A Comprehensive Review for the PA iLottery
Lottery games have been offering a fun and exciting way to play games and win money for over 50 years. Nearly every state has a lottery, including Pennsylvania. However, only 10 states have an online version.
Pennsylvania is one of those ten. Here’s a quick overview Pennsylvania’s Lottery games, plus everything you need to know about bonuses, promotions, the best games and how to play.
The Pennsylvania Lottery
Pennsylvania sold its first lottery tickets on March 7, 1972. Twenty-six years later, Pennsylvania was one of the first states to entertain the concept on an online website. PALottery.com was launched early in 1998.
The early focus was on posting winning numbers and directed lottery players to retail vendors. Over the next 10 years, the Pennsylvania Lottery would join both major national draw games, Powerball and Mega Millions.
The PA Lottery launched into the social media markets in June 2011, plus added an instant ticket check feature to the mobile app. However, in May 2018, the PA Lottery took another step forward. The PA iLottery launched.
Now lottery players could set up an account to play dozens of exciting games and win huge cash jackpots online. You can still play the Pennsylvania Lottery at hundreds of retail outlets across the state, but let’s focus now getting you started playing online using the PA iLottery.
PA iLottery New Account Bonus Offer
One of the most exciting things about opening a new account at PA iLottery is the free stuff. New account sign-ups will receive $5 worth of free play money right out of the gate. This is a welcome offer to help you have fun while you explore the site.
When you’re ready to win big cash, you’ll begin by making your first deposit. This is an easy process that we’ll explain momentarily. However, the PA iLottery is going to reward you the first time you deposit money into your PA iLottery account.
To help get you started, you’ll be able to add up to $250 worth of free money. All you have to do is follow the instructions to make your first deposit and the PA iLottery will match that deposit dollar for dollar.
You can start by playing your free $5 welcome bonus, or head right to the cashier page and put money into your account. You’ll still have the free $5. The PA iLottery will add a 100 percent matching amount to your account balance up to $250.
All you have to do is enter the promo code in the text box space noted on your deposit form. Navigate to the cashier page and fill out the information on payment type. Don’t forget to enter the LOTTOMAX promotional code.
You need to make at least a $10 deposit. However, since you’re going to get a dollar per dollar 100 match, take advantage of this by depositing as much as you’re able. You can get up to $250.
You’ll need to play through this bonus amount 10 times before the money converts to cash. Along the way, you may win thousands in jackpot prizes using this free money. This is the first PA iLottery promotion you need to take advantage of, but there are more.
PA iLottery Promotions
After you take advantage of the 100 percent matching deposit welcome bonus, the PA iLottery has more exciting promotions to offer. There are daily promotions, periodic special offers, plus weekly bonuses to take advantage.
Daily promotions kick off on Monday with the Medieval Monday Bonus Money offer. All you have to do is play $5 on Medieval Match, and the PA iLottery will give you $5 more. On Tuesday, you can get a free $2 in bonus money for playing buying a $2 Mega Millions ticket.
Wednesday, you can receive the same $2 bonus money on a $2 Powerball play. On Friday, be ready to get another $5 free bonus for playing $5 on Spring Arcade. This is called the Spring Fling Friday bonus.
You can find all current promotions on the PA iLottery promotions menu tab. Make sure you sign up for the weekend specials. Every Thursday, you can get a list of weekend specials sent right to your email inbox.
To finish up your week, don’t miss out on the Sunday Tower$ bonus. This is a cash back special promotion. For every $50 you play on Fruit Tower$, you receive $5 worth of cash deposited into your PA iLottery account to play any game you want. You can get a maximum of $250.
There is also one other promotion you shouldn’t skip. It’s called Refer-a-Friend. Fill out the simple form on the Refer-a-Friend page, and you’ll get $50 in bonus money after your friend plays just $10 worth of games in their first 30 days.
If your friend uses the bonus code FRIEND, they get $20 in free bonus money for themselves. With all the promotions and special offers at the PA iLottery, you’re probably eager to get started. Let’s talk about the simple steps you take to get you on your way to winning.
Creating a PA iLottery Account
Your PA iLottery account is free. Once you follow these simple steps, you’ll be ready to start the thrilling experience of winning huge cash jackpots right online. Here’s how to get set up with a new PA iLottery account.
- Enter a valid email address and then confirm the address in the second text box.
- Create a password for your new account. Follow safe password principles.
- Confirm the password.
- Complete the section for personal information. This includes your full name, gender, date of birth, country of residence, plus your address.
- Pick two security questions for your account and answer them.
- Input the promo code into the text box to receive any promotional offers you have.
- Read and then click the three check boxes confirming you’re at least 18, all the information is correct, plus you understand no one else may use this account but you.
- Choose to opt-in for optional email and text messages about promotions and other specials from the PA iLottery.
- Take a few minutes to review the rules and guidelines for play on the PA iLottery and click SUBMIT.
It’s that simple. Now, go to your account and head for the cashiers page to make your first deposit. Here are the steps for putting funds into your new PA iLottery account.
How to Make a Deposit in a PA iLottery Account
Don’t forget to use your $5 free play bonus. But, to start going after the big cash jackpots, you’ll need to put funds into your account. As you’re filling in the deposit amount, don’t forget about the 100 percent matching deposit bonus you can receive.
You have five choices to put funds into your PA iLottery account. There is the option of physically putting money in your account at a vendor using PayNearMe. However, you can make a deposit online through an ACH-bank check, VISA or MasterCard (debit or credit), PayPal, PA iLottery WebCash, or a PA Play+ account. Here’s how to make a deposit.
- Pick one of the five methods for making a PA iLottery deposit.
- Enter the information requested and confirm all of it is accurate.
- Choose the amount for your deposit. Don’t forget about the welcome bonus.
- Review your deposit amount because deposits cannot be withdrawn from a PA iLottery account.
- After you’ve checked everything, click SUBMIT.
Once you have funds available in your PA iLottery account, you’re ready to play and win. Let’s get you started by listing some excitingly popular games you can play online at the PA iLottery.
PA iLottery Games
The games on the PA iLottery website are broken down into categories. There is a game menu bar where you can scroll through All Games, Draw Games, New Games or Hot Games. You can also use the A to Z filter, or browse through an icon or list view. If you know the specific game name, you can also use the search window.
The best way to get to the most extensive breakdown of game categories is by clicking on the Pennsylvania Lottery Keystone State icon in the top left-hand corner. This opens up three tab menu bar, Play Online, Games and More.
Both the Games and More tabs are down-down windows. Play Online takes you to the full list we talked about at the beginning. However, the Games drop-down window gives you a more extensive list of games by category.
You can use an additional drop-down arrow to view games in the following categories. Draw Games, Scratch-Offs, Fast Play, Keno, Xpress Sports and Second Chance™. There is also a tab to the page with instructions for claiming prizes.
Inside each of the categories you will find important information about that type of game. You can review each of the active games and what prizes are still available. There will be information about when the game may end, plus instructions on how to play. Let’s look inside these categories.
- Draw Games – You can purchase tickets online for either of the major national draw games, Powerball and Mega Millions. You can also purchase draw game tickets for the unique Pennsylvania Lottery draws such as Treasure Hunt, Cash4Life and the Millionaire Raffle.
- Scratch-Offs – These are online versions of the popular retail tickets you can buy at the store. The games involve matching numbers or symbols that pay out the cash prize noted when you make a match.
- Fast Play – Fast Play games are relatively new to the PA iLottery. They resemble the traditional scratch-off games, but you don’t have to scratch.
- Keno – Keno is a game that blends bingo with the popular number draw games. You can enjoy this exciting game every four-minutes.
- Xpress Sports – This is another new game at the PA iLottery. There are two virtual races, one involving horses and the other using race cars. If your horse or car wins, you win cash.
Here are ten popular games on the PA iLottery, followed by a brief description. Remember, there are dozens of different games available on the All Games tab from the main menu. Let’s look at ten games to get you started.
- Doubloons – Pirate theme where you hunt for doubloons. Finding doubloons is like finding cash.
- Red Hot Keno – There are 20 draws that give you a chance to match 10 numbers and win.
- Super Cash Buster – If you love to collect things, you love this game. Mini-game bonuses inside the main game board..
- Frosty Fun – Matching game with two bonus games. Prize multipliers and possible free plays.
- Holiday Big Money Slingo – Bingo game that uses a holiday twist.
- Walrus Winnings – This is a matching game that includes bonus rounds.
- Neon Keno – This is a colorful Keno-style game. You can trigger auto-play for up to 20 automatic games.
- Bigfoot – Bigfoot uses four grids to search for matching symbols. Match and win.
- Lucky You – Another matching symbol game with multiple bonus round opportunities.
- Derby Cash Horse Racing – A virtual horse race starts every five minutes.
- Xpress Car Racing – Grab the virtual wheel for your own two-lap car race. New race starts every five minutes.
How to Play on the PA iLottery
Playing the dozens of games on the PA iLottery is a snap. One nice feature is the opportunity to watch as many demonstration games as you want to learn how to play. Once you’re ready to get down to winning cash, here’s how to play some popular instant cash games.
Double Your Luck
Double Your Luck is an instant matching game. It’s a thrilling way to win fast cash. Double Your Luck is easy to play. There are good chances for winning cash prizes. Winners can come from three or four matches. You can play using a single or double grid game board. There are up to five free bonus games available within each grid.
How to Play
- Use the plus and minus symbols to pick the game amount.
- Choose how many grids.
- The Double Your Luck prize level is set by the number of grids.
- Each grid costs between $0.10 to $15.00.
- Two grids at $0.50 each, total cost $1, is the default game.
- Click play for a single round.
- Choose “Auto Play” to play 20 rounds automatically.
- Your tiles will drop into the play grid.
- A new row will randomly appear as the tiles fall.
- Click on the tiles to uncover a symbol.
- “Reveal All” will automatically uncover all the tiles.
How You Win
- When three or four symbols are matched on a grid, you win the designated prize.
- Three Leprechauns, unlocks up to five free games.
- Each of your free games will be on a single grid.
- Every free game is a winner.
Clover Cash
Clover Cash is a more popular match-style game. It offers some of the best odds of winning a prize on the PA iLottery game list. It’s a fun game with a few in-game options to add to your potential chances of winning.
How to Play
- Choose your game play amount between $0.05 and $4.00.
- Price options include $0.10, $0.25, $0.50, $1.00, $2.00, or $3.00.
- Select up to seven rows to play.
- Rows that you do not choose to play are blank.
- The total cost equals game play amount times the number of rows.
- Start to uncover individual tiles or select Reveal All.
- If you match three symbols in any of your rows, you’re a winner.
How to Win
- Three matching symbols across a row win the prize noted.
- The total winnings are displayed at the bottom of your game screen.
- Every time you uncover three Clover symbols you win a bonus game.
- Cash prizes during free games are multiplied by five.
- You can win up to $10,000 playing Clover Cash.
Jungle Tumble
Our next popular game is a multi-match game. There are multiple tile options that give you more chances to win. This game looks like a virtual slot machine as it unfolds. Game symbols fall off the board and new tiles drop. Here’s how to play Jungle Tumble.
How to Play
- Use the plus and minus buttons to pick your game amount.
- Click Play to start your new game.
- A play grid will appear.
- This grid will fill up automatically.
- The grid changes as matching symbols vanish.
- Your grid refills with new symbols in the empty spots.
- Prizes increase as the cluster of matching symbols increases.
How to Win
- Matching clusters will build across your bottom row.
- A Prize Multiplier grows every time you match a cluster.
- The meter starts with a single prize amount and then multiplies to up to five times the amount.
- The final cash prize will be this amount multiplied by the number displayed on the multiplier graph.
- You can win up to $5,000 on Jungle Tumble.
How to Claim Your Prizes
You can claim your prizes from winning games on the PA iLottery using different methods. One of criteria is the amount you win. Prizes up to $600 will be added to your PA iLottery account balance. For larger prizes, follow these guidelines.
Complete the PA Lottery claim form. If your prize is less than $2,500, many times you can take this form and photo ID to a PA Lottery retailer and get your money right there. You can also mail your completed form to the main headquarters in Middleton.
Powerball and Mega Millions winnings must be claimed through the headquarters. Once your completed form is received, you can usually expect your check in four to six weeks. Now that you know how to claim prizes, let’s look at the PA iLottery games with the biggest potential jackpots.
PA iLottery Games with the Biggest Cash Jackpots
You don’t want to miss out on games with smaller jackpot limits. Sometimes the smaller games can have excellent odds of winning. However, there’s nothing like the thrill of playing for cash prize amounts that could change your life forever. Here are some big cash jackpot games on the PA iLottery.
Draw Games
- Powerball™ – This is a national draw game with a jackpot that builds each week there is no winner. Jackpots are in the millions. All you need is a PA iLottery VIP Players Club account to purchase your ticket.
- Mega Millions™ – Another national draw game with prize jackpots that rival Powerball. Same guidelines apply for purchasing a ticket online at the PA iLottery.
- Cash4Life – There is nothing like the thought of having a paycheck every month, but you never have to work. Cash4Life is a PA iLottery draw game that could give you just that.
- Match 6 – Match 6 is a draw game that can award prize jackpots over a million dollars every day. Each ticket costs $2, and you can buy tickets for drawings 26 days in advance.
- Millionaire Raffle – The Pennsylvania Lottery was one of the first states to have a raffle-type lottery game. Millionaire Raffle has four $1 million prize jackpots to award. Each Millionaire Raffle ticket costs $20, but there are over 5,000 chances to win $100 in cash.
Keno Games
The PA iLottery has two different online keno games. These are games that mix features of bingo with ping-pong ball draw games. Each game has an 80 number board that you will try to match 20 numbers.
- Neon Keno – In this Keno game you pick how many numbers you want to match. The higher the number you match, the more you win. Ten matching spots will win you a $40,000 jackpot.
- Red Hot Keno – This game uses the same Keno rules as Neon Keno. Ticket prices vary, but you have the same opportunity to win big cash by matching up to 10 numbers. Jackpot is $10,000 for 10 matches.
Instant Games
The instant games on the PA iLottery site include scratch-offs, plus symbol and matching number games. There are dozens of these fast and furious games, each with a chance to win thousands in cash. Here are five big jackpot instant game opportunities.
- Diamond Mine – Each ticket costs $20. Diamond Mine uses a progressive prizes ladder beginning at $200,000. If your numbers match the winning numbers, you win the prize noted. Prize jackpots can climb over $500,000.
- Extreme Green – This is the second progressive jackpot type of game. Tickets cost $20 and the jackpots start out at $200,000. Like Diamond Mine, jackpots frequently exceed $500,000.
- $3 Million Limited – $3 Million Limited is a popular scratch-off game. You can become an instant millionaire by matching three symbols. Your virtual scratch-off ticket has 15 symbols. Match your numbers with any of the eight winning numbers and you win that prize. Bonus rounds are available.
- Magnificent Millions – This is a new scratch-off game. Top prizes are $1 million.
- James Bond 007™ – The final game in our biggest instant game prizes has even more ways to win. The cash jackpot is over $1 million, but you can also win a free trip to Las Vegas as a PA iLottery VIP Players Club member.
Pennsylvania Lottery Website and Mobile App Review
Both the website and mobile app are similar. You will not find it difficult to switch back and forth from a mobile device to your PC. The screen layout is crisp and clear. They use a dark green background with white text.
This makes the material in drop-down tabs easy to read. The same green background and white text is used for important information across the bottom header. The use of these two colors creates a readable site on both PC and mobile device.
The PA iLottery uses big and bold game icons. You can gather some information right from these first visuals for each game. There is a Play tab and Demo tab. You can also click on the question mark to review game rules and other information.
Each game demo is a pop up video. After reviewing a demo or learning how to play, you can quickly return to the home page.
Important pages, such as depositing funds and customer service, are well placed and easy to locate. Each of the deposit methods is aligned at the top of the bottom border. They are clickable icons. Just below the funding icons are each of the social media links.
You can quickly link to contact information, or find out how to become a PA iLottery affiliate. Terms, conditions and privacy information are also available.
Lottery players can access information about responsible gaming. The toll free numbers are listed for the main lottery offices, plus an 800 number to the Problem Gambling Hotline.
Pros
- Excellent use of colors to offset pages and game columns.
- Menu bar is easy to read with drop-down windows to direct your search.
- New account and sign in buttons are easily accessible.
- You can search games using bold icons or change to a list format with text explanations.
- Game icons are vividly bold.
Cons
- White space on game instructions could be used better.
- You have to go to the Pennsylvania Lottery icon to get a better breakdown of games by category. This is hard to find the first time visiting the site.
- You are unable to filter the individual game boards by prize jackpot or ticket price.
PA iLottery VIP Players Club
The Pennsylvania Lottery rewards their players. The PA iLottery rewards program is called the VIP Players Club. Each VIP Players Club membership is free. There are a number of advantages of being a PA iLottery VIP Players Club member.
These include being able to purchase tickets online for the major national draw games Powerball and Mega Millions. The membership also is needed to enter the drawings for the special James Bond 007 trips.
VIP Players Club members receive notices of special promotions, plus an assortment of coupons that can be used to purchase free game tickets. You can also take advantage of drawings held for non-winning scratch-off tickets.
FAQ
- Which PA iLottery has the best odds?
- How can I win the Pennsylvania Lottery?
- Can I get my winnings online?
- What is the office address for Pennsylvania Lottery?
- How much tax do you pay on Pennsylvania lottery winnings?
- Can I play the Pennsylvania lottery for free?
- When are the Pennsylvania Lottery drawings?
- Who owns the Pennsylvania lottery?
Frequently Asked Questions
Red Hot Keno has variable odds, but they are the best odds of all the PA iLottery games. The odds improve as you increase the number of chances you take. For games with 10 chances to match numbers, you have a 1 in 1.7 chance matching a winning number.
While there isn’t a magic secret to winning the games on the Pennsylvania Lottery, one trusted step you can take is to play often. The more times you play any of the PA iLottery games, the better your odds become.
Winning prizes on the PA iLottery under $600 can be transferred directly to your PA iLottery account if you are a VIP Players Club member. Prizes over $600 require a claim form be completed and submitted. You can pick up winnings under $2,500 at a retailer.
The main office headquarters for the Pennsylvania Lottery is located at 1200 Fulling Mill Road, Suite 1, Middletown, Pennsylvania 17057. There are also physical branch offices regionally located around the state in Philadelphia, Wilkes-Barre, Harrisburg, Clearfield, Pittsburgh, Lehigh Valley and Erie.
If you win playing any PA Lottery game, you will be taxed at 3.07 percent income tax rate. The Pennsylvania Lottery withholds taxes on winning prize awards over $5,000. Prizes over $600 generate a W-2G form. You must submit your W-2G when filing state taxes.
You will receive $5 in free play money when you sign up for a PA iLottery account. After you use that $5, you can watch game demonstrations, but to win cash on any Pennsylvania Lottery you need to purchase a ticket. This doesn’t include free bonus games you win.
Drawings for the two major national draws, Powerball and Mega Millions, happen on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Pick 2, 3, 4 and 5 draw games are held nightly. Match 6 is another Pennsylvania lottery draw game held nightly.
No single person owns the Pennsylvania Lottery. The Commonwealth itself owns the lottery. Retail vendors and the PA iLottery online were legislated by the Pennsylvania General Assembly, are governed by the Pennsylvania Gaming Commission, and the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue is the parent agency.