JACKSON, MISS. – The Mississippi Lottery Corporation (MLC) has been approved by the Board of Directors of the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) as its newest member to sell Powerball® and Mega Millions®. The MLC anticipates sales for both games to begin in the first quarter of 2020.
As the president of a member lottery, MLC President Tom Shaheen will join the MUSL Board of Directors and the Powerball® Product Group as a voting member when sales commence.
“The anticipation is extremely high for these games in Mississippi,” said MLC President Shaheen. “We receive calls every day wanting to know when they will go on sale. It will be an exciting time for Mississippi. Players will no longer need to go over the border to play.”
The MLC will become the 45th U.S. lottery to sell both jackpot style games. Drawings for both games occur twice per week and have had jackpots reaching more than $1 billion. Mississippians will soon have the opportunity for a chance to play big jackpots four times per week, as well as many secondary prizes. Powerball® drawings occur on Wednesdays and Saturdays, while Mega Millions® drawings take place on Tuesdays and Fridays.
The first $80 million of net lottery annual proceeds will go toward infrastructure needs around the state. After that 10-year period, lottery proceed collections up to $80 million will go into the state’s general fund. Any net proceeds over $80 million will be sent to the Education Enhancement Fund, which helps fund pre-k and the classroom supply fund.
The Multi-State Lottery Association is a non-profit, government benefit, voluntary association that is entirely owned and operated by its member lotteries. Each MUSL member lottery offers one or more multi-jurisdictional lottery games administered with the assistance of MUSL. All profits are retained by the individual lotteries and are used to fund projects or purposes approved by their authorizing legislatures.
