$50,000,000 Estimated Advertised Annuity Jackpot Cash Value: $22,400,000
$151,000,000 Estimated Advertised Annuity Jackpot Cash Value: $69,300,000
$575,000 Cash Prize
$100,000 Cash Prize
Up To $50,000 Cash Prize
Up To $5,000 Cash Prize
Up To $500 Cash Prize
We're serious about the security and integrity of your play experience. Explore how to do your part in protecting yourself from fraud or theft.
Here are smart habits to adopt when playing our games:
Signing your ticket is single most important thing you can do to protect yourself from theft and demonstrate ownership of the ticket.
Don't forget!
Before playing, familiarize yourself with the rules and winning combinations of your chosen game(s). Find game instructions and information on our website.
Both the Lottery mobile app and the retailer's Customer Display Unit will tell you if your ticket is a winner and how much you have won. If you've won more than $600, the display will direct you to a Lottery office to claim your prize.
If you are unsure about your winnings, ask for a receipt. If you are told your ticket is not a winner, you may request its return. There is no reason for a retailer to keep a non-winning ticket.
If you have any problems or concerns when cashing a winning ticket, contact us immediately for help.
In recent years, email-, social media-, phone-, and letter-based lottery scams have been running rampant. If you get any suspicious correspondence, look out for these warning signs to avoid getting ripped off:
This ploy is to keep you from sharing the information with family members who may help you realize that it’s a scam.
Every legitimate lottery business model requires the payment of prizes from funds collected through ticket sales. Ask yourself: where did the funds come from in order to pay this prize? Did I physically enter this drawing? Remember, there is no such thing as free money!
This is the foundation upon which all scams are based. No legitimate lottery will ever require up-front payment of any kind from winners to claim a prize. Any withholdings owed by the winner are deducted from the prize funds.
Legitimate lotteries do not require players to join a pool in order to play. Also, legitimate lotteries cannot guarantee that your ticket will win a prize. Even if there was a way to “fix the system”, this would be illegal and you would be participating in a serious crime!
Gambling across state lines via the Internet, phone, or mail is illegal.
You should never give credit cards, social security numbers, bank account numbers, or other personal information to anyone promising a lottery prize. If you receive any email scams related to the lottery, delete them immediately or report them to the Attorney General’s office. Download the Lottery’s brochure on Prize Notification Scams or learn more about international lottery scams from the Federal Trade Commission.
Remember that the Lottery will NEVER contact game prize winners directly. Prize winners know they’ve won from looking at their ticket, NOT through an email, letter, or phone call.
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 easiest way is to download the free Louisiana Lottery Official Mobile App. The app allows you to scan the barcode on your draw game or scratch-off ticket to determine whether they are winners and the amount of the win.
The Lottery recommends that players familiarize themselves with all winning combinations of the particular game that they are playing. These can be found on this website and in brochures located in the Lottery's play centers at Lottery retailers.
Finally, retailers can scan your ticket to determine whether it is a winner. Watch the Customer Display Unit when having your ticket checked. It will tell you whether or not your ticket is a winner and, if so, the winning amount. For tickets that win more than $600 (the maximum amount a retailer can cash), the display will direct you to a Lottery office to claim your prize. You can also ask the retailer to provide you with a Validation Receipt confirming the value of your ticket.
Even if you are unsure if your ticket is a winner, it is a good idea to sign it.
Lottery tickets are "bearer" instruments, which means that the Louisiana Lottery Corporation is obligated to pay the holder of a winning ticket presented for payment. The Corporation pays hundreds of prizes every month. It would not be feasible nor appropriate to investigate every winner who claims a Lottery prize. In addition, identification is required only when claiming prizes over $600 at a Lottery office.
The simplest way for players to protect their interests is to sign the back of the ticket at the time of purchase. Anytime the Lottery is presented with a ticket that appears to be altered in any way, we conduct an immediate investigation prior to paying the claim. In fact in 2004, the Lottery was successful in locating the owner of a $100,000 winning ticket which was stolen by a retailer, who was convicted of the crime. In that case, the player had signed the back of the ticket, but his signature was scratched through by the parties attempting to claim it. This triggered an internal investigation which led the Lottery to the player and payment of his prize.
State law specifically prohibits the Lottery from paying a prize more than once. After a winning ticket is claimed, a complainant's only recourse is to pursue the individual believed to have stolen a ticket in a court of law.
Louisiana Lottery tickets must be sold from physical licensed retail locations. By law, tickets cannot be sold by phone, fax, mail or other similar method. Selling Lottery tickets across state or national borders also violates federal law.
Lottery players are encouraged to double check their tickets prior to leaving the store for any discrepancies or inaccuracies. Players are NOT required to purchase a misprinted ticket they do not want, provided they alert the retailer prior to leaving the store. Refunds cannot be issued for scratch-off tickets that have already been scratched or for draw-style game tickets in which the drawing has already occurred. To report a problem or a concern with purchasing a Lottery ticket, please contact us.
Signing the back of your Lottery tickets discourages theft and helps identify the owner of the ticket. The Louisiana Lottery strongly encourages players to sign the back of their tickets as soon as possible after purchasing them and before claiming a prize at a retail location. Even if you are unsure whether the ticket has won a prize, it is still important to sign the back of it for security purposes prior to having the ticket scanned or validated at a retail location. Any alteration to a signature on the back of a winning ticket worth more than $600 prompts a security investigation.
The Lottery is not responsible for lost or stolen tickets. To protect yourself and your winnings, we STRONGLY encourage you to sign the back of your ticket! Lottery tickets are bearer instruments; therefore, without a signature on the back of the ticket, anyone in possession of the ticket can file a claim.
If you are told your ticket is not a winner by a retailer, you may ask for it to be returned to you. If you believe you have won more than you are paid, you may also ask the retailer for a validation receipt to confirm the ticket's winning value. We encourage players to contact us immediately if ever they have a concern about cashing a winning ticket.
