New York Lotto – Online Lottery Review

The New York Lotto is a decent lottery game from the New York Lottery that offers some great prizes. Although it isn’t among the most prominent American lotteries like Mega Millions or the Powerball, this game still has some staggering jackpot sums like the $58 million jackpot. If you were thinking of trying your luck with the game, it’s essential to know all the details, odds of winnings, and maximum prizes that you could win with each prize tier.

So, with that said, let’s start with the history of the lotto first.

The New York Lotto History

On November 8, 1966, there was an idea proposed to form a lottery in order to fund educational programs across the state. This was a referendum that passed with over 60% in favor, authorizing a government-run lottery. This constitutional amendment enabled government officials to form the New York lottery in order to aid or support education with the revenue after the prizes are paid out.

The New York Lottery

Therefore, by 1967, the New York Legislature was able to create a separate division in charge of the lottery game within the Department of Taxation and Finance. This New York Lottery Gaming Commission fully controls and operates the administration under the New York State Lottery for Education Law. Back then, the New York Lottery only gave winners the possibility to get a lump-sum payment instead of today’s option of annuity payout; hence the prize pool was considerably decreased in comparison to today’s prizes and payouts.

Since the beginning, the slogan of the New York Lotto was “Your Chance of a Lifetime to Help Education.” Since then, it has generated over $34 billion and the New York Lottery has aided educational projects significantly, apart from the significant sums they have paid out to winners from the bet sales.

Now, there may be people who aren’t that fond of lotteries funding initiatives like this, and players sometimes tend to favor those that commit a more significant percentage to prizes. However, it is a fact that many people salute this New York Lottery initiative since the beginning, and they support it by buying bets regularly.

New York Lotto Draw Time

The New York Lotto has two draws per week, on Wednesday and Saturday each week. Having two draws per week significantly increases the odds of winning and the jackpots that roll over when not won. Here is how to play and win at the New York Lotto.

How to Play the New York Lotto

A $1 ticket gives you the chance to play two games at the New York Lotto. This is one of the most reasonably priced and affordable lotteries, and as such, it is definitely worth playing and trying your luck for the big jackpots. The Mega Millions and the Powerball, for instance, are much pricier although they come at a much unfavorable chance of winning.

The New York Lottery has made the gameplay format very simple. Once you buy your bet, you have to pick six numbers from the pool of 1 to 59. There is a bonus number that is drawn from the same number pool and only comes into play for the second-tier prize.

With the addition of the bonus ball, if someone misses matching all six numbers for the jackpot, their chances for the second-tier prize are increased. This is a very favorable addition that enables people to win outstanding amounts even if they missed their shot of the jackpot.

The Odds of Winning at New York Lotto

The New York Lotto is consistent with its prizes, and the jackpot does build to some of the amazing prizes we see won regularly. If a player wins the jackpot, they have sixty days to inform the New York Lottery whether they want it as a lump-sum payment or a 25-year annuity.

Here are all the prizes you can win, along with the odds of winning and the numbers needed to match.

If the player matches six numbers correctly, they win the jackpot, which is approx. 75% of the prize fund. The odds of winning the first-tier prize are 1 in 22,528,737.

For the second prize tier, a player has 1 in 3,754,789.50 odds of winning, and the estimated amount comes to 7.25% of the prize fund. In order to win this, the player has to match five numbers of those drawn plus the additional bonus ball.

In the fourth prize tier, the players can win up to 6.25% of the prize fund. The sum depends on the revenuer of the bet sales for each draw for all the prize tiers. In order to win this, the players have to match five numbers, and the chances of winning are 1 in 72,207.49.

The fifth prize tier gets a player 6% of the prize fund with 1 in 1,089.92 odds of winning. The players have to match four numbers of the six. For the sixth tier prize, a player has to match three numbers and will get 5% of the prize fund. The chances of winning the last tier are 1 in 48.08.

New York Lotto Taxes

If you are a foreign national, not coming from the United States, you are subject to both state and federal taxes, just like US residents. However, higher federal taxes apply to foreigners who win at the New York Lotto, which is 6% for the state taxes and 30% for the federal taxes.

US nationals that win the jackpot at the New York lotto still have to pay the 6% for the state taxes, but they pay about 20% on the federal tax.

Additionally, for any foreign players, we advise you to check your country’s lottery tax regulations so that you avoid any unpleasant surprises or even fines. Different rules and regulations may apply depending on your country’s lottery laws. This is best done even before starting to play a foreign lottery.

New York Lotto Scams

Although this is a legitimate, government-run, and controlled lottery game, the New York Lottery still cannot stop all the scammers that try to fool people into thinking they had won. The scams usually involve a request for payments from the “winners” in order for them to get the money they had allegedly won. Of course, no one ever gets paid, and people risk sharing their personal and banking data with unknown third parties. So, you have to be extra careful when you receive an email telling you that you had won a certain amount of money.

Customer Support at New York Lotto

The New York State Lottery operates the NY lotto. So, if you have any concerns, appeals, or questions regarding the lottery app or the gameplay, you should contact them directly. You can reach them by filling out an online form on their website, through telephone, or snail mail. Unfortunately, they do not have a direct online chat or email address, but they do respond quickly so, you should not have any problems reaching them during the EST time zone.

The New York State Lotto Bottom Line

All in all, the NY Lotto is a great lottery by the NY Lottery with decent odds of winning. Since this is a lottery that supports the educational system, only 40% of the revenue goes to the prize, while the rest is donated to education aid programs.

This way, by playing the NY Lotto you can feel good about yourself because you are supporting a good cause while still playing the numbers to win big.