Last Chance For Raffle Tickets: VA Lottery’s Millionaire-Maker Nearly Sold Out

Written By Dann Stupp on December 17, 2021 - Last Updated on August 3, 2022
raffle tickets

Time is running out for you to get your 2022 New Year’s Millionaire Raffle tickets. And no, you don’t want to wait until Dec. 31. By then it’ll be too late.

As the new year approaches, lottery players’ eyes turn to the Virginia Lottery‘s annual raffle.

The unique lottery game offers an intriguing pitch: It’s “Virginia’s best odds to become a millionaire.”

In fact, four lucky buyers of raffle tickets will become millionaires on Jan. 1, 2022.

However, you need to get a ticket before they’re gone. After all, there’s a limited number of tix. And as an official told PlayVirginia, a sellout is all but guaranteed.

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Less than a week left to buy raffle tickets?

The New Year’s Millionaire Raffle has gotten bigger and more popular every holiday season.

Raffle tickets cost $20 each. This year, officials will print 500,000 tickets. Once they’re sold out, no more will be made available.

As of Friday, Dec. 17, about 109,000 tickets remained.

This year, sales so far are outpacing 2020 by nearly 5 percent, an official with the Virginia Lottery told us. In past years, sales really spiked beginning around Dec. 15, and Fridays were popular days for players to buy raffle tickets.

Last year’s ticket allotment sold out by Dec. 23. If the brisk sales continue, the 2021 raffle could sell out even sooner. Perhaps this weekend, even.

As lotto officials told PlayVirginia in a statement:

“Virginia’s New Year’s Millionaire Raffle has become one of the Virginia Lottery’s most popular games, due to the once-a-year occurrence, the limited number of available tickets and the favorable odds compared to other Lottery games. During the summer months, we are often asked by players if the New Year’s Raffle will be back this year.

How to buy New Year’s Millionaire Raffle tix

As with all Virginia Lottery products, you must be 18 or older to take part in Virginia’s New Year’s Millionaire Raffle.

You can purchase raffle tickets from any of the 5,000 Virginia Lottery retailers across the commonwealth.

You can also get tickets from any VA Lottery self-service machine. However, they’re not available to purchase online.

A player made the first purchase of the 2022 ticket allotment on Nov. 2. The player made the purchase at a 7-Eleven in Burke, located in Fairfax County. Since then, nearly 400,000 additional tickets have been purchased.

On Jan. 1, 2022, officials will draw the winning numbers for the 2022 raffle. If the number on your ticket matches one of the drawn numbers, you win.

This year’s prizes for the 2022 New Year’s Millionaire Raffle include:

  • 4 winners: $1 million (1 in 125,000 chance)
  • 6 winners: $100,000 (1 in 83,333)
  • 500 winners: $500 (1 in 980)

You can visit the lotto’s website to see the 2021 raffle winners and the format of the game.

Photo by Shutterstock / enterlinedesign
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Dann Stupp

Dann Stupp is a longtime sports journalist who’s written and edited for The Athletic, USA Today, ESPN, MLB.com and other outlets. He lives in Lexington, Virginia.

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