Connecticut Lottery

When the draws take place

Lotto! is drawn twice a week, on Tuesday and Friday nights at around 10:38 p.m. Eastern Time. On draw nights, ticket sales pause at 10:20 p.m. and resume after the draw. Results are posted on the Connecticut Lottery website and app the same night.

How the game works

To play Lotto!, you choose 6 numbers from 1 to 44, or mark Quick Pick to have them chosen at random. Each play costs $1. Match all six numbers to win or share the jackpot, which starts at a minimum of $1 million and rolls over until it is won.

A couple of handy options are available:

Advance Action: play the same numbers for up to 26 future draws in a row, and you get 26 plays for the price of 25.
Replay: hand an old ticket to a retailer to quickly reissue the same numbers for the next draw.

Odds and prizes

Lotto! has four prize tiers. The overall chance of winning any prize is roughly 1 in 39. The two middle tiers are parimutuel, so their values vary from draw to draw, while matching three numbers pays a fixed $2. Here is the breakdown:

Lotto! jackpots roll from their $1 million minimum and have grown into the tens of millions of dollars over the game’s history. Connecticut has also sold some very large multi-state tickets. One of the most famous was a $254.2 million Powerball jackpot won on a ticket sold in Greenwich in 2011, which was claimed by a group of asset managers through a trust.

Connecticut treats winner information as public, so major winners are generally identified rather than kept anonymous, though some claim through a trust or legal entity.

The Connecticut Lottery was established by state law in 1971, and the first tickets went on sale in February 1972. The in-state Lotto game has run for more than three decades, known for years as Classic Lotto before being rebranded simply as Lotto! in 2013. Connecticut added Powerball in 1995, joined Mega Millions in 2010, and helped launch Lucky for Life in 2012.

The lottery is operated by the Connecticut Lottery Corporation, a quasi-public entity created to run the games on behalf of the state, under the oversight of state regulators.

You can play the Connecticut Lottery two main ways:

In-store: from authorized retailers across Connecticut. Fill out a play slip or ask for a Quick Pick. Tickets cannot be bought with a credit card.
Online: Connecticut offers online play through its CT iLottery platform for eligible players located in the state.

You must be 18 or older to play lottery games.

How to claim a prize

How you claim depends on the amount:
Up to $599: redeem at any authorized Connecticut Lottery retailer.
$600 to $5,000: claim at a High-Tier Claim Center or at Lottery headquarters in Wallingford with your signed ticket and two forms of ID.
$50,000 or more: claim in person at the Lottery office. Prizes under $50,000 can also be claimed by mail.

Draw-game tickets must be claimed within 180 days of the drawing.

Taxes on winnings

Connecticut taxes lottery winnings. For any prize over $5,000, the Lottery withholds 24% for federal tax and 6.99% for Connecticut state tax before paying you.

The final federal amount owed can be higher than the sum withheld, depending on your overall income, so professional tax advice is sensible for a large win.

Can you stay anonymous?

Generally, no. Connecticut treats the winner’s name and town as public information, which can be released on request, so most winners are not able to stay completely anonymous.

Some winners take steps to add a layer of privacy, such as claiming a large prize through a trust or other legal entity, but the underlying details can still be subject to disclosure. It is worth seeking legal advice before claiming a major prize if privacy is a priority.