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We all love to immerse ourselves in a good documentary. They bring us larger-than-life characters, real triumphs, and spectacular downfalls. And unlike most show and movie formats, documentaries usually teach us something.
The lottery is full of drama, high stakes, ups and downs, life lessons, and epic wins - making it the perfect topic for documentaries.
Here are some of the best lottery and sweepstakes documentaries you should binge-watch today.
1 - Jackpot: America's Biggest Lotto Scam
Screen capture from the Jackpot: America's Biggest Lotto Scam trailer. Photograph credit to AMS Pictures. Available for free on YouTube.
In 2010, the infamous Hot Lotto fraud shocked the nation. Eddie Tipton, the former security director of the Multi-State Lottery Association, rigged a number generator so he and his co-conspirators could win big in multiple states. He took home a $16 million winning ticket. Find out how he gamed the system, and how he was ultimately brought down. The documentary was produced by AMS Pictures and released in 2025.
2 - The $3 Million Mistake
Screen capture from the "The $3 Million Mistake" documentary trailer. Photograph credit to NBC10 Boston. Available for free on YouTube.
In January 2023, a man bought a winning lottery ticket in Lakeville, Massachusetts, then accidentally left it on the store counter. The cashier noticed it. What ensued was a comedy of errors so tangled that NBC10 Boston Investigators made a documentary about it, following the lifecycle of the stolen ticket, the criminal investigation behind it, and how the winner was eventually found.
3 - McMillions
Screen capture from the "McMillions" documentary trailer. Photograph credit to Sky TV. Available for streaming on HBO Max.
From 1989 to 2001, McDonald's hosted an extremely popular sweepstakes based on the game Monopoly. In it, customers would find monopoly “pieces” when they bought McDonald's food items. The pieces gave customers the chance of winning up to $1 million. However, the game was rigged the entire time by a crime ring that stole winning pieces. It took a series of random and wild events for the FBI to untangle the $24 million fraud. The 2020 six-part series on HBO Max gets into the details.
4 - Beat the Lotto
Screenshot from the "Beat the Lotto" trailer. Photograph credit to EclipsePicturesIE. Screening at select locations.
In the 1990s, a mathematician and stamp collector named Stefan Klincewicz came up with a plan to beat the Irish National Lottery. Klincewicz devised a way to buy every single ticket combination available. The thrilling documentary, which was released July 4 this year, is currently screening at various locations in Ireland and the U.K.
5 - Pepsi, where's my jet?
Screenshot from the "Pepsi, where's my jet?" trailer. Photograph credit to Netflix. Available to stream on Netflix.
In 1996, Pepsi came up with a brilliant marketing plan: Pepsi Points. Consumers would drink Pepsi and collect points that were revealed under Pepsi bottlecaps. In an advertisement for the sweepstakes, Pepsi jokingly announced that 7 million Pepsi points would earn a lucky winner a real Harrier jet - but one young Pepsi drinker named John Leonard took it seriously. So seriously, in fact, that he wound up bringing Pepsi to court for it. This lighthearted 2022 docuseries on Netflix interviews all the players involved in the saga, including Pepsi executives from the era.
6 - Jackpot! Millionaires, Winners and Lottery Curses
Screen capture from the "Jackpot! Millionaire, Winners and Curses" documentary. Photograph credit to Amazon. Available to stream on Prime.
Most people would do anything to win the lottery - but some still say that lottery winners are cursed. That's because one-third of lottery winners wind up in ruins. How does it happen? This 2020 documentary digs into the lives of US lottery winners, including those who lost everything they'd won.
7 - Lucky
Screen capture from the "Lucky" documentary trailer. Photograph credit to Amazon. Available to stream on Prime.
If you're looking for a lighthearted, time capsule glimpse into the American lottery, the 2010 documentary “Lucky” is a nice 90-minute watch. Featuring winners and lottery hosts, the film explores how lives are completely transformed when they win the lottery.
8 - Millions: A Lottery Story
Screen capture from the "Millions: A Lottery Story" documentary trailer. Photograph credit to LanternEye Films. Available to stream on Apple TV.
This is another rags-to-riches documentary about lottery winners and their lives. From 2006, “Millions: a lottery story” interviews a diverse swathe of people, including those who started out homeless, and how the wins transformed every aspect of their personal, social, and financial lives.
9 - The Contestant
Screen capture from the "The Contestant" documentary trailer. Photograph credit to MetFilm Distribution. Available to stream on Hulu.
This one is a little left-field for this list, but nonetheless, it's a fascinating documentary about contest prizes. Before reality TV or “The Truman Show,” there was Nasubi, a Japanese comedian who was told he had to live in an apartment naked and live on mail sweepstakes until he won about $8,000. Little did he know that for the 15 months he was trapped, he was being watched by 15 million viewers every week. The 2023 documentary explores the ethical implications of this experiment and all the characters who made it happen.
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