All news

Lottery on Christmas? Some states say yes, others say ho-ho-hold off

Santa's not the only one working this Christmas — find out which lotteries are keeping the fun going.

A lottery retailer with Christmas decorations.
A lottery retailer in Ohio with Christmas decorations. Photograph credit to the Ohio Lottery.
Todd Betzold

Christmas may be a time of giving, but it seems like even some states are taking a little holiday break. While some of your favorite lottery games will hit pause on Wednesday, December 25, others are keeping the festive spirit alive with their regular schedule.

So, which games are getting the day off, and which ones are still in play? Let's unwrap the details!

Which states won't hold Christmas Day drawings?

When it comes to lottery games on Christmas Day, each state plays by its own rules. While some states are pressing pause on the regular draw games for Wednesday to let the holidays take center stage, others will keep the drawings rolling.

So, is your state lottery having drawings on Christmas Day? Here's a closer look at which states are giving the lottery games a holiday break.

  • Colorado – No drawings for Pick 3, Cash 5, or Colorado Lotto+ will be held.
  • Delaware – No drawings for Play 3, Play 4, Play 5, or Multi-Win Lotto will be held.
  • Louisiana – No drawings for Pick 3, Pick 4, Pick 5, Lotto, or Easy 5 will be held.
  • New Jersey – No drawings for Pick-3, Pick-4, or Jersey Cash 5. 
  • South Carolina – No midday drawings for Pick 3, Pick 4, and CASH POP will be held. All other drawings will be held at their normally scheduled times.

For the states that are hitting pause on Christmas Day for their lottery drawings, all regularly scheduled drawings will resume as normal on Thursday, December 26.

What about multi-state draw games?

While that was the breakdown for each individual state, what about those multi-state draw games, like Powerball and Cash4Life? Will they be holding drawings on Christmas Day?

Those multi-state draw games that have drawings normally on a Wednesday will continue as normal. For those regular lottery players, this means there will be drawings on Christmas Day for the following games:

  • Powerball.
  • Lucky for Life.
  • Cash4Life.
  • Gimme 5, the newest tri-state lottery draw game featuring Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont.
  • Lotto America.
  • 2by2, currently available in Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Wyoming. This is different from the Arizona-only draw game, also known as 2by2. However, the Arizona version will also be holding its regular drawing on Christmas Day.
  • 加拿大28预测开奖:Tri-State Megabucks, which was the first draw game launched by the Tri-State Lottery in 1985 and became the first multi-state game in the country. It's played in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont.

Has anyone ever won the Powerball on Christmas Day?

With a Powerball drawing taking place on Christmas, we wanted to know if there has ever been a big winner on Christmas Day. As it turns out, there was also a drawing on Christmas last year. The jackpot at that time was $638 million, but no tickets matched all of the winning numbers to claim that prize.

However, three Powerball jackpots were won on Christmas. According to Powerball, the last time this occurred was in 2013, when a Powerball player in Missouri won a $71.5 million jackpot.

Just for context, there has never been a jackpot win on Christmas Day for Mega Millions. Over the years, six Mega Millions drawings fell on Christmas Day — in 2007, 2009, 2012, 2015, 2018, and 2020 — but no tickets matched all of the winning numbers on the festive day.

Enjoy your Christmas and enjoy playing the lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.

Comments

0
Loading comments

Related articles

A lottery retailer using a lottery terminal.
States are forecasting lower lottery sales 🌜in an uncertain economy

These states were expecting higher lottery sales. Is it the economy's fault?

Halley Bondy profile pic

Halley Bondy

The Powerball and Mega Millions logo over a yellow and green background.
Powerball⭕ vs. Mega Millions: Who really🥂 rules the big jackpot jungle?

Two giants with billions in the game.𒈔 But which one gives dreamers a better sho𝓀t at glory?

Todd Betzold profile pic

Todd Betzold

Recent articles

View All
The Mississippi Match 5 logo over a green background with dollar signs.
Mississippi Lottery celebrates 1,000th dra𓄧w with record jackpot

Nearly $1 million awaits Mi🌠ssissippi players as lottery fever 🍰spreads.

Samantha Herscher profile pic

Samantha Herscher

The Ohio Lottery Rolling Cash and Nebraska Lottery Pick 5 logos over a yellow background with shooting stars.
Luck𝕴y Thursday: Pick 5 players scored $783K in jackpots across two states

With big wins in Ohio and Nebraska, some🦹 wonder: Will this🦹 jackpot wave roll into the weekend?

Todd Betzold profile pic

Todd Betzold

Jeremiah Ehlers.
Ju𝕴dge says lottery theft case against Nebraska man cඣan move ahead

He cashed in the $300K winning ticket, but c🍰ourt docs say he broke the rules to do it.

Todd Betzold profile pic

Todd Betzold

Kelly Bostic, a special education teacher at Covington Middle School.
加拿大28预测开奖:Virginia 🔴Lottery campaign awards 🉐teachers $2,500

Thank your favorite teacher, and they could w🍬in $2,500 in Virginia.

Halley Bondy profile pic

Halley Bondy