The “We’re Game” motto is something the Virginia Lottery says to promote excitement and encouraging attitudes towards their games. For over 25 years, they have had a positive record towards the functionality of their lottery system as well as giving back to the community.
The Virginia Lottery is an independent agency within the Commonwealth of Virginia. It has been around since 1987 when the people of Virginia voted in favor of having a state lottery.
The first lottery ticket was sold in 1988, and since 1999, there has been a unique feature of this lottery. This feature is that the lottery pays 100 percent of its profits towards K-12 public education.
The largest prize won from the lottery system came in 2004. The prize was a $239 million jackpot when a lucky winner played the mega millions and struck gold.
VA Lottery Overview
Virginia recently became the seventh state to offer online lottery games. This means that Virginia residents can enjoy their favorite games such as Mega Millions, Powerball, Cash4Life, and a list of other instant-win games.
This also includes daily draw games like Pick 3, pick 4, and Cash 5. These daily draw games are Virginia Lottery exclusives and are drawn twice a day.
So lottery players will most likely see their favorite games online, with the ability to still continue to play other favorites in store. With an increase in travel restrictions, this makes online lottery much more appealing.
The online lottery system features advanced security measures to protect players and their information. With identity checks, financial transactions, and responsible gaming, the Virginia Lottery has made progress very quickly since July 1.
VA Lottery Bonuses
The Virginia Lottery has Play Now bonuses and select promotions. Everyone is looking for a way to play more games without using as much money. The Virginia Lottery makes it easy to do just that.
They have a first-time deposit bonus for new users. This bonus is for $10 into the new player’s account, but it does not fully specify how much you need to deposit first to receive the bonus.
Another bonus that is a great ongoing bonus for loyal MyGameRoom customers is the match up bonus offer. This bonus allows the Virginia Lottery to match up to a specific percentage of your deposit, usually up to $100 limit.
Some other bonuses are free plays and vary from time to time. One current one, for example, is the deposit bonus and free play. So a first-time deposit will reward you with $10 and 10 free plays with the Queen of Diamonds game.
By checking your online account, you can have instant access to the most recent bonuses as soon as they become available. You will get a notification on the New Bonus Offers tab under the Bonuses category. You can also download the Virginia Lottery app to access the same features.
Promotions at VA Lottery
In addition to the welcome bonus of a free $10 and free play towards select games, there are various promotions throughout the year for the Virginia Lottery. These promotions will have certain terms and conditions, along with instructions on how to redeem them.
A current offer by Virginia Lottery is playing any print and purchase in-store game, in addition to Mega Millions and Powerball, you will receive a special offer code. This code can be used for free plays towards Quick 6, a newer instant win game.
Other ongoing games include the likes of second chance or extra plays such as:
- $100k scratcher replay
- Luxury Cruisin’
- Ultimate Fan Cave Grand Prize
- Ultimate Fan Cave Second Prize
- New Year’s Rockin’ Eve
- MyGameRoom Giveaway
- Mobileplay Leap Year Giveaway
Additional chances to earn extra prizes are awarded with monthly giveaways. This can be prizes such as a new Dell laptop computer or cash prizes like $500.
Each person will have a unique code with those types of games, so not everyone will be using the same promo code. After entering the code online, you can find the status of it in My Account under My Bonuses.
If you are signed up for the Virginia Lottery’s emails, you can have first access to the newest available promotions. This way, you can stay in the loop about upcoming or current promotions.
How to Play at VA Lottery
Playing the Virginia Lottery online is very simple and easy to do as long as you have met the requirements. The most important ones are to make sure you are 18 or older, do not violate any of their specific game terms, and you are the only one in control of your account.
Creating an account is a breeze. Simply click on the login/register tab and find the new users sign up. Then all you need to do is to enter your email and password to have the basics of your account as you log in.
It will ask for personal information, such as your home address, valid identification picture, and even your social security number. These are all required for the proper security ID checks.
Upon sign-up, you will then enter your payment information to make a deposit and set up your withdrawal option. If you want to play and get paid, there is really no other way around this.
After setting everything up along with your first deposit, you will receive the welcome bonus of $10 and 10 free game plays. This should be credited within your account instantly. You also have 24 hours to play your 10 free plays.
Website Review at VA Lottery
The Virginia Lottery website, as a whole, is fairly easy to navigate. Even though they are newer to an online platform, they seem to have everything running the way it is supposed to.
One interesting feature they have is that you can locate a lottery retailer on the app or online. So if you need to, for some reason, locate the nearest retailer or find a specific one, you can search over 5,000 potential locations.
You can find just about everything you need by scrolling through the website. From your account to games, and even help sections for more information, they are packed with a variety of useful options. If you could see ratings for this website, you could argue it a four out of five stars.
Design of Website at VA Lottery
The overall website design is colorful but not overwhelming. You can easily read and understand the layout.
As you visit the page, you will see the most current or hottest game being featured. You will then find the latest promotions, games, and relevant jackpot news under that.
The play now section has, in order, the arrival of the latest games. You will see if a game is new simply by the “NEW” banner labeled across the left corner of the game. These games will show the name, jackpot amount, and the cost range.
Further down the page, you will see up-to-date drawing games and their information. So you will be able to find games like Mega Millions and Powerball.
Below that is a “check my numbers” section for seeing what has been drawn. You enter your numbers, select the game of choice, and a date range to see if your numbers or a specific set has won anything.
Finally, you will see the section about how much money the Virginia Lottery has given to K-12 education. Since 1999, Virginia Lottery’s profits have generated currently an amount of $10,253,620,000.
Usability of VA Lottery
The usefulness and ease of navigating through a website is very important. The Virginia Lottery definitely does this for their customers.
Everything is within a second, assuming you have great internet speed, and flows smoothly. The games upload great with sleek graphics and mostly fun interfaces.
At some times, the game might show a glitch or freeze upon loading. So always make sure you have a reliable connection first before having any issues from that end of things.
Games Offered at VA Lottery
The Virginia Lottery has a handful of games to choose from. The categories they have are Play Now, Scratchers, Draw Games, Print ‘n Play, and Rolling Jackpot.
Play Now has all of the popular instant win games. These titles include:
- VA Cash Expander
- Summer Cookout
- Fruity Cubes
- Queen of Diamonds
- Wild Win Xtra
- Enchanted Winnings
Scratchers are scratch-offs that you can play online. Popular scratchers include:
- 100X The Money
- Extreme Millions
- Millionaire Maker
- $1 Million Royals
- $30,000 Cash Party
- $5 Million Series
Draw Games are popular since they usually just require a ticket of numbers, and the jackpots become huge. Some titles include Virginia Lottery exclusive games. Draw Games they offer are:
- Mega Millions
- Powerball
- Keno
- Cash 4 Life
- Bank a Million
- Cash 5
- Pick 4
- Pick 3
- Virginia’s New Year’s Millionaire Raffle
The Rolling Jackpot is only categorized with one game. This Print ‘n Play variety is a Virginia Lottery exclusive that starts at $50,000 and continually grows until someone wins. All you have to do is purchase the game and see if you have won with select symbols matching up.
There are three ways to win big on this game, such as:
- $2 ticket pays 20% of the jackpot
- $5 ticket pays 50% of the jackpot
- $10 ticket pays 100% of the jackpot
Banking: Deposit and Withdrawal Methods at VA Lottery
The Virginia Lottery has a variety of deposit and withdrawal methods online. Some of these also include in-store as a payment method, such as paying cash or loading a prepaid debit card.
- Deposit
- PayPal
- ACH Bank Transfer
- Debit Card (Auto-Renew Purchases)
Withdrawals appear to only have one way to take home your money online, and that is with a bank transfer. Usually, PayPal is another form of withdrawal, but they do not specify here. After requesting a withdrawal online, you will need to complete the information, such as the bank routing number and account number.
Responsible Virginia Lottery Gambling
The Virginia Lottery wants everyone to have fun and be competitive to win prizes. However, they also want everyone to play it safely without the negative risks that come with gambling.
If you believe that you or someone you know has a gambling problem, you can call toll free at 888-532-3500.
Financial problems are not the only sign of a gambling problem. Other issues that arise with this would be emotional or becoming dependent upon having to gamble constantly.
Just because someone gambles often does not mean they are addicted, and if someone plays a little, it does not mean they will not become addicted. It is all about how that person is reacting to these games emotionally and financially.
You can also contact the Virginia Problem Gambling Helpline through chat or text message. By visiting the Virginia Lottery website, you can find this availability.
FAQ about VA Lottery
- Do all the profits from the Virginia Lottery actually go to K-12 education?
- Which prizes are taxable?
- Can I remain anonymous with my winnings?
- How long is the prize collection period?
- Is it possible to become addicted to these games?
Absolutely, by law, the Commonwealth has to use it for this. Literally, with every ticket or even a scratch-off, the games being played are benefiting education. Last year alone, the Virginia Lottery contributed almost $600 million to their public schools.
All prizes won are subject to income taxes. Any prize over $5,000 will be subject to the Virginia Lottery having to withhold federal and state taxes. This amount is 24 percent for federal and four percent for state taxes. Anything over $600 would simply need a W2-G form.
Since July 2019, a new law was implemented where anyone who won more than $10 million would be able to automatically claim a prize without having to go public unless they claim in writing that they want everyone to know. All prizes less than that will be announced publicly.
If, for whatever reason, you need to have some extra time to get your prize redeemed, you have 180 days. This means 180 days from the draw date on draw games and 180 days from the Scratchers’ official game-ending date.
Some people can play most games without any effects while others can become addicted. Recognizing the signs is sometimes difficult, but the Virginia Lottery is here to help. You can visit their site and contact them for help regarding this issue.