The Montana Lottery on Monday announced changes to the annual Montana Millionaire event for 2024.
SUMMARY OF CHANGES
- Four $1M grand prizes
- 500,000 tickets
- 'Quarter-Million Monday'
- More instant wins
The agency is adding another million-dollar grand prize, bringing the total to four. This comes after last year's increase to three $1M prizes.
The number of tickets sold this year will increase to 500,000, up from 380,000 sold in 2023. Tickets will still cost $20.
The Montana Lottery is also adding a “Quarter Million Monday” drawing for $250,000 on December 2; this will replace the former “Early Bird” drawings.
There will also be more instant win prizes: 200 more $500 instant wins, and 2,500 more $100 instant wins.
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Montana Millionaire has seen increased popularity in recent years, with all 380,000 tickets in 2023 selling out in just five hours.
“This year’s Montana Millionaire has been designed to build on last year’s success in a responsible way while combining feedback from players and sales agents with the extensive knowledge of the Lottery’s staff,” said Montana Lottery Director Bob Brown.
Montana Millionaire tickets will go on sale on November 1, 2024. The drawing for the grand prizes is usually held during the last week of the year, between Christmas and New Year's Eve.
Last year's winning $1M tickets and where they were sold:
- 299951 - Town Pump of Kalispell (2910 US 93 South)
- 315800 - Town & Country Supply (Hilltop Road in Billings)
- 346589 - Heidelberg Lounge (Division Road in Great Falls)
Previous million-dollar winners over the years include three from Butte, two from Great Falls, four from Billings, two from Columbia Falls, and one each from Winnett, East Helena, and Laurel.
Due to a change in legislation, the Montana Lottery is no longer allowed to release names of Montana Millionaire winners unless they have given consent.
Money generated from the lottery is used in several ways. “The lottery exists to generate revenue for the State of Montana. Most sales go towards paying prizes, operations, and essentially whatever is left at the end of that is what goes back to the state. That’s determined by state legislative action and the beneficiary, as we call it, has changed a number of times,” Montana Lottery content manager Dan Iverson told MTN News several months ago.
Currently, the first $2.25 million goes to the Montana Stem/Healthcare Scholarship Program, operated by the Office Of The Commissioner Of Higher Education and the Montana University System. Whatever is left goes to the state's general fund, which is dictated by the legislature.
The Montana Lottery has provided responses to several frequently-asked questions:
Why don’t you limit Montana Millionaire to Montana residents only?
The Montana Lottery is available to everyone of legal age, whether resident or visitor. Limiting the sale of a product to some people while excluding others is discrimination. It would also be contrary to our mission and place an undue burden on our retailers.
Why don’t you limit the number of Montana Millionaire tickets someone can buy?
The mission of the Montana Lottery is to maximize revenue for the State of Montana. Our proceeds fund Montana’s STEM/Healthcare Scholarship Program and contribute to the General Fund. To limit sales of our products would be contrary to our mission and result in less positive impact for the residents of Montana.
Why don’t you offer Montana Millionaire or another raffle game more than once per year?
The Montana Lottery has a large selection of games available every day of the year. We believe Montana Millionaire is special and successful because it’s exclusive. While it is not impossible that we may introduce other raffle games in the future, currently we have made this strategic business decision based on detailed market research and analysis.
In 2022, no one claimed one of the two Montana Millionaire prizes, so the money went into the State General Fund.
If you have questions, comments, or suggestions about the Montana Lottery, here is the contact information:
Email: montanalottery@mt.gov
Phone: 406-444-5825
Address: Montana Lottery, 2525 North Montana Avenue, Helena, Montana, 59601-0598
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