The Kentucky Lottery was founded in 1989 after over 60% of Kentuckians voted in favor of establishing a state lottery system. Proceeds from the Kentucky Lottery are divided across causes, with over $6 billion raised since 1989. Over $4 billion in proceeds from the Kentucky Lottery have gone towards grants and scholarship programs for college students in the state. In fact, 100% of the funds awarded as part of the Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship (KEES) come directly from the sale of lottery tickets, emphasizing how the Kentucky Lottery occupies an important role in implementation and funding of necessary causes statewide.
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Claiming a lottery prize in Kentucky is simple. Start by signing
the back of your winning ticket. Winners can claim any prize under $600 at a
certified Kentucky Lottery retailer, while prizes up to $5,000 can be claimed
at an authorized cashing agent. To find your nearest cashing agent, call the
Kentucky Lottery's Customer Service Department line at (877) 789-4532. Prizes
between $5,000 and $25,000 can be claimed at authorized cashing agents, the
Kentucky Lottery Headquarters, or by mailing your winning ticket with an
official claim form to the following address:
Kentucky Lottery Corporation, Claims Dept. 100
Louisville, KY 40287-0001
If your winnings exceed $25,000, you must claim them in person at
the Kentucky Lottery Headquarters. It's recommended that you sign up for a time
slot in advance, which you can do by calling (800) 937-8946. Winners have 180
days from date of the drawing to claim their winnings for lottery games, while
scratch-offs are valid for 180 days after the game's end date. The
Kentucky Lottery Headquarters are located at:
1011 West Main Street
Louisville, KY 40202
The process of claiming an online lottery prize differs from that
of a printed game. If your winning warrants a free play, you can only redeem
this prize by making an online purchase. If you won a prize of $600 or less,
the earnings are automatically deposited into your account.
If your winnings exceed $5,000, you will receive a check in the
mail within seven to 10 business days. Prizes of up to $100,000 can be claimed
in this manner. Winnings exceeding $100,000 must be claimed at the Kentucky
Lottery Headquarters, where it's encouraged to make an appointment in
advance.
The odds of winning can vary substantially across different games
available in the Kentucky Lottery. For scratch-off tickets, the odds of winning
a prize will always be printed on the ticket itself and available on the
Kentucky Lottery website. These odds are predetermined based on the total
number of tickets printed for a game divided by the number of printed winning
tickets. On average, the odds of wining are 1-in-3.5.
For the nationwide Powerball, the chances of winning the jackpot
are currently 1-in-292,201,338 per $2 play. Your chances of winning the Mega
Millions jackpot are 1-in-302,575,350. Both the Powerball and Mega Millions are
part of the Multi-State Lottery Association, which tends to make odds lower and
winnings higher. In comparison, a Kentucky-exclusive game like Cash Ball 225
has higher significantly odds of winning the jackpot, at 1-in-1,309,000.
All winnings from the Kentucky Lottery are considered taxable
income by the state. Any prize that exceeds $600 is automatically reported to
the IRS and Kentucky Department of Revenue. Additionally, the Kentucky Lottery
must subtract all state and federal taxes from winnings higher than
$5,000.
Drawings can differ from game to game, so it's important to check
and stay updated on the current schedule for each one. Here is a breakdown of
the current times and dates for the drawings of Kentucky Lottery games:
You can find the results of the drawings by calling the Kentucky
Lottery's winning numbers hotline at (502) 583-2000. You can also visit the
Kentucky Lottery website and navigate to the "Draw Games" page to
find your specific game and view the most recent winning draw. The Kentucky
Lottery also has a mobile app where you can access winning numbers with the
touch of a finger.
To play the Kentucky Lottery, you must be at least 18 years old or
older, as is common for most states in the U.S. This is true for both
retailer-sold games and online or mobile-based games. Lottery is popular in the
state of Kentucky, with approximately 70% of residents over the age of 18
having played a lottery game within the last six months.
The prices of lottery tickets can vary between games. Many games
offer supplemental add-ons that either increase your chances of winning or
multiply your potential earnings. Other games use a personal wager system,
where the player chooses the amount they're willing to pay themselves and can
earn a prize that hinders on how much money they wagered. Here are the prices
of each game offered by the Kentucky Lottery:
If you're lucky enough to win a prize from the Kentucky Lottery,
your best form of action is to claim your ticket as soon as possible. This
prevents you from accidentally misplacing your ticket or forgetting to claim it
before the 180-day period ends. When winnings go unclaimed, they're put into an
unclaimed prize pool. Funds from this pool go directly to the Kentucky
Educational Excellence Scholarship (KEES) reserve fund, which provides
financial assistance to higher education students in the state of Kentucky.
Over $100 million in unclaimed winnings have gone to the KEES fund since
2003.
If you're interested in learning more about the Kentucky Lottery
system and how it works, Lottery Current can provide you with the most
up-to-date lottery information for states across the country. Feel free to
contact Lottery Current with any lottery-related questions or concerns.
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