How to Play in Colorado

Find out how to play Powerball and Mega Millions in Colorado. The traditional method is to buy tickets from an authorized retail location in the Centennial State, but you can also order entries through courier services.

These messenger companies, such as theLotter, send out agents to play on your behalf. A digital image of the ticket is then sent back to you. All you need to do to get started is to open an account with the courier.

Powerball

Powerball drawings take place on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. The Colorado Lottery suspends sales at 7:30 p.m. MT on draw days. Here is what you need to do to take part:

• Choose five numbers from 1 to 69 and a Powerball from 1 to 26. Get a Quick Pick (QP) if you are happy for the computer to generate your numbers at random.
• Select the Power Play option for the chance to win bigger prizes. There is an extra cost, but if you win a non-jackpot prize it will be increased by 2, 3, 4, 5 or 10 times, depending on which multiplier is selected in the Power Play draw.
• Add Double Play if you also want your numbers to be entered into a separate draw. Double Play drawings are held immediately after the main draw and offer all the same ways to win, with a fixed jackpot of $10 million.
• Decide how many drawings to play. You can play up to 13 consecutive weeks (39 drawings) with Advance Play.

To win a Powerball prize, you must match at least the Powerball, or three of the main white balls. There are nine prize tiers in total, with a jackpot of at least $20 million available if anyone can match all six winning numbers. This grand prize rolls over if nobody wins, and has even gone past $2 billion in the past.

Mega Millions

You can play Mega Millions at a time that suits you if you play through a courier, but the cut-off time for ticket sales could be earlier than the 7:30 p.m. MT draw break set by the Colorado Lottery, as the concierge agents have to be able to purchase the entries from licensed retailers on your behalf. The steps below show how to play Mega Millions in Colorado.

• Pick your numbers – five main numbers between 1 and 70 and one Mega Ball from 1 to 25. Alternatively, select a Quick Pick if you don’t want to choose your own.
• Add the Megaplier for an additional fee. The Megaplier is a multiplier feature which sees all non-jackpot winnings increased by up to five times their initial value, making it possible to win $5 million without even matching all the numbers.
• Play multiple drawings, up to a maximum of 26 (13 weeks in a row).
• Purchase your entries before the draw deadline and wait to see if you are a winner.

The aim of Mega Millions is to match as many of your numbers to those that are drawn as you can. Get all six and you’ll win or share the jackpot, which has a starting point of $20 million and keeps growing until it is won. You can also win prizes for matching fewer numbers, with nine ways to win altogether.

Claiming Prizes in Colorado

One advantage of playing through a courier is that it is far easier to claim prizes. Whereas you have to go to a retailer to pick up cash amounts of up to $600 if you play in-store, a messenger service will automatically pay most prizes into your online account. For larger prizes, you can claim by mail or visit a Colorado Lottery Claim Center in person. You have 180 days to claim prizes and you are not allowed to stay anonymous.

The Colorado Lottery

The Colorado Lottery has been creating big winners and supporting the state’s natural resources since it began in 1983. More than $4 billion of the proceeds have gone towards protecting Colorado’s wilderness and creating trails, parks, pools and recreation.

The state’s biggest successes have so far come in Powerball, including Judy Finchum from Clifton, who won a $133 million jackpot in September 2017. She bought her ticket from a convenience store in Grand Junction that was appropriately called Lucky Me.