Mississippi lottery tickets go on sale Monday. Here’s what you need to know.
Gas stations, convenience stores and even a couple of casinos on the Coast are ready to start selling Mississippi’s first lottery tickets Monday morning, Nov. 25.
Four scratch tickets will be available starting 5 a.m. Monday and more will be added every two to three weeks, said Meg Annison, director of communications for the Mississippi Lottery Corporation. By June 2020 when the state fiscal year ends, Mississippi will have 20 to 25 scratch games, she said.
The first tickets range in price from $1 to $5. They are:
▪ $1 — 3 Times Lucky game that plays like tic-tac-toe.
▪ $2 — Happy Holidays Y’all. Match numbers on the card to either of the 2 winning numbers.
▪ $2 — Triple 777. Reveal three 7 symbols and win, with up to 10 chances to win per card.
▪ $5 — $100,000 Jackpot. The cards are loaded with $50 prizes, the website says. Reveal a money bag symbol and win $50 instantly.
Lottery fans will have to wait a couple more months to buy Powerball and Mega Millions tickets in Mississippi. Tickets sales for those multi-state lottery games launch on Jan. 30.
“Mississippians will no longer have to cross into neighboring states to participate in these drawing-style games,” said Tom Shaheen, president of the Mississippi Lottery Corporation. “They will soon have the opportunity for a chance to play big jackpot games four times per week, as well as many secondary prizes.”
Mississippi’s law allows the winner to remain anonymous if they choose.
Mississippi Lottery Corp. plans a kick-off event at 6:45 a.m. Monday in Jackson, the Clarion Ledger reports, after the lottery system goes live at 5 a.m. The state lottery law is named for longtime state Rep. Alyce Clarke, D-Jackson, who pushed for a lottery for more than 20 years, and she will buy the first ticket at the opening event.
Scarlet Pearl Casino Resort in D’Iberville and Treasure Bay Casino in Biloxi will be among the 1,200 retailers selling the scratch-off tickets.
LuAnn Pappas, CEO at Scarlet Pearl, said the scratch tickets will be available at the gift shop near the main entrance.
Retailers can still sign up to sell lottery tickets, Annison said. Retailers earn 6% of all lottery ticket sales.
“There’s no end date on the applications,” she said, and no cap to the number of retailers selling tickets. The process is extensive, she said, and takes at least 30 days for the business owners to complete the application, have a background and credit check, open a separate bank account, receive the equipment and go through training.
The state Legislature passed the lottery bill in special session in August but didn’t fund the startup costs.
The Legislature decided the first $80 million in profits will go for infrastructure to build and repair roads and bridges for the next 10 years. After 10 years, that first $80 million will go into the state’s general fund. Anything over $80 million will be spent on education through the Education Enhancement Fund for early childhood education and classroom supplies.
What you need to know
▪ Players must be 21 to buy a lottery ticket.
▪ Tickets can be purchased with cash, debit and credit cards.
▪ Winning tickets of less than $600 can be redeemed at lottery retailers throughout the state.
▪ For winning tickets of $600 or more, retailers will provide the ticket holder with a claim form and help them complete it if requested.
▪ State and federal taxes are withheld from prizes of $600 or more.
▪ The deadline for claiming a prize for scratch-off tickets is 90 days after the game ends. For Powerball and Mega Million, the deadline is 180 days from the date of the drawing.
▪ Lottery tickets aren’t sold online, only through approved lottery locations throughout the state.
