Colorado Lottery

When the draws take place

Colorado Lotto+ is drawn three times a week, on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at approximately 7:35 p.m. Mountain Time. Ticket sales pause briefly around the draw. Results are posted right away on the Colorado Lottery website and app.

How the game works

To play, you choose 6 numbers from 1 to 40, or ask for a Quick Pick. Each ticket costs $2 and comes printed with a random multiplier of 2X, 3X, 4X or 5X. That multiplier is applied to any non-jackpot prize you win, so the lower tiers always pay more than their base amount.

Match all six numbers to win or share the jackpot, which starts at $1 million and grows until it is hit.

For an extra $1 you can add Plus, which enters your same numbers into a second drawing held right after the main one, with a top prize of $250,000. Any wins from both drawings are combined. You can buy tickets for up to 13 weeks (39 drawings) in advance.

Odds and prizes

Colorado Lotto+ has four prize tiers. The overall chance of winning any prize is 1 in 30. The base prizes below are then multiplied by the 2X to 5X figure printed on your ticket (the multiplier does not apply to the jackpot).

Jackpot winners can choose a cash lump sum, worth roughly half the advertised jackpot, or an annuity paid in 25 graduated annual installments. If more than one ticket matches all six numbers, the jackpot is shared.

Colorado Lotto+ jackpots regularly build into the millions and have climbed into the tens of millions of dollars when the top prize goes unclaimed for a long run of draws. Colorado has also sold large Powerball and Mega Millions tickets over the years, with those multi-state jackpots reaching into the hundreds of millions.

Under Colorado’s open-records rules, the state publishes limited details about jackpot winners, so the biggest winners are usually identified by first name, last initial and hometown rather than left fully anonymous.

The Colorado Lottery sold its first tickets in 1983, with Scratch games, and later added draw games. The in-state Lotto game launched in 1989 and became a Colorado staple. In 2019 it was relaunched as Colorado Lotto+, adding the built-in multiplier and the Plus second-draw feature that define the game today.

From the start, the lottery was set up to fund the outdoors. Its proceeds flow to programs that protect and improve Colorado’s parks, rivers, trails and open spaces, and the lottery reports having returned more than $4.6 billion to the state for these purposes.

You buy Colorado Lottery tickets in person:

In-store: from thousands of licensed retailers across Colorado, and from lottery vending machines. Fill out a playslip or ask for a Quick Pick.
Colorado Lotto+ jackpots regularly build into the millions and have climbed into the tens of millions of dollars when the top prize goes unclaimed for a long run of draws. Colorado has also sold large Powerball and Mega Millions tickets over the years, with those multi-state jackpots reaching into the hundreds of millions.
Under Colorado’s open-records rules, the state publishes limited details about jackpot winners, so the biggest winners are usually identified by first name, last initial and hometown rather than left fully anonymous.
Colorado does not sell draw tickets online. The MyLottery account and mobile app let you check numbers and get alerts, but you still buy the ticket from a retailer.

You must be 18 or older to buy a ticket.

How to claim a prize

How you claim depends on the amount:

$599 or less: collect from many retailers, or mail your signed ticket to the Colorado Lottery in Pueblo.
$600 or more: bring your signed ticket and photo ID to one of the four Lottery claim centers, start a claim online, or mail it in.

Sign the back of your ticket, and note that all prizes must be claimed within 180 days of the drawing. Jackpot winners have 60 days after validating the ticket to switch from the annuity to the cash option.

Taxes on winnings

Colorado taxes lottery winnings. For prizes of $5,001 or more, the Lottery withholds 28% up front (24% federal plus 4% Colorado state). For nonresidents or foreign nationals, the withholding is 34% (30% federal plus 4% state).

The final federal bill can be higher than the amount withheld, depending on your total income, so it is worth speaking to a tax professional for a large win.

Can you stay anonymous?

Not fully. Under the Colorado Open Records Act, the Lottery is required to release a winner’s first name, last initial, hometown, the amount won and the game played. That information is posted online and provided to the media on request.

Some elements are optional: having your photo taken and taking part in publicity are up to you. But your basic details are public record, so Colorado does not offer complete anonymity. Winners who want more privacy sometimes seek legal advice about claiming through a trust or other entity.