Game | Winning Numbers | Details |
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Mega Millions |
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Powerball |
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Lotto America |
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Montana Cash |
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Big Sky Bonus |
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Lucky For Life |
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Powerball Double Play |
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Montana Lottery Drawing Schedule
All times shown are Mountain Time (GMT-7:00)Game | Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
Montana Cash | 20:00 | 20:00 | |||||
Big Sky Bonus | 19:30 | 19:30 | 19:30 | 19:30 | 19:30 | 19:30 | 19:30 |
Lotto America | 20:15 | 20:15 | 20:15 | ||||
Lucky for Life | 20:38 | 20:38 | 20:38 | 20:38 | 20:38 | 20:38 | 20:38 |
Powerball | 20:59 | 20:59 | 20:59 | ||||
Powerball Double Play
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20:59 | 20:59 | 20:59 | ||||
Mega Millions | 21:00 | 21:00 |
About the Montana Lottery
The Montana Lottery took longer to start than most state lotteries. While a bill introducing a state lottery was created in the Montana legislature, it didn’t pass. Montana citizens had to wait a year until they could vote on the measure through a referendum. With 69% of the vote, the Montana Lottery started in 1986 and sold its first ticket in June 1987.
Like some state lotteries (e.g., Kansas, South Dakota, and Washington), the Montana Lottery contributes most of its profits to the state’s general fund. Since 2015, part of the generated funds are also reserved for STEM scholarships at Montana colleges and universities.
The Montana Lottery is entirely self-funded and has generated over $259 million for the state. It has also paid out a total of over $590 million in prizes since its inception.
Montana Lottery Tickets
You can buy Montana Lottery tickets at any of the authorized retailers all over the state.
Can I buy MT Lottery tickets online?
No, you must go to a retailer to buy Montana Lottery tickets. Fortunately, you can speed up the process by filling out electronic playslips through the Montana Lottery Players’ Club app and printing these out at your preferred retailer.
Like most states, Montana forbids the sale of tickets through the internet, over the phone, or by fax and mail.
MT Lottery Tickets Payment Methods
Like most state lotteries (like Louisiana and Arkansas), the Montana Lottery doesn’t allow players to buy tickets on credit. This means you can’t use credit cards to buy your tickets. Depending on the retailer, however, you may be able to use debit cards as alternatives to cash.
Montana Lottery Games and Drawing Schedules
Lucky for Life
Montana is among the 20+ states that participate in Lucky for Life, including Maine, Colorado, and Connecticut.
Players must select 5 numbers from 1-48 and a Lucky Ball number from 1-18. If you match all 6 winning numbers, you’ll win the jackpot, which is $1,000 a day for life. Meanwhile, matching all 5 regular numbers but not the Lucky Ball will get you the second prize, which is $25,000 a year for life.
Lucky for Life draws take place every Monday and Thursday.
Lotto America
Montana also participates in Lotto America, another multi-state draw game. The Lotto America jackpot starts at $2 million and rolls over each draw until somebody wins.
To play, you must select 5 numbers from 1-52 and another number (the Star Ball digit) from 1-10. You must match all six winning draw numbers to get the jackpot prize. You may also pay an additional $1 to activate the Star Ball Bonus, which multiplies any prize you win (except the jackpot) by the multiplier drawn for the day.
Lotto America draws are held every Wednesday and Saturday.
Montana Cash
Montana Cash is a twice-weekly draw game with a starting jackpot of $40,000 that rolls over for every draw where nobody wins. To play, you must select 5 numbers from 1-45. You must match all 5 winning draw numbers to hit the jackpot.
Montana draws are held every Wednesday and Saturday.
Big Sky Bonus
The Montana Lottery’s Big Sky Bonus is a daily draw game with a statewide progressive jackpot. To play, you must select 4 numbers from 1-28 and another number (called the Bonus Number) from 1-17. To win the progressive jackpot, your 4 regular numbers must match the winning set drawn for the day. You can also win a fixed prize of $10 by matching the Bonus Number.
Notable Winners of Montana Lotteries
Here are some of the Montana Lottery’s notable winners for 2018 and 2019:
- Jodi Hendershot of Great Falls hit the Big Sky Bonus jackpot and took home $9,262
- Debra Parrish of Eureka won $17,589 playing Big Sky Bonus
- Michelle Lapp of Columbia Falls started 2019 with a $25,170 win playing Big Sky Bonus
- Anna Fisher of Billings won $160,001 playing Montana Cash
Scratch-off games have also seen many big wins:
- Dwight Jones of Hamilton won $175,000 playing Break the Bank
- Mary Jackson of Billings won $70,000 playing Lucky Every Day
- Michael Schilling of Kalispell won $150,000 playing 50X
- Lisa Romig of Great Falls ended 2018 with a $75,000 win on a Double Cash Doubler ticket
Montana Lottery Instant Games
Montana Lottery Scratch-Off Instant Games
Like many state lotteries, the Montana Lottery runs multiple simultaneous scratch-off instant games at a variety of prices:
- $1
- $2
- $3
- $5
- $10
- $20
Prizes run up to $500,000 depending on the game you play.
Montana Lottery Millionaire Raffle
The Montana Lottery also runs an annual millionaire raffle. These work like regular draw games, only with a limited number of tickets (150,000 tickets for the 2018 game). The Montana Lottery holds two early-bird drawings leading up to the Grand Prize drawing at the end of the year or when tickets have run out, whichever comes first. Several hundred tickets are also randomly chosen to win smaller instant prizes throughout the raffle periods.
Montana Lottery Sports Action Games
The Montana Lottery also offers two large-scale fantasy sports game: football and racing. These are statewide fantasy leagues for their respective sports. Players can participate through their nearest Montana Sports Action retailer.
Montana Lottery Second Chances
What is Second Chance?
Second chance games give you another shot at winning new prizes with your non-winning draw game tickets or scratch cards. Which tickets are eligible, the frequency of second-chance draws and the prizes on offer all depend on the lottery operator.
To learn more, check out our article on second chance games.
How does Second Chance work for the MT Lottery?
The Montana Lottery runs two kinds of games, both exclusive to Player’s Club members. Bonus Play games are weekly and monthly drawings, and you can enter any tickets printed with Bonus Play webcodes or your Player’s Club credits. Prizes for these drawings change periodically. There are also the more typical second-chance promotions, which are limited-time drawings for a shifting array of games.
Player’s Club registration is free and can be done online through the Montana Lottery website.
Information on the Montana Lottery
Montana Lottery Headquarters
You can visit the Montana Lottery Headquarters at 2525 North Montana Avenue, Helena, MT 59601-0598.
Montana Lottery Customer Support
You can contact the Montana Lottery through:
Montana Lottery HQ: (406) 444-5825 or (406) 444-9642(TTY)
Email: [email protected]
Montana Lottery Social Accounts
You can get news and information through the Montana Lottery’s official social media accounts:
Montana Lottery Apps and Technology
The Montana Lottery has dedicated Android and iOS mobile apps. You can’t play games directly through the app, but you can create and save electronic playslips that you can scan to print at your nearest retailer. Other features include:
- Scan and enter Bonus Play codes for Montana Lottery Players’ Club drawings
- Check winning numbers and jackpots
- Find nearby retailers based on your location