Hoosier Lotto
Name
Operator
Type
Country
Website
Founded
Lottorating
Hoosier Lotto
Hoosier Lottery
State lottery
Indiana, US
hoosierlottery.com
1989
28/50
Introduction
Overview
Hoosier Lotto is a mid size lottery that represents around 10% of the revenues of the Hoosier Lottery organisation. A rule change at the end of April 16 has meant that the jackpot is easier to hit.
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Where Available
Available in Indiana. Some lottery concierge or betting companies also offer it in other countries.
How it Works
Date and time of draws
The Hoosier Lotto is drawn on Wednesdays and Saturdays around 11pm ET.
No. of balls and how to hit the jackpot
The ball pot has recently been reduced, which is unusual in the context of other lotteries (who have been increasing the odds to create larger jackpots over the last few years). There are now 46 balls from which players need to choose 6 and 6 correct matches wins the jackpot.
Other Variations
The Hoosier Lotto has an automatic multiplier for prize levels 3, 4 & 5 of between 1x and 10x with the average being 5.4x. The payout table will thus vary each week. In addition, a new variation of the game has been launched which costs an extra $1 and is called Hoosier Lotto Plus. This option gives the player another draw of six numbers at the same odds with a different set of prizes from $1m down to a free ticket worth $3. The new PLUS variation seems to be about as popular as its predecessor EZMatch as it is played by 14% of players.
Price, Tickets & Sales
Ticket Price
A basic game ticket costs $2 and the Lotto Plus version another $1 so $3 in total.
Tickets Sold Per Draw
Hoosier Lotto makes up around 10% of the lottery's sales and they sell around 500k tickets per draw.
Sales per draw
At a cost of $2 which is more than many state lotteries, sales are around $1m per draw which makes it larger than the average US draw. This state lottery is holding up quite well against the growth of multistate and instant games.
Odds
Prize Table
Odds of hitting the jackpot
The prize payout tables have been changed recently with fewer balls in the main pot and other changes to how payouts are calculated. Contributions to the jackpot still represent around three quarters of the prize pool which itslef is said to be 50% of sales. Payouts will vary from one draw to the next depending on the automatic multiplier which will vary from 2x to 10x on the prizes at levels 3, 4 and 5. The prize table is shown below.
The jackpot odds have reduced quite considerably recently and with chances of 1 in 9m it is one of the 'easier' ones to hit.
Balls and Bonus Balls
Prize
Odds
6
5
4
3
2
5,400,000*
2,700
108
11
2
9,366,819
39,028
800
47
6.8
*Average jackpot size when it is hit
Odds of winning any prize
Hoosier Lotto is now one of the best lotteries if not the best lottery in terms of your chances of winning at least a free ticket each draw. The odds of winning any prize are just under 1 in 6 tickets! With Lotto Plus, the latest rules show that the chance for a $3 play is 1 in 3 tickets will win at least a free ticket as odds include the chances of winning on both draws.
Jackpots
Minimum jackpot
It is seeded with a minimum jackpot of $1m which isn't huge but the odds of hitting the jackpot are now more attractive.
Average jackpot
If you play each week, you'll have a jackpot of around $3m to play for.
Average jackpot when hit
The average jackpot when taken down is $5m.
Highest jackpot ever
The highest jackpot ever won on this Lotto was in 2007 where one ticket won a huge $55m (taken as cash instead of annuity for $40m). It's less likely these days that the heady heights of the $50m will be reached since the odds of hitting the jackpot have been reduced in favour of players to 1 in 9m, from 1 in 12m previously.
Jackpot winners per year
With the change to jackpot odds recently, it is likely that it will be hit more frequently now, around once every two months.
Contribution to the jackpot
The lottery state that around 75% of the 50% prize pool is allocated to the jackpot each draw (or around 35% of ticket costs)
Return to Player
Introduction
The real RTP for players will depend on the size of the jackpot when they buy their tickets - see below.
RTP when first seeded
When the lottery is reseeded after a win, the RTP is pretty good as lotteries go at 0.42.
Average RTP
If you're playing on subscription you can expect a return to player value of around 0.54.
RTP when jackpot typically hit
If you're only playing around the time that jackpots reach their average size when won (of $5m) then your RTP will be 0.65, which again is pretty decent for a lottery.
Best RTP
It's unlikely, now that the odds have reduced for the jackpot, that the jackpot size will grow to heady heights but in case it does reach anywhere near $50m again the RTP will be massively in your favour.
Payouts and Taxes
Annuity vs Cash
Hoosier Lotto prizes are advertised as the annuity option. Cash equivalents will be around 65% of the same.
Taxes
Local state taxes in Indiana are 3.4% on prizes over $600 and federal taxes are around 25% for US residents (30% for non residents).
Summary
Jackpot alerts
Overall, the Hoosier Lotto leaves me a little confused, especially since the new PLUS rules went live recently. It's not clear, for example, how the multipliers have been applied in the last few weeks (if at all). Add to that the fact that the PLUS option seems to give a second chance of hitting a separate jackpot (on an additional draw) means that the real odds of a PLUS ticket look a little too good to be true. One yet to clarify but if in doubt at the moment, play the PLUS option! Jackpot alert regardless to be set at $22m
Pros
Excellent chances of winning any prize (especially with the PLUS option) and smallish top jackpots. Better chances of hitting the jackpot too than most lotteries at 9m to 1. It's also a lotto game that the Lottery organisation is keen to promote and adapt, hence the new rules recently.
Cons
More expensive than most US state lotteries at $2. Fairly low jackpots and seeding only ok. Automatic multiplier results not clear and Plus option a bit tricky to calculate…
Verdict
Definitely play the PLUS option until rule changes and payout tables are clarified (there may even be a short term edge here!). To play a lottery, check out our Agents page.