How to Play in Colorado

Learn how to play Powerball and Mega Millions in Colorado. While you can still buy tickets at authorized retail locations around the state, courier services offer another route. These services dispatch agents to purchase your tickets on your behalf, then send you a digital image of the ticket. To start, you just need to open an account with a courier.

Powerball

Powerball draws are held on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. In Colorado, ticket sales stop at 7:30 p.m. Mountain Time on those draw days. To participate:

• Choose five numbers from 1 to 69, plus one Powerball number from 1 to 26. If you prefer, use Quick Pick (QP) to have the numbers randomly chosen.
• If you like, add Power Play, which boosts non-jackpot winnings by 2×, 3×, 4×, 5×, or 10× (depending on the multiplier drawn), for a small additional fee.
• There’s also Double Play: this is an additional draw held right after the main Powerball draw, with the same ways to win but a fixed jackpot of $10 million.
• You can play multiple draw dates in advance (up to 13 weeks, which equals 39 drawings) if you want to enter many draws at once.

To win something in Powerball, you need to match at least the Powerball itself—or match three of the main (white) balls. There are nine prize tiers overall. The jackpot starts at $20 million, and grows (“rolls over”) if no one wins it. (Some jackpots have reached over $2 billion in past draws.)

Mega Millions

If using a courier, you can purchase entries for Mega Millions, but you’ll need to make sure you buy before the courier’s deadline (which may be earlier than the Colorado Lottery’s 7:30 p.m. MT cut‑off), because the courier needs time to get the ticket from a licensed retailer. Here’s how to play:

• Pick five main numbers (1‑70) and one Mega Ball number (1‑25). Or choose Quick Pick if you’d rather have numbers randomly generated.
• You can add Megaplier (for extra cost), which multiplies any non‑jackpot prizes by up to 5×, allowing the possibility to win up to $5 million without matching all numbers.
• You can enter multiple drawings in advance, up to 26 draws in a row (which is equivalent to 13 weeks).
• Just make sure your entries are purchased before the deadline and wait for the draw.

To win the jackpot, you need to match all six numbers. But there are also ways to win smaller prizes by matching fewer numbers. Mega Millions also starts with a $20 million jackpot and increases until someone wins.

Claiming Prizes in Colorado

Using a courier makes prize claiming simpler in many cases. For smaller prizes (usually up to $600) that you’d normally collect from a retail location, a courier service often pays them directly into your online account. If you win a larger prize, you can either claim by mail or go to a Colorado Lottery Claim Center in person. Prizes must be claimed within 180 days after the draw. Also, winners in Colorado are not allowed to remain anonymous.

The Colorado Lottery

The Colorado Lottery has been in operation since 1983. Over the years, it has raised more than $4 billion to support the state’s natural resources, including trails, parks, pools, and recreation areas.

One of the biggest lottery wins in the state happened in September 2017, when Judy Finchum of Clifton won $133 million in Powerball by buying a ticket at a convenience store in Grand Junction called Lucky Me.

Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes. The operations of any courier service are not endorsed or approved by the Colorado Lottery.