News writer; Opinion columnist
From creating new games to handing out million-dollar checks, a lottery director's job is high-stakes, demanding, and exciting all at once. One of the biggest challenges any director faces is introducing a new multi-state lottery game like Millionaire for Life.
In an exclusive interview with Lottery USA, the Executive Director of the DC Lottery, Randy Burnside, gave us the scoop on everything from the creation of Millionaire for Life to the District's relationship with lottery courier services.
Millionaire for Llife
On February 22, 2026, the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) released its newest game, Millionaire for Life, a daily draw game that pays jackpot winners one million dollars a year for the rest of their lives.
Q: What can players look forward to with the new Millionaire for Life game?
A: We're really excited about the Millionaire for Life game. It launched on February 22nd. It is a multi-state lottery game that gives our players a daily chance to win one million dollars a year for life. And I just think that's an awesome prize that players get excited about. It's life-changing money and a great opportunity to play a fun game on a daily basis. It's designed to produce daily winners, and even the second-tier prizes in the game (second place receives $100,000 a year for life) are much bigger than its predecessor games that were out there. And looking at the early sales, it's doing quite well. It's right there with Mega Millions, in fact, in our early sales. So we're very excited about that, and I think our players are excited to have a new game with a big payout.
Q: Launching a new multi-state game is a complicated process. Can you tell us how a game like this comes together?
A: So games like this do originate from MUSL. A lot of the time, the lottery vendors have a game idea, but we have a development committee at MUSL that several of my colleagues serve on. Ideas for enhancing current games or launching new games come from the different member lotteries. So games like Millionaire for Life, Powerball, Lotto America, and all the other multi-state offerings that we have, and the add-ons usually come from our system vendor partners and our sister lotteries.
Q: How important is an organization like MUSL for smaller lotteries that can't otherwise offer large, multi-million dollar prizes?
A: DC was one of the founding members of MUSL. So when you look at Powerball and how powerful that brand is, and at the games we offer like Jackpot USA and Lotto America, these are games that allow a smaller jurisdiction to offer large prizes that really enhance our in-district portfolio.
Q: How do you determine what types of new games your players want to buy?
A: We look at market demand, the technical and the gaming system implications to it, and everything that goes into our batches for the year for our system upgrades and things like that, and, of course, the financial aspects of it. Is this a game when we talk to our players that they're going to be interested in? Is it going to generate revenue for the district's general fund? Those are the things that we look at. So we're excited for Millionaire for Life. I think it fits our portfolio well, and I think our players will really respond to it.
Q: How long does it take to develop a multi-state game like Millionaire for Life?
A: Games can take years to develop. There's no doubt about that. They could take years, or at least many, many months. So it just depends. You have to look at what else is going on, what other game enhancements are being made, what the system vendors can do, but the games we create can take years to develop. Millionaire for Life has been talked about for, I want to say, almost two years now.
The District of Columbia's favorite way to play
Q: Every state or region has its own favorite way of playing the lottery. What are the most popular games in the District of Columbia?
A: We are a numbers town here in the nation's capital. If you look at our portfolio and the way people play, our DC 3, 4, and 5 games have historically been our most popular. They always have been. And that's kind of different from a lot of US jurisdictions. A lot of other jurisdictions, you'll see your scratchers do very well and things like that. But here in DC, I think we have probably the highest per capita amount of numbers players in the country. And I think that goes back to history and our heritage in this town. Number games are a thing that have been played for multiple generations, and the aspect of picking numbers that matter to you and having decent odds is something that just resonates with our players.
Courier services
Q: Courier services such as Jackpocket are active in the District of Columbia. Can you talk about how you're able to work with them in a way that protects the integrity of the game?
A: Jackpocket has operated in the district as a licensed retailer since 2019. What we're doing right now is drafting some basic rules and regulations for couriers, just in case any other courier wants to operate within the District. So we're in the process of doing that right now. And we view couriers as just an alternative distribution channel for our games, giving players a way to play and have them delivered to their phones as they want them. Obviously, we have our own iLottery that people can access as well, but I just view it as another distribution channel for folks who want to go that way. But Jackpocket has a brick-and-mortar store. They operate under a retailer license and do not do bulk sales; that's really all we ask of them. So they've been a good partner for a number of years now, and we expect that to continue.
Q: Last year, there was a major scandal in Texas in which investors were able to bulk buy enough lottery tickets to guarantee that they would win the jackpot. How do you prevent something like that from happening in the District of Columbia?
A: We limit the number of terminals that retailers can have so that that can't happen. And we've had discussions with all of our retailers, including Jackpocket, about our expectations for that. And since my arrival here last year, I have been very focused on ensuring we eliminate any opportunity for mass bulk sales. So we feel good about where we are. And with the draft rules we're working on for couriers, that will be part of it, making sure bulk sales don't happen.
Millionaire maker
Q: What's it like to watch someone's life change overnight almost every day, and do you have a favorite or most memorable winner?
A:It's incredible. And it's very rewarding. And it's one of the most rewarding parts of the job, and you just see the excitement on a person's face and the shock that comes with it. But there have been so many. It's hard for me to pick a few. I know one that stands out right now because it was my first since being the executive director here. We had a lady who won $2 million here in DC, and it was my first $2 million winner here, and just a phenomenal human being, and just a lifelong public servant, lived in the district her whole life, and she was wonderful. But then you have couples that come in, you have retirees that come in, you have people that have worked in middle-class jobs or have waited tables, and they're all great. Everyone has a story, and that's one of the cool things about the lottery: you get to see a cross-section of America, of our society, when you see your winners.
And we have so much diversity and so many great people, and it's wonderful to play a role in changing their lives when it's one of those million-dollar-plus prizes. I can't put it into words for people who will do it justice, because it warms your heart to see someone who's worked really hard their whole life get the satisfaction of a life-changing prize they've won.
Q: Of course, one of the ironies of your job is that you've worked in the lottery for years, which means that you're not actually allowed to play the games.
A: No, that's correct. I can't play, and that's okay. My job, it wouldn't look good if the director of a lottery won a game, right? Yeah. So that's definitely not ethical. That's not something you don't even want to put out there as a potential. Of course. It could happen. Now, there are so many safeguards in place to protect all of our games. There's no way for me to know what the numbers will be in a drawing or where a winning ticket is, but still, that wouldn't look right. So the rule of thumb for most lotteries across different states I have seen is that if you work for us, you can't play, and anyone who lives in your household can't play either.
We appreciate Randy for taking the time to speak with us.
