to share their mission with the residents and improve their lives.