1963
April 30th sees Governor John King sign the Sweepstakes Bill which would see the creation of the New Hampshire State Lottery. The Sweepstakes Bill had already been proposed 5 times before since 1953 by State Representative Larry Pickett from Keene who saw the creation of a New Hampshire Lottery as a sustainable method of realizing funding for education within the State.
On August 1st – the first New Hampshire Sweepstakes Commission was sworn into office.
1964
New Hampshire’s Towns and Cities voted by special ballot on March 10th – on whether or not to legalize the sale of Sweepstake Tickets throughout New Hampshire. 84% of the different communities voted an overwhelming “Yes” to the sale of Sweepstake tickets.
On March 12th the very first Sweepstake tickets go on sale – the New Hampshire Lottery was born – the very first US State Lottery company to come into existence. At this early stage – the New Hampshire Lottery is known as the NEW HAMPSHIRE SWEEPSTAKES.
1980
The NH Lottery introduce an online numbers game – PICK 3 – on November 10th. The game is still going strong today.
1985
The first multi-state USA Lotto game due to be launched is approved in April – the TRI-STATE LOTTO COMPACT – between the NH Lottery, the Maine Lottery and the Vermont Lottery companies.
September 3rd sees the NH Lottery introduce it second online numbers game – PICK 4 – again the game is still going strong today.
On September 3rd – tickets for the new Multi-State US Lottery game – the TRI-STATE MEGABUCKS – are put on sale marking the beginning of the long-standing collaborative partnership between the NH Lottery, Maine Lottery and Vermont Lottery. The TRI-STATE MEGABUCKS is to be drawn every Saturday and has a matrix of 6/30.
September 14th sees the first TRI-STATE MEGABUCKS draw – with Richard Campbell from South Portland ME. becoming the first Megabucks winner – scooping US$ 935,919.
1986
The matrix of the TRI-STATE MEGABUCKS is changed from 6/30 to 6/36 in January.
1988
January sees the TRI-STATE MEGABUCKS matrix change again – this time form 6/36 to 6/40.
1990
An extra draw is added to the TRI-STATE MEGABUCKS in May – with NH Lottery players now being able to play on Wednesdays as well as Saturdays.
1992
January sees the largest ever TRI-STATE MEGABUCKS win – an incredible US$ 16.4 Million jackpot which is split between winners in Maine and Vermont. This still stands as the biggest ever jackpot win in the history of the TRI-STATE MEGABUCKS.
April 19th sees a second Multi-State game offered by the NH Lottery in conjunction with the Maine Lottery and Vermont Lottery. The new game – TRI-STATE CASH 5 – is to be drawn each Tuesday evening and has a matrix of 5/35.
1995
June 27th sees the last draw of the TRI-STATE CASH 5 game.
On June 28th – a new Tri-State game was introduced – 5 CARD CASH – replacing the retired TRI-STATE CASH 5. Players from the NH Lottery, the Maine Lottery and the Vermont Lottery can take part on Tuesdays and Fridays every week.
Also on June 28th – the nightly PICK 3 and PICK 4 become TRI-STATE games with players from Maine and Vermont now also taking part.
On November 5th – the New Hampshire Lottery becomes the 22nd member to join the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) and begins selling tickets for its multi-state POWERBALL game which was first drawn back on April 22nd 1992 after taking over from the previous MUSL game – LOTTO AMERICA. NH Lottery players can now play the POWERBALL game – which has a double matrix of
5/45 + 1/45 – every Wednesday and Saturday.
1996
From June – NH Lottery Players are given the option of taking a cash lump sum if they win the jackpot prize on the TRI STATE MEGABUCKS.
1997
TRI-STATE MEGABUCKS players see a game change in March – with the MEGABUCKS now having a matrix of 6/42 plus the addition of a Bonus number.
On April 6th – the NH Lottery began selling tickets for another MUSL (Multi-State Lottery Association) game – the DAILY MILLIONS.
On September 5th – the TRI-STATE 5 CARD CASH game is retired by the
NH Lottery, Maine Lottery and Vermont Lottery companies.
The following day sees the retired game being replaced by the new game – TRI-STATE WIN CASH – with a new matrix of 6/36 on September 6th.
On November 2nd – NH Lottery players see some changes made by the MUSL to the POWERBALL game. The matrix becomes 5/49 + 1/42 and winners of the jackpot can now choose to take their winnings as a cash lump sum. The POWERBALL jackpot annuity time period is also increased from 20 to 25 years.
1998
On March 29th – the Multi-State Lottery Association retire the DAILY MILLIONS game.
The following day – the MUSL introduce a new game – CASH 4 LIFE – where NH Lottery players can win a lifetime prize of US$ 1,000 per week.
From June the NH Lottery PICK 3 and PICK 4 games are drawn every night of the week.
September sees NH Lottery players being given a new option of
Front Pair/Back Pair when playing the PICK 3 and PICK 4.
2000
On June 30th – the NH Lottery stops selling tickets for the Multi-State Lottery Association game – CASH4LIFE.
2001
On March 4th the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) add a significant feature to the POWERBALL game – POWERPLAY – a multiplier whereby players can increase their non-jackpot winnings by up to 5 times.
March 7th sees the first POWERBALL drawing including the new POWERPLAY multiplier feature.
2002
On February 26th – the TRI-STATE lottery – WIN CASH is retired by the
NH Lottery, Maine Lottery and Vermont Lottery.
CASH LOTTO – a brand new TRI-STATE lottery replaces WIN CASH on February 27th. As with the previous game – draws are held every Tuesday and Friday.
The Multi-State Lottery Association launch a brand new game on April 10th – the HOT LOTTO. As an existing member of the MUSL – the NH Lottery partakes right from the first draw. Draws for the HOT LOTTO take place every week on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 10.59pm EST.
POWERBALL sees some game changes on October 6th when 4 numbers were added to the main (white) balls and the POWERPLAY option had the number 1 removed. Jackpot odds were now 1 in 120 million and even larger POWERBALL jackpots would be created and more frequently.
2003
Daily draws are added to the PICK 3 and PICK 4 games on June 23rd – meaning that NH Lottery players can now play either game twice every day.
August 30th sees a jackpot win on the NH POWERBALL of US$ 135 Million. The Aeetos Trust from North Conway are the lucky winners – who played using an Easy Pick ticket – and the win still ranks as the largest to date on the
New Hampshire Powerball.
November 14th sees the TRI-STATE lottery – CASH LOTTO – being retired by the NH Lottery, ME Lottery and VT Lottery companies.
On November 16th HEADS OR TAILS – a new TRI-STATE game is introduced – which has draws every day of the week.
2004
February 4th sees another jackpot win on the NH POWERBALL when the Bow Trust from Portland, ME. Scoop US$ 85.5 Million. This win is the 8th POWERBALL jackpot to be won in New Hampshire.
2005
The daily TRI-STATE HEADS OR TAILS game is retired on June 25th by the lotteries of New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont.
June 26th sees the launch of a new replacement TRI-STATE game – the
TRIPLE PLAY – which has draws on Tuesdays and Fridays.
The POWERBALL matrix is given another change by the Multi-State Lottery Association on August 28th – this time to 5/55 + 1/42.
2006A world record POWERBALL jackpot of an incredible US$ 365 Million is won by a group of Nebraska factory workers following the drawing on February 18th. This still stands as the largest lottery jackpot won in the world to date on a single lottery ticket.
May sees the introduction of the TRI-STATE ADD-A-PLAY game – the first online game to have an instant win feature.
2007On January 12th the TRI-STATE Lottery consortium of the NH Lottery – along with the Maine Lottery and Vermont Lottery – retire the TRIPLE PLAY game and replace it with a new TRI-STATE Lottery called PAYCHECK.
A US$ 67.7 Million jackpot is won on the NH POWERBALL by NH Lottery players – husband and wife Dale Chellis and Toni Sergott from Lake Zurich, Illinois on April 28th. The couple had purchased their ticket whilst visiting their homeland of New Hampshire.
2008NH Lottery players see a significant addition to the HOT LOTTO game on January 3rd – when the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) add the “SIZZLER” option whereby players can multiply their non-jackpot winnings when purchasing their HOT LOTTO tickets.
2009January 4th sees some significant changes to the POWERBALL game – the intention being to create larger jackpot prizes and produce even more winners. NH Lottery players will now see jackpots starting off at a vastly increased
US$ 20 Million. Also a new prize level is created – where players can win US$ 1 Million with the Match 5 BONUS feature using POWERPLAY. The Powerball matrix changes to 5/59 + 1/39 and draws for the Powerball move to Orlando’s Universal Studios in Florida – with the Florida Lottery joining the MUSL in selling Powerball Tickets.
The TRI-STATE PAYCHECK game is retired by the New Hampshire Lottery, Maine Lottery and Vermont Lottery companies on January 30th.
A new TRI-STATE game is introduced in New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont on February 3rd – WEEKLY GRAND – which is drawn every Tuesday and Friday at 6.50pm EST and has a top prize of US$ 1,000 a week for 20 years.
The flagship lotto game from New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont – the popular TRI-STATE MEGABUCKS – is give some changes on July 26th and is renamed the TRI-STATE MEGABUCKS PLUS. Jackpots for the MEGABUCKS PLUS start at US$ 1 Million and the game has a double matrix of 5/41 and 1/6. The revamped MEGABUCKS PLUS also offers bigger 2nd prizes and better odds than its predecessor.
On October 9th an agreement is made between the Mega Millions Consortium and the MUSL – Multi-State Lottery Association – to allow the cross-sales of MEGA MILLIONS tickets within states that offer the POWERBALL game and the sale of POWERBALL tickets within states that offer the MEGA MILLIONS game. The NH Lottery will begin selling MEGA MILLIONS tickets come January.
2010On January 31st the NH Lottery sells its first lottery tickets for the national
MEGA MILLIONS game – as a result of the recently made cross-selling agreement between the Mega Millions Consortium and the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) – in October 2009.
April sees the biggest win on the NH Mega Millions lottery to date when Darlene Hanlon from Hampton wins US$ 10,000.
August 4th sees the largest win on the TRI STATE MEGABUCKS PLUS to date. A US$ 12.5 Million jackpot is won in New Hampshire which is the largest prize ever awarded to a single ticket holder in the history of either the TRI-STATE MEGABUCKS PLUS or its predecessor the TRI-STATE MEGABUCKS.
NH Lottery – Where the Money Goes…