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Missouri Lottery officials announced that the state's long-running in-state Lotto game will be coming to an end, with its final drawing scheduled for Saturday, October 18, 2025. After more than two decades as a flagship title, the Lotto game is being retired, giving players limited time to place their bets, especially on multi-draw tickets.
Lotto draw game coming to an end
In Missouri, the Lotto game is drawn twice a week. The drawings take place at approximately 8:59 p.m. CT, with drawings held on Wednesday and Saturday nights each week.
Because the draw game is coming to an end, lottery officials released a schedule letting players know when the last multi-draw ticket purchases can be completed.
For players who use the multi-draw option for the Lotto game, here is the number of drawings you can still purchase and the last date to purchase that number of drawings:
- Wednesday, October 8 – 4 drawings for the multi-draw option
- Saturday, October 11 – 3 drawings
- Wednesday, October 15 – 2 drawings
- Saturday, October 18 – Can only purchase for this drawing; no more drawings after this date
While the Lotto game is coming to an end, Missouri Lottery players will still have other options available, including Powerball, Mega Millions, Show Me Cash, or Pick 3 and Pick 4.
The history of Missouri's Lotto game
The Lotto game was first introduced as Missouri's in-state jackpot game in January 1997, and there have been over 3,000 drawings since it launched. This game allowed players to pick six numbers between 1 and 44.
The starting jackpot for Lotto has always been $1 million, with rollovers that would increase the prize until someone matched all six of the winning numbers drawn.
If players matched four or five of the winning numbers, they were paid on a pari-mutuel basis, with 50% of sales going into the prize pool. For players who matched three of the winning numbers, they would win a free Quick Pick ticket.
In November 2012, lottery officials added the Doubler feature, which would designate random tickets as Doubler Tickets. So, if you had a Doubler Ticket and you won a non-jackpot prize, then your prize would be doubled. This feature was randomly awarded, and at no additional cost to the player.
Lotto has been one of the lower-cost games, giving players two plays for just $1. Lottery officials later introduced the EZ Match add-on, which players could win up to $500 for an additional $1 per Lotto play set.
What do these changes mean for players?
If you happen to be a regular Lotto player in Missouri, here are some important things to remember:
- The final Lotto drawing will be held on Saturday, October 18, 2025.
- Make sure you check your tickets and claim any winnings before deadlines.
- Deadlines: For the Missouri Lottery, players have 180 days from the date of the drawing to claim their winnings. For the Lotto game, jackpot winners have 60 days after the claiming date to decide if they want to receive the prize in one payment (cash option) or paid out over 25 annual payments (annuity option). If they do not choose an option after 60 days, it automatically defaults to the annuity option.
- If you are sad to no longer have Lotto available to play, Missouri Lottery players do have other options. They offer multi-state games of Powerball, Mega Millions, and Cash4Life. There are also in-state draw games of Show Me Cash, Pick 3, Pick 4, and Cash Pop.
We reached out to the Missouri Lottery for comment regarding the end of the Lotto game, but did not receive a response.
Enjoy playing the Missouri Lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.
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