The first ever lottery draw in Michigan took place in November 1972. Fast-forward to today and you will find multiple draws including the huge multi-state prizes, MI-only jackpots, scratch cards, instant games, and keno. There are second-chance games for losing draw tickets, plus regular bonuses and promotions available via Michigan’s online lottery website and the official Michigan Lottery app.
This page has everything you need to understand how the Michigan Lottery works. First, the draws are covered – including both MI-only games and the Mega Millions/Powerball multi-state games. Scratch cards, online games, deposit methods and bonuses are then outlined.
Residents of Michigan can take part in two huge lottery draws that operate in 45 states – the Mega Millions draw and the Powerball.
Mega Millions takes place twice a week, on Tuesdays and Saturdays. You can buy a ticket via retail outlets or online for $2. You have the option to add the ‘Megaplier’ for an extra dollar. With the Megaplier option added, you can increase any minor jackpot prize by 2x, 3x, 4x, or 5x.
When you buy Mega Millions tickets online you have the option to get them one at a time, or up to 10 at a time. You can also use the ‘Easy Pick’ system to choose random numbers.
To play the Mega Millions you pick five white ball numbers between 1 and 70, as well as a Megaball number between one and 25.
The smallest prize comes when you hit the ‘Megaball’ on its own, which awards you your money back. One or two white balls matched alongside the Megaball will pay $4 and $10, respectively. There are two huge prizes to be won in the Mega Millions draw. First, if you match all five of your white balls, you are guaranteed a prize of $1 million. If you are lucky enough to match all five white balls plus the Megaball you win the jackpot.
In October 2018, the largest ever Mega Millions jackpot prize was claimed by a ticket holder in South Carolina. The prize of $1.537 billion was claimed in March 2019, with the winner choosing to remain anonymous.
The Powerball also takes place twice a week – this time on Wednesdays and Sundays. This multi-state draw has huge jackpots. You can buy tickets directly though the Michigan Lottery website – or head to a retail outlet.
A ticket for the Powerball costs $2, with the added option of increasing the ticket cost to $3 by adding the Powerplay. This Powerplay will multiply the non-jackpot prizes by up to 10x. To play the Powerball, you pick five white ball numbers between one and 69, and a single red Powerball number between one and 26.
Prizes start at $4 for hitting the Powerball. Three white balls, or two white balls and the Powerball increase the prize to $7, with prizes then increasing quickly. If you hit four white balls alongside the Powerball, you are guaranteed $50,000, while matching all five white balls will make you an instant millionaire. Hitting all five white balls and the Powerball awards you the jackpot.
The largest prize ever in the Powerball lottery came in January 2016, when three ticket holders shared an annuity of approximately $1.586 billion.
The final multi-state game available via the Michigan State Lottery has a different prize structure. This pays winners $1000 every day for the rest of their lives. It is available in 26 states, and costs $2 to enter for the twice-weekly draw.
To play you pick five white numbers between one and 48, plus a lucky ball number between 1 and 18. There are smaller prizes, including $25,000 per year for life if you match the white numbers without hitting the lucky ball number.
While the multi-state draws attract the big headlines, there are plenty of ways to win big prizes in lottery draws that are available only in Michigan. Prizes of over $26 million have been paid on these in-state draws. Here are the highlights:
Other available games include instant Keno (that costs $1 a ticket and offers a top prize of $250,000), and Poker Lotto (that costs $2 per ticket and has a top prize of $100,000).
Scratch cards can be purchased at retail outlets. There are many long-standing cards, along with seasonal and special themed ones that come and go. Prices start at $1 and go up to $20. Some cards have top prizes of $2 million, with many six-figure prizes available.
There are two ways that the Michigan Lottery website can help you to win on scratch cards.
First, there is a second chance drawing for losing cards. You can win instant prizes by entering a special code. Second, you can see how many of the biggest jackpots are still unclaimed for different cards.
For example, you might check the site to find that one $5 card type has three big jackpots remaining, while a different brand of the same value does not have any remaining jackpots. Many of the instant games on the lottery website are electronic versions of scratch cards.
Here are some of the popular games:
Other similar games include the range of pull tab games. These cards involve pulling a perforated layer to reveal prizes.
You can also enjoy almost 100 instant games that can be played online at the official Michigan Lottery site.
The majority of these stick to the scratch card format. A good example is ‘Instant Football Payout’, a scratch card-themed game based on football. You simply click on the nine footballs displayed on the card and if you reveal three matching amounts, that is what you win. A multiplier reveal can also boost that win. This game pays $100,000 as a top prize.
There are games themed on Wheel of Fortune, plus quirky-themed ones like Fuzzball Keno and Cats vs Dogs.
You can also play instant Keno games (to go alongside the draws featuring the game) and a series of Ca$hbuster games (including Ca$hbuster Bonus, Extreme and Towers).
Check out the full list of instant online games by clicking the ‘filter by online’ check box on the Michigan Lottery online games list at the website.
You can enjoy a welcome bonus the first time you make a deposit at the Michigan Lottery website. This is a 50% boost to that first deposit, up to a maximum of $100. You need to deposit $200 to get the maximum amount – with a minimum of just $10 needed for a $5 bonus.
In addition to the bonus cash, you will also be awarded free games of Treetop Treasures. You can keep track of your bonuses via the website under the ‘My Bonuses’ tab.
The Michigan Lottery offers ongoing deals and specials/one-off promotions to keep registered players engaged. Many offers are short-term. The list below gives you a snapshot of the type of deals to expect:
Funding your lottery account is simple, with a lot of the same methods you would use for online purchases. Here are the most popular methods:
Every time you play the lottery you will be contributing to education, local businesses and supporting companies that employ residents of Michigan. More than $23 billion has gone to the school aid fund since the inception of the lottery in 1972. The education fund is the lottery’s primary mission. Local retailers have benefitted from being in the lottery, with more than 10,000 retailers benefiting from a commission of more than $250 million annually.
The Michigan State Lottery strives:
The lottery in Michigan began in November 1972. The original ‘Green Ticket’ lottery paid out its first million-dollar prize in February the following year. That first winner was Hermus Millsaps, a 53-year old Chrysler worker from Taylor, MI. To collect their prize, Mr. Millsaps and his wife spent all of their money on the bus fare to Lansing.
Instant games followed in 1975, and the first ever ‘Michigan Lotto’ was drawn in 1984. The first ever inter-state Big Game (now Mega Millions) ticket was sold in August 1996. With regular additions and the newly revamped online site, the lottery has come a long way in the Wolverine State.
There is a detailed section of the lottery website dedicated to responsible gaming, featuring the following statement:
‘Michigan Lottery games are designed to be fun and exciting entertainment. While millions of players enjoy our games responsibly each year, some individuals display signs of problem gambling behavior. For those individuals, the Michigan Lottery is committed to providing tools, information, and assistance finding help. As part of that effort, the Michigan Lottery provides $1 million each year to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to support statewide education and treatment programs for problem gambling.’
Safeguards in place include self-exclusion (taking an extended break from playing) and deposit limits (players can set daily or weekly limits). Players will have to prove they are residents of Michigan and go through an age verification process to play (residents have to be over the age of 18 to enjoy the lottery).
Michigan has more options for lottery players than most states. This includes big MI draws, in addition to the popular multi-state pools. You can buy tickets online for games including Powerball, Mega Millions and Lucky for Life.
Retail outlets offer scratch cards, pull tab games and keno. You can also enjoy these games in electronic format online and also via the official Michigan Lottery app. The MI Lottery offer new players of their virtual games a 50% welcome bonus, plus plenty of promotions and special offers. You will also get a second chance online with many losing retail tickets. Best of all, the Michigan Lottery is run for the benefit of local good causes.