How many numbers do you need to win a prize in Florida Lotto?
Like its bigger siblings in the Sunshine State’s flagship lottery Florida Lotto you must choose six numbers, but how many do you need right to win?
Florida Lotto is the Sunshine State’s flagship draw lottery game. While it may not have the billion-dollar jackpots of Mega Millions or Powerball over its 35-year history it has doled out some more than generous payouts. The overall odds, while still extremely high for winning the jackpot at almost 1 in 23 million, the overall odds are over three times better than the other two bigger lotteries.
Like its bigger multistate siblings, in Florida Lotto you must choose six numbers but all in this case they are all drawn from the same number pool. But how many do you need right to win?
How many numbers do you need to win a prize in Florida Lotto?
Technically that depends on what you want to win. If you are going for the jackpot, all six obviously. Joking aside though, matching two will get you a free Quick Pick ticket to play again, and getting three or more out of six numbers correct will give you a monetary prize that will be automatically increased by the random multiplier on your ticket.
However, you could get a cash prize if you have just one number correct. That is if you cough up an extra dollar on top of the $2 standard ticket price to add-on the EZmatch option, which gives you six chances to win on a single ticket. In this game each number is given a dollar value from $2 to $500, each with its own set of odds, and should that number or numbers be drawn, you can cash in, potentially winning for all six numbers.
How to play Florida Lotto
Tickets to play Florida Lotto are $2 and the prizes range from getting a free Quick Pick ticket to play again to winning the jackpot.
Players choose six numbers from 1 through 53, or they can have the terminal do the picking for them by marking the QP (Quick Pick) box. The overall odds of winning a prize for Florida Lotto is 1 in 7.61.
All non-jackpot prizes are set amounts, and starting in 2020, every ticket purchased includes a randomly generated “multiplier” number which automatically increases non-jackpot cash prizes by two, three, four, five, or ten times.
However, the Florida State Lottery warns “if funds are insufficient to pay set prizes, non-jackpot prizes may be paid on a pari-mutuel basis and could be lower than the amount shown.”
As well, if there are multiple winners of the jackpot, it will be shared among them, like Mega Millions and Powerball. Likewise, winners can choose a 30-year annuity payout or a lump sum payment for a lesser amount. The latter must be claimed within 60 days from the drawing, otherwise players have a 180-day window to redeem their ticket for the winnings.
Florida Lotto prizes and odds
| Match | Odds | Base Prize | 2X | 3X | 4X | 5X | 10X |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 of 6 | 1 : 22,957,480 | Jackpot | |||||
| 5 of 6 | 1 : 81,409.50 | $3,000 | $6,000 | $9,000 | $12,000 | $15,000 | $30,000 |
| 4 of 6 | 1 : 1,415.82 | $50 | $100 | $150 | $200 | $250 | $500 |
| 3 of 6 | 1 : 70.79 | $5 | $10 | $15 | $20 | $25 | $50 |
| 2 of 6 | 1 : 8.58 | Free Ticket | Free Ticket | Free Ticket | Free Ticket | Free Ticket | Free Ticket |
Florida Lotto lets players purchase add-ons for every ticket
As mentioned, tickets to play Florida Lotto are $2 but the state lottery offers two additional add-ons for a $1 each, Double Play and EZmatch, choosing both would increase the a ticket price to $4 in total. While the former has the same overall odds as the standard game, with the latter the chances are better of getting an instant cash prize at 1 in 4.71 overall.
Florida Lotto Double Play
Those who take a shot at Double Play have a second chance of their numbers winning in a follow-up drawing. There is no jackpot prize, instead there is a maximum prize of $250,000 with no multiplier. The other base prize amounts are slightly larger than the standard prizes but the multiplier is still applicable.
Double Play prizes and odds
| Match | Odds | Base Prize | 2X | 3X | 4X | 5X | 10X |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 of 6 | 1 : 22,957,480 | $250,000 | $250,000 | $250,000 | $250,000 | $250,000 | $250,000 |
| 5 of 6 | 1 : 81,409.50 | $3,500 | $7,000 | $10,500 | $14,000 | $17,500 | $35,000 |
| 4 of 6 | 1 : 1,415.82 | $60 | $120 | $180 | $240 | $300 | $600 |
| 3 of 6 | 1 : 70.79 | $7 | $14 | $21 | $28 | $35 | $70 |
| 2 of 6 | 1 : 8.58 | Free Ticket | Free Ticket | Free Ticket | Free Ticket | Free Ticket | Free Ticket |
Florida Lotto EZmatch
The other add-on to Florida Lotto tickets, EZmatch, gives players a chance to win cash prizes from $2 up to $500, the automatic multiplier does not apply to these prizes. Basically, for each of the six numbers that you have on your ticket a cash amount is given. That means you can win up to six times on one ticket.
EZmatch prizes and odds
| Prize | Odds |
|---|---|
| $500 | 1 : 84,000.00 |
| $250 | 1 : 84,000.00 |
| $100 | 1 : 11,052.63 |
| $50 | 1 : 3,387.10 |
| $20 | 1 : 1,400.00 |
| $15 | 1 : 893.62 |
| $10 | 1 : 100.00 |
| $5 | 1 : 300.00 |
| $4 | 1 : 60.00 |
| $3 | 1 : 13.64 |
| $2 | 1 : 9.38 |
Claiming Florida Lotto prizes
Prizes less than $600 can be claimed at any lottery retailer in the state. Prizes of $600 and up to $250,000 can be claimed at a state lottery office. Prizes over $250,000 must be claimed at Lottery Headquarters in Tallahassee and the names of the winners will be kept confidential for 90 days.
Players have 180 days to claim any prizes from the draw date, with the exception of the one-time cash payout for the jackpot which must be claimed within the first 60 days after the drawing.
When are the Florida Lotto drawings and how late can you buy a ticket?
There are two drawings per week which are held Wednesday and Saturday nights at 11:15 pm ET. You can purchase a ticket up until 10:55 pm ET on the night of the draw. Any ticket purchased after that time will be for the following drawing.