VA Lottery Fun in the Palm of Your Hand
Virginia lawmakers approved amendments to the state’s constitution to launch a state-run lottery during the summer of 1987. The new lottery legislation passed with overwhelming support. In September 1988, Virginia resumed statewide lottery games.
The much anticipated new Virginia Lottery games became a reality after many decades of little more than a few non-profit bingo games. Many may not realize that Virginia had one of the earliest lottery-type ventures in America.
Even before Virginia became a state, the Commonwealth held a number of lotteries to fund various community projects during the Colonial Era. Many of the state’s most famous churches, libraries and universities were built with the profits from lottery sales.
Nevertheless, over the years the public sentiment towards any type of gambling made most games of chance illegal in Virginia. It was a welcome change when Virginia. Virginia was the 29th state to approve lottery legislation.
They joined Florida, Minnesota and Wisconsin, selling the first official lottery tickets in 1988. Lottery sales generated over $10 billion over the next 20 years. In 2018, Virginia took another step to modernize the state’s successful lottery operations.
During the summer of 2018, lawmakers finalized the legislation to launch an online application for mobile devices. It has spurred lottery ticket sales tremendously. Let’s look at what you need to do to get ready to have fun playing exciting VA Lottery games right from the palm of your hand.
What’s Required to Start Using the VA Lottery Mobile App?
Getting set up to play Virginia Lottery games, check for winning numbers, or enter big jackpot drawings is easy. However, the first thing you need to do is register for a free VA Lottery account. Setting up your new account is step one. Here’s how you do that.
- Click on Register in the very top right-hand corner of the VA Lottery homepage
- Enter a valid email address.
- Create a strong password.
- Verify your email address.
- Once your email address has been confirmed, you’ll need to enter your personal information: first and last name, address and phone number.
- To authenticate your account, the VA Lottery asks for the last four digits of your social security number. Finally, provide your answers to security questions to secure your account.
- After reviewing the information for accuracy, confirm your registration and click submit.
With a new VA Lottery account, you’re ready to start playing lottery games and entering drawings. You can visit the VA Lottery website on any personal computer, but you can also do a number of exciting things by downloading the VA Lottery app. Here’s how to complete the VA Lottery app download process.
How Do You Download the VA Lottery Mobile App?
The VA Lottery Mobile app can be used on Apple and Android devices. The download process is similar for both. However, you will find the download at two different places. Here is how you download the VA Lottery mobile app on either an Apple or Android mobile device.
Apple iOS Download
After registering for a VA Lottery account, Apple device users will need to visit the Mac App Store. Search Virginia Lottery and then review the system requirements and legal information. Click on the install tab and follow the simple instructions.
The VA Lottery app requires an iOS operating system of 11.0 or higher. App size for Apple devices is 92.7 MB. Once downloaded, the VA Lottery app can be used on an iPhone, iPad, or iPad Touch. There is no cost to download the VA Lottery app to an Apple mobile device.
Android Download
The Virginia Lottery Official App can be found on GooglePlay. You will find the install page by searching for the Virginia Lottery in the Entertainment category. Review the general information about the app and then click the green INSTALL tab.
Once location is confirmed, the app will install automatically. The current version for Android is 4.4.0. System requirements are a 5.0 Android device or higher, and the app’s size is 78 MB. There is no fee to download the VA Lottery app to an Android device, but uses must agree to various information privacy requirements.
What Can You Do with the VA Lottery Mobile App?
Downloading the VA Lottery app provides you with many valuable tools for playing Virginia Lottery games. You can do a lot more than just scan tickets or check for winning draw game numbers. You take scan store-purchased scratch-off tickets to check for winners.
However, the options don’t stop there. If the ticket turns out to be a non-winner, you can use the VA Lottery mobile app to enter your ticket into an eXTRA Chance drawing. Missing out on special promotions can be frustrating.
You don’t have to log into your VA Lottery account continually to check the promotions page. All you need to do is opt-in for notifications when you set up your account, and every time a new game launches or a special promotion starts, the VA Lottery will send you a message.
Keeping track of all the special dates or numbers you use for draw game tickets is unnecessary as well. With the VA Lottery mobile app, you can create a favorite numbers digital play slip. You can use this convenient feature to enter drawings manually.
Even better, you can simply double-check your pending draw game entries by checking your account using a mobile device that has triggered the VA Lottery auto-renewal feature. You’ll never miss having an entry, or multiple entries, in your favorite draw games.
All you’ll need to do is use the same VA Lottery mobile app you created your automatic play slip with, to check to see if you’ve hit the big prize jackpot. Here’s a review of all the features you’ll have in the palm of your hand when you download the VA Lottery app.
- Review up-to-date jackpot amounts
- Check current and past winning numbers
- Scan draw game tickets to check for winning numbers
- Scan instant scratch-off tickets to check for winning tickets
- Scan non-winner tickets to enter eXTRA Chance drawings
- Receive alerts for new games and special VA Lottery promotions
- Select draw game numbers to build a digital play slip
- Find VA Lottery retail outlets to purchase tickets or collect winnings
Frequently Asked Questions
- What types of games can be played using the VA Lottery mobile app?
- What is the VA Lottery favorite numbers feature and how does it work?
- How does the VA Lottery retail locator work?
- What can someone do if they have problems using the VA Lottery mobile app?
- How is location service and GPS activated on a mobile device?
- When does the geo-location service need to be active?
- What happens if the device is incorrectly shown as outside the state of Virginia?
By installing the VA Lottery mobile app, players can select numbers for any of the Virginia-only draw games, plus the three multi-jurisdictional drawings, Powerball®, Mega Millions® and Cash4Life®. There are also dozens of instant games that can be played on a mobile device using the VA Lottery app.
VA Lottery players can use the mobile app to create favorite draw game numbers to use for multiple drawings. To set up favorite numbers, click on FAVORITES in the top left corner of the main menu. Follow the instructions to create a favorite numbers list and save.
The VA Lottery retail locator works best when using the current location to pinpoint the closest Virginia Lottery Retailers. This requires allowing the app to have current location access on the mobile device. There is also a feature to search retailers by zip code or city.
The VA Lottery help support can answer any questions VA Lottery players may have about using the mobile app. From the app homepage, click on the About Us tab and select Contact Us. Players can get answers about the mobile app via an email or live chat.
Apple devices or iOS operating systems go to settings, click privacy and then open settings. Check that the location service indicator is on. Android users click the gear icon to open settings. Open Security and Location, and make sure the location service is set to on.
The VA Lottery requires all transactions to be performed in the state. This includes deposits, withdrawals and purchasing game subscriptions. The VA Lottery geo-location system requires either WiFi, GPS, or GSM signals to verify the location of the device when playing VA Lottery games or making financial transactions.
When the VA Lottery account holder’s mobile device is incorrectly shown to not be inside Virginia’s borders, these steps will usually fix the problem. Check to be sure the location service is set to on. Enable WiFi, GPS, or set the device’s cellular data to on.