Florida Lottery - Quick Pick

The Florida Lottery is one of the most lucrative single-state lottery systems in the United States with numerous on-line and scratch-off games offering players a wide variety of prize levels.

The minimum age to purchase a Florida Lottery ticket, regardless of game, is 18.

On January 4, 2009, Florida joined the Powerball game; its double matrix was changed to accommodate Powerball's most-populous member. It is drawn at Universal Studios in Orlando.

Cash 3 is drawn every day during a live broadcast at 1:30 p.m. ET for the midday drawing, and 7:57 p.m. ET for the evening drawing.. Three ball machines, each with balls numbered ranging from 0 through 9 are used. One ball is drawn from each machine.

Anyone who matches the three numbers (in any order, or only in order, depending on how exactly the numbers are played; Cash 3 and Play 4 offer several different options when playing) they are drawn wins a guaranteed US$500 jackpot.

All Cash 3, Play 4, and Fantasy 5 jackpot winners receive their winnings as a one-time, lump-sum payment. Any winnings of less than US$600 may be redeemed at an authorized Florida Lottery retailer; higher winnings must be redeemed at a Lottery district office or at Lottery headquarters in Tallahassee.

All Mega Money and Florida Lotto jackpots of more than US$250,000 must be redeemed at Florida Lottery headquarters. Mega Money jackpot winners may choose between an annuity of 20 payments that roughly equals the advertised jackpot, or a lump-sum cash payment, which is about 2/3 of the advertised jackpot (less federal income tax withholding).

Florida Lotto jackpot winners may choose between an annuity of 30 payments that roughly equals the advertised jackpot, or a lump-sum cash payment, which is about 1/2 of the advertised jackpot less federal income taxes. For both Mega Money and Florida Lotto, the cash option must be exercised within 60 days of the applicable drawing. Florida does not have a state income tax; however, like all U.S. lottery prizes, they are taxable by the federal government.

Winners of Florida Lottery On-line games (Florida Lotto, Mega Money, Fantasy 5, Play 4, and Cash 3) must claim their prize within 180 days of the applicable drawing results. Eighty percent of unclaimed jackpot money is transferred to the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund, while 20 percent of the jackpot is transferred to a prize pool for funding future prizes.

Florida Lotto is drawn each Wednesday and Saturday during a live broadcast at 11:00 p.m. ET. A single ball machine is used with numbered balls ranging from 1 through 53 (before October 24, 1999, it was 1 through 49). Anyone who matches all six numbers in any order wins or shares the jackpot.

Powerball (available January 4, 2009; first drawing with Florida January 7, 2009)

Though the Florida Lottery’s expenses and payouts vary from year to year, approximately 50 to 60 percent of its net revenue makes up the games’ prize pools, 30 to 40 percent is transferred to the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund, six percent is paid to retailers in the form of commissions, two percent is paid to the Lottery’s on-line and Scratch-Off ticket vendors and the remaining two percent covers operational costs, including advertising.

Play 4 is drawn every day during a live broadcast immediately following the Cash 3 drawings. It is played the same way as Cash 3, except four ball machines are used. Anyone who matches the four numbers (in any order, or only in order, depending on how exactly the numbers are played; Cash 3 and Play 4 offer several different options when playing) wins a guaranteed US$5,000 jackpot.

Recently, more ways to play involving multiple-number tickets have been introduced. See the lottery website for further details and results.

Fantasy 5 is drawn every day during a live broadcast at 11:15 p.m. ET. A single ball machine is used with balls numbered from 1 through 36 (Before July 16, 2001, it was 1 through 26, and before 1993, it was 1 through 39). Five balls are drawn from the machine. Anyone who matches all five numbers in any order wins or shares a top prize pool of around US$200,000. If no one matches all five, the pool rolls down to the 4-out-of-5 winners.