On April 27, 1996, the New Mexico Lottery was born and became the 38th state to offer lottery in the United States. Back in 1994, New Mexico voters passed a public vote approving the formation of a Lottery and April 5 Governor Gary Johnson signs Senate Bill 853, creating the New Mexico Lottery Authority. The New Mexico Lottery Act went into effect on July 1, 1995, and the lottery shortly after.
100% of the proceeds from the NM lottery go to the Lottery Tuition Fund per the New Mexico Lottery Act. Currently, all funds are for higher education through the Legislative Lottery Scholarship program administered by the Higher Education Department.
The lottery offers scratch-off games, draw games including
Powerball, Mega Millions, Roadrunner Cash, Lotto America, Pick 3 Plus, Pick
4 Plus and Fast Play.
In fiscal year 2022, the total net ticket sales were $136,873,587, a decrease of $18,011,316, or a 11.6% decrease. In fiscal year 2021, the total net ticket sales were $154,884,903, an increase of $27,831,742, or a 21.9% increase, compared to total net ticket sales of $127,053,161 in fiscal year 2020.
New Mexico Lottery Headquarters
4511 Osuna Rd. NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109
(North of the Studio 6 Motel)
Call (505) 342-7600 for more information.
TDD: (505) 342-7535
Customer service phone hours: Monday – Friday 8 am – 5 pm MST
Unfortunately, you cannot remain anonymous in the state of
New Mexico. The lottery has public access to virtually all public records
including records about Lottery prize winners. The Lottery will release a
winner’s name, their city of residence and prize amount when requested.
You must be 18 years of age or older to play the NM lottery
and redeem lottery claims.
The proceeds from the sale of all lottery games played in
New Mexico remain in the state and do not go out of state.
The lottery is required by law to report any prize over $600 and to withhold state taxes at the current rate of 6% and federal taxes at the rate of 24% from any prize over $5,000.
As per the New Mexico Lottery Act, prizes may be paid to a
deceased winner’s estate or to a person designated by judicial order.
Yes, there have been several New Mexicans that have won
several millions of dollars by having winning tickets which can be found here. The
biggest winner is Timothy Monte of Tohajiilee who won $4 million dollars on the
New Mexico Lottery Mega Millions on December 18, 2018, at Giant Station #25, 2930 Coors Blvd. NW Albuquerque
All New Mexico Lottery prizes must be claimed within 90 days
from the date of the drawing or the end date of a Scratcher game or the first
business day after the 90th day if the Lottery is not open.
Always make sure you sign the back of your so only you can claim it. Lottery tickets are bearer instruments
meaning that if someone found an unclaimed ticket, they could claim it and
collect the winnings.
All Scratcher prizes must be claimed within 90 days of the announced end of game or the first business day after the 90th day if the Lottery is not open for business.
To claim a prize of:
$601 – $99,999: must be claimed at Lottery headquarters or mailed with a completed claim form
The New Mexico Lottery's customer service center is open
Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Mountain Time. Lottery retailers
are open during their regular business hours.
Lottery tickets can be purchased from authorized retailers
throughout the state which can be found at gas stations, grocery stores, etc.
No, lottery tickets can only be purchased in person from
authorized retailers in the state.
If a lottery ticket is lost, stolen, or damaged, the NM
Lottery is not responsible. It is the lottery player's responsibility to sign
the back of the lottery ticket and keep it in a safe and secure location. If
anyone find a winning unsigned ticket, they can sign it and claim it.
If you win a lottery jackpot or lottery prize by matching the winning numbers and you are not a resident of New Mexico, you are still eligible to claim prizes from the New Mexico Lottery. However, you are subject to state and federal taxes on their winnings.
The proceeds from the lottery are used to fund public
education in the state of New Mexico. The proceeds are used to supplement New
Mexico’s educational programs, including the construction and maintenance of
school facilities, the purchase of instructional materials, and the support of
educational technology.
The $800 million dollars Mega Millions jackpot was won by some lucky person in Sugar Land Texas. The winning ticket matched all six numbers in Tu
A Powerball jackpot was won on Saturday, December 7, 2024, with the winning numbers 1, 31, 43, 55, 57, and Powerball 22. The lucky ticket was purchased at Hua L