
Lotto Texas is an umbrella term for various lotteries that are operated by the government available all over Texas. It is managed by the Texas Lottery Commission, which has its headquarters in Austin, Texas. It requires players to be at least 18-years old in order to play, as is the case with most lotteries in The United States of America.
Time Period for Claiming Prizes
Winning Lotto Texas tickets will need to be claimed within 180 days, roughly six months, or the prize money will be forfeited. For scratchcards, the time limit will start counting down when the Commission closes a game, for draws the time limit begins the date that the draw takes place.
Choices for Receiving Cash Prizes
Players must decide between the cash value option, or CVO, or annual pay option, AP, when playing, rather than deciding after any money has been won, when purchasing Mega Millions,or Lotto Texas, Powerball tickets.
How Lottery Sales are Distributed
The Texas Lottery Commission has stated that Lotto Texas sales are allocated as follows:
- 63% is paid out as prize money
- Around 25% is given to the Foundation School Fund, an endowment that supports public education in the state of Texas
- 5% remunerates retailers
- 5% is withheld in order to cover the costs of the Lotto Texas Administration
- Roughly 2%, usually the value of any unclaimed prizes, is passed on to the Texas Legislature to be distributed to other programs in the state.
The History of Lotto Texas
Lotto Texas was the initial Texas domestic lottery game offered, with ticket sales commencing on the 7th of November 1992. The draw was held seven days later, on the 14th of November 1992, and the first jackpot was claimed on the 28th of that month. By the time its first anniversary occurred it had cleared over $1 billion in ticket sales.
This game was originally an annuity-only one, and players did not have the choice of being paid their winnings in one lump sum. Players chose numbers for the draw, and these were held on Saturdays. The Quick Pick, or QP, option was added at a later stage, May 29th 1993, the CVO option was also appended, and Wednesday draws were included as well.
The current format has 54 balls drawn, with players trying to predict which six will be included. The jackpot prize can be paid out in 25 yearly disbursements, or one lump sum. Non-jackpot prizes are paid out in one lump sum only. Entry costs $1, and the minimum jackpot for each game is $4 million. Draws take place on Wednesday and Saturday evenings at 10h12 Central Time.
There is also a so-called Extra option available for players, included in the game as of April 14th 2013. Players will hand over an extra $1 in order to take part, and this gives them the chance to win $2 for matching two of the six numbers, $10 for matching three, $100 for matching four and $10 000 for matching five. No change is made to the jackpot prize total.