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Looking for a way for the state to generate revenue without increasing taxes, the 1990 Louisiana Legislature approved Act 1045 amending the state's constitution to create a state lottery. Due to its unique operations, the legislature recognized a corporate structure would best suit the Lottery. Voters also liked the idea and passed a constitutional amendment creating the Lottery on Oct. 6, 1990 by a 69 percent to 31 percent margin statewide. The Lottery sold its first scratch-off ticket Sept. 6, 1991. For more information about the Lottery's history, click here.

Louisiana's citizens! The Lottery's mission is to generate maximum revenues for the state of Louisiana, which is the corporation's sole shareholder. Although many Louisiana businesses benefit indirectly from having a state lottery, only the state directly receives LLC profits which amount to 35 percent of its revenue. To date, the Lottery has transferred over $1.8 billion to the state treasury. To view a fact sheet on historical treasury transfers, click here.

Public trust is paramount to the Lottery's success. To ensure the highest level of accountability, the following have varying degrees of oversight over the corporation, including review of its budget and administrative rules and drawings: the Governor of Louisiana, Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget, Senate Judiciary B Committee, House Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice and the Office of the Legislative Auditor.

In addition, the president of the Louisiana Lottery Corporation handles the daily activities involved with running the corporation under the supervision of the LLC's nine-member, governing board of directors. Board members are appointed to staggered terms from each of Louisiana's seven congressional districts and two members are appointed at-large. Each member is appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Louisiana Senate before beginning a four-year term. The state treasurer serves as an exofficio board member.

In addition to an annual "unqualified" opinion from the Office of the Legislative Auditor, the LLC continues to receive recognition from the Government Finance Officers Association for excellence in financial reporting. To view current financial statments, click here.

The state's constitution dictates how Lottery proceeds are to be directed. Effective July 1, 2004, the state constitution provides that Lottery proceeds be dedicated to the Minimum Foundation Program, which funds public education in Louisiana. The dedication was a result of a 2003 constitutional amendment which was passed by voters, 64 percent to 36 percent.

The Lottery is totally self funded, retaining less than 10 percent of its revenue to fund statewide operations including its headquarters, five regional offices, distribution center, technology needs, staffing and ticket printing. According to an efficiency study conducted by TLF Publications, Louisiana ranked second out of 40 jurisdictional lotteries in percentage of revenue transfered to their government and first among lotteries of its size.

Fifty cents of every dollar goes to tens of thousands of Lottery winners every week. Unclaimed prizes are returned to players in the form of increased scratch-offs prizes. Thirty-five cents of every dollar goes to the state treasury, as defined by the Lottery's statute. Ten cents of every dollar is used to operate the Lottery, which is completely self funded. Five cents of every dollar, in addition to incentives and bonuses, is paid as commission to Louisiana businesses who sell Lottery games. To view an illustration of where the money goes, click here.

The legislature's decision to pursue a state lottery was based on a 1989 study indicating expected sales between $129 million and $164 million, which the Louisiana Lottery has far exceeded every year. This is especially noteworthy considering the proliferation of additional, competing gaming venues in Louisiana, which have occurred since the Lottery was created.

The Lottery is the only state-owned form of gaming in Louisiana. According to the State Gaming Revenue Sources and Uses report for 2008, Lottery transfers represents 14.5 percent of total gaming industry proceeds transferred to the state, but the Lottery's share of total state gaming spending is only 4.3 percent. The reason for this difference is the effective tax rate. The Lottery's effective tax rate, which is the share of net revenue after prize expense transferred to the state, is 73.0 percent compared to an effective tax rate of 29.9 percent for video poker, the next highest taxed form of gaming.

Texas and Arkansas have lotteries. Mississippi currently does not have a lottery, although Mississippi does have casinos.

The Lottery employs roughly 140 people, including both full-time and part-time employees in its Baton Rouge headquarters and distribution center, as well as regional offices in New Orleans, Lafayette, Alexandria, Shreveport and Monroe.

Approximately 2,600 businesses throughout Louisiana.

According to state law, Lottery ticket purchasers must be at least 21 years of age. Individuals who sell tickets are required to obtain proof of age through a valid current drivers' license, a state issued ID card, a passport, or military or federal ID containing both a photo and date of birth.

Any person who knowingly sells to a minor can be fined between $100 and $500 for the first offense and $200 to $1,000 for each subsequent offense. Underage purchasers can also be fined not more than $100.

The Lottery's retailer regulations hold retailers responsible for their employees' adherence to this law and retailer contracts can be suspended, revoked or terminated if retailers are found not to be compliant.

Individuals who are at least 21 years of age can give Lottery tickets to a person under the minimum age as a gift, although minors must be accompanied by a legal guardian or a family member who is at least 21 years of age in order to claim a Lottery prize. Underage people can sell Lottery tickets if they meet the minimum employment age of 14 and are employed by a licensed Lottery retailer.

The 21 minimum age requirement to purchase Lottery tickets changed from 18 years of age in 1998 to coincide with the age requirement for other forms of gaming in the state. Louisiana is one of only three states (Arizona and Iowa are the others) that requires Lottery ticket purchasers to be at least 21 years of age. Other states with lotteries have a minimum age requirement of 18. To open a fact sheet on Underage Gambling, click here.

Drawings for Louisiana-based games are conducted at Lottery headquarters in downtown Baton Rouge. They are videotaped and conducted in a special room secured by alarms and motion detectors. Each drawing is conducted using one of two secure automated drawing machines. Automated drawing machines are stand-alone computers that are essentially random number generators. One of three methods in choosing random numbers is used for each of the Lottery's games. These are burned on to the "read only" memory of a microchip. The microchips are secured in the systems' central processing unit, and a protective seal makes tampering impossible. Access to the room and machines is reliant upon a dual key and password system from a Lottery drawing official and a legislative auditor.

The public is welcome to attend any drawing, but must reserve a seat by contacting the Lottery during regular business hours. Prior to each drawing, the drawing method and machine are randomly selected. Drawings are held everyday around 9:30 p.m., Central Standard Time, with the exception of Christmas Day and Easter Sunday. All ticket sales are verified before the drawing.

Powerball, the Lottery's multistate game, is conducted live at 9:59 p.m., Central Standard Time, on Wednesdays and Saturdays by the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) in Orlando, Fla.

After both drawings are conducted, the official winning numbers generated by the system are transmitted to Louisiana Public Broadcasting, WLPB, for satellite relay to all participating television stations and are faxed to state and local news media. The Lottery also posts the winning numbers on its website following the drawings that night.

The Louisiana Lottery discontinued live drawings for its draw-style games in 1998, ahead of a current industry trend toward automated drawings. There were several factors that contributed to the decision to convert to the automated drawing process now being used. Producing live drawings is extremely cost-prohibitive. The Lottery's need to soundly manage its operating costs outweighs the entertainment value that live drawings provide. Secondly, the Lottery does not pay television stations to carry the Lottery's winning numbers broadcast. With up to five different drawings being conducted nightly, airing live drawings would require a significant increase in air time from participating television stations who could otherwise sell the time to advertisers. Finally, automated drawings have proven more secure and less prone to human error than live drawings.

The Louisiana Lottery discontinued live drawings for its draw-style games in 1998, ahead of a current industry trend toward automated drawings. There were several factors that contributed to the decision to convert to the automated drawing process now being used. Producing live drawings is extremely cost-prohibitive. The Lottery's need to soundly manage its operating costs outweighs the entertainment value that live drawings provide. Secondly, the Lottery does not pay television stations to carry the Lottery's winning numbers broadcast. With up to five different drawings being conducted nightly, airing live drawings would require a significant increase in air time from participating television stations who could otherwise sell the time to advertisers. Finally, automated drawings have proven more secure and less prone to human error than live drawings.

Lotto: Wednesday and Saturday nights at 9:59 p.m., except Christmas Day.

Easy 5: Wednesday and Saturday nights at 9:59 p.m., except Christmas Day.

Louisiana Powerball: Wednesday and Saturday at 9:59 p.m.

Pick 3 & Pick 4: Daily at 9:59 p.m., except Easter Sunday and Christmas Day.

There are no Louisiana-based drawings on Christmas Day or Easter. Drawings for the multistate game, Powerball, will be conducted should Christmas fall on a Wednesday or Saturday.

Tickets must be purchased by 9:00 p.m. on the draw date for Powerball and by 9:30 p.m. on the draw date for Pick 3, Pick 4, Lotto and Easy 5 to be eligible for that drawing.

1. The Lottery Show. Television stations across Louisiana broadcast winning numbers nightly at 9:59 p.m. For a complete list of stations, click here.
2. Your Lottery Retailer. A winning numbers report for the most immediate and recent drawings can be obtained from your Lottery retailer.
3. The Lottery's Web site. You can check winning numbers often as soon as 30 minutes following the drawing, but sometimes as late as midnight, depending on the number of drawings that occur that evening. Winning information goes through an extensive verification process before being posted to the Web site. Winning information for all drawings that have taken place in the past is also available here.
4. Winning Number's Hotline: 1-800-735-5825.

The winning numbers or results of each Louisiana Lottery game drawing are broadcast at 9:59 p.m on the following television stations.

Station	Channel	City
KALB	5	Alexandria
Cox Cable	4 Rebroadcasts on channel 57 betwen 24 and 26 minutes after the hour and between 45 and 50 minutes after the hour.	Baton Rouge
Cox Cable	4	Lafayette
KVHP	29	Lake Charles
KARD/FOX 14	14	Monroe
WVUE/FOX 8	8	New Orleans
KTAL	6	Shreveport

Once you know what winning numbers were drawn or have finished scratching your scratch-off, there are several different ways to find out whether your ticket is a winner and if so, how much you have won. The Lottery recommends that players familiarize themselves with all of the winning combinations of the particular game that they are playing. These can be found on all the game pages of this Web site. Also, "How to Play" brochures, located in the Lottery's play centers at Lottery retailers describe how each drawing game is won. Finally, your Lottery retailer can scan your tickets to tell how much you have won and provide you with a Validation Receipt if your ticket is not a winner. Even if you are unsure if your ticket is a winner, it is a good idea to sign it.

It depends on the amount won:

Prize	How to Claim
$600 or less	Lottery retailer, any Lottery office, Lottery headquarters or by mail.
More than $600	Any Lottery office, headquarters or by mail. (Social Security # and copy of photo ID required.)
Lotto Jackpots & Powerball prizes >$510,000	Lottery headquarters in Baton Rouge. Call 1-800-735-5825 for information first. If out of state, call 225-297-2003.

For more detailed information about what is required to process your claim, click here.

Winning Pick 3 and Pick 4 tickets can be claimed following the draw break for that drawing. Winning tickets for Easy 5, Powerball and Lotto can be claimed as soon as the Lottery terminal system come on-line at 5 a.m. the morning after the drawing. Remember only winning tickets worth up to $600 can be paid at retailer locations.