Illinois Lotto Number Generator

Lotto is the Illinois Lottery's own jackpot game, sold only in Illinois, at licensed retailers, Lottery vending machines and online at illinoislottery.com. Profits from regular Illinois Lottery games go to the state's Common School Fund for K-12 public schools, which has received over $25 billion from the Lottery since 1985.

The game is older than most state lottos. Lotto 6/40 started on February 19, 1983, and Illinois was the first state to guarantee a million-dollar prize. The field then grew several times:

• 6/44 from May 19, 1984.
• 6/54 from May 7, 1988.
• 6/48 from January 15, 1998, with an all-cash jackpot starting at $1 million.
• 6/52 from April 14, 1999.

Wednesday and Saturday drawings began on August 15, 1990, and a Monday drawing was added in 2005. Extra Shot arrived on October 28, 2012. On July 14, 2013, a game went from 50 cents to $1, with draws on Monday, Thursday and Saturday evenings.

The current version dates from March 29, 2021. The field shrank from 52 to 50 numbers, the two Lotto Million drawings were added, and the price per line doubled from $1 to $2. The first drawing under these rules was on Thursday, April 1, 2021. At the time, the Lottery said players had won more than $650 million in Lotto prizes over the previous decade, including 51 prizes of $1 million or more. The largest since 2011 was a $27 million jackpot sold at a Circle K in New Lenox.

Illinois Lotto is drawn on Monday, Thursday and Saturday evenings at 9:22 p.m. Central Time. There are no balls and no bonus number: a digital draw system picks six numbers from 1 to 50. It then runs two more draws of six numbers in a row, Lotto Million 1 and Lotto Million 2, and results are posted after each one.

The Lottery's site showed sales for the 9:22 p.m. draw closing at 9:15 p.m. Videos of the drawings go up on the Lottery's Daily Drawings page and its YouTube channel shortly afterwards.

Checked: 2026-11-04, source: Illinois Lottery Draw Game Rules, effective November 16, 2025.

Lotto Million 1 and Lotto Million 2 are built into every $2 line, with nothing extra to mark or pay. Your same six numbers are checked against two more sets of six, each drawn from 1 to 50. Matching all six in either one pays $1,000,000 in a single lump sum.

These drawings only pay for six matches. Five or fewer in a Lotto Million draw wins nothing, so the smaller prizes come from the jackpot drawing alone. The $1 million is split equally if several lines match, and the rules set no minimum share.

Each of the three drawings has the same 1 in 15,890,700 chance, and one line can win more than one of these top prizes on the same night. Below the top prizes, a line is paid only for its highest prize.

One line costs $2. A slip has ten panels, A to J, so a single-draw ticket costs $2 to $20. You can mark your own numbers, ask the clerk to enter them, use a vending machine, or take a Quick Pick.

Extra Shot adds $1 per panel per drawing and covers every panel on the ticket. You can't add it to just one panel. When you buy, the terminal assigns a random Extra Shot number from 1 to 25, and the ticket prints YES or NO for the feature. The Extra Shot number is drawn along with the jackpot drawing. If it matches yours:

• prizes for matching 2 to 5 numbers are multiplied by 25;
• matching one number pays $10;
• matching none pays $5.

Extra Shot never changes the jackpot or the two $1 million prizes. Online, the number shows in an orange ball and you can re-roll it before paying.

At a store, one ticket can cover up to 25 consecutive drawings. Online you can buy 1 to 12 drawings ahead or subscribe for up to 12 months. A subscriber's wallet must have funds at least 90 minutes before a draw to be entered in it. Online play is open to Illinois residents aged 18 or over who are inside Illinois when they buy.

Checked: 2026-11-04, source: Illinois Lottery Draw Game Rules, effective November 16, 2025.

There are C(50,6) = 15,890,700 possible lines. The number of lines matching a given count:

• 5 of 6: 264 (6 × 44);
• 4 of 6: 14,190;
• 3 of 6: 264,880;
• 2 of 6: 2,036,265.

That makes 2,315,600 winning lines, or 1 in 6.86. Each Extra Shot row is the plain odds times 25, the chance that your Extra Shot number is also drawn. Our figures match the official table. You can check them in the lottery odds calculator.

The 5-of-6 and 4-of-6 prizes are pari-mutuel: their share of the pool is split equally among the winning lines. The prize pool is expected to be about half of sales. All prizes are rounded down to the nearest 50 cents.

The jackpot starts at $2 million and grows from one drawing to the next until a line matches all six. How it is paid depends on each winner's share of the advertised amount:

• Under $2 million each: paid as a lump sum, the cash value divided among the winners.
• $2 million or more each: the winner has 60 days from the day after the drawing to choose, in writing, between a cash payment and an annuity. The annuity is 30 payments: one after validation, then 29 annual payments funded by U.S. government securities. If no choice is made in time, the annuity applies, and the choice can't be changed.

The rules also protect winners when a jackpot is shared:

• With 2 to 20 winning lines, the jackpot is at least $2,000,000 in total and at least $250,000 per line.
• With more than 20 winners, each gets at least $5,000,000 divided by the number of winners.
• If a prize pool falls short, the difference comes from that drawing's sales.

Checked: 2026-11-04, source: Illinois Lottery Draw Game Rules, effective November 16, 2025.

Lotto prizes must be claimed within one year of the drawing date. Where you claim depends on the amount:

• $600 or less: most retailers will pay, if they have the cash and are willing. Online wins of this size go straight to your account wallet; if that would push the balance over $2,000, the excess is sent by check.
• Over $600 up to $10,000: a Claim Center, by mail, or by e-Claim.
• Over $10,000 up to $1 million: a Claim Center or by mail, including the two $1 million Lotto Million prizes. Direct deposit is available for prizes over $25,000.
• $1 million or more: call the Player Hotline at 1-800-252-1775, option 9.

Claim Centers see players by appointment only. Bring photo ID and proof of your Social Security number. Mail claims go to the Illinois Lottery Claims Department, P.O. Box 19080, Springfield, IL 62794-9912.

All prizes are subject to tax withholding as the law requires. Since August 24, 2018, a winner of $250,000 or more can ask in writing, when claiming, to stay anonymous.

Copy the six numbers into one panel of a Lotto slip, mark Extra Shot if you want it, and pay at the counter or at a Lottery vending machine. Online, tap the same numbers into a line on illinoislottery.com or the Illinois Lottery app. Either way, buy before the 9:15 p.m. sales close on Monday, Thursday or Saturday. The general steps are in how to play a quick pick.

You must be 18 or older to play Illinois Lotto, and a random line has the same 1 in 15,890,700 jackpot chance as any other (why no generator can predict a draw).

For crisis counseling and referral, the Illinois Lottery points players to 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) or texting GAMBLER to 833234. To exclude yourself, call 1-800-252-1775. See also play responsibly.