Virginia Lottery Adds Pick 3 Online After Banner Year Of Digital Sales

Written By Dann Stupp on July 2, 2021 - Last Updated on June 7, 2024
Pick 3 online

The Virginia Lottery is celebrating a successful first year of digital sales with a new option: Pick 3 online.

The official lotto of VA recently announced that online players can now purchase tickets for the popular game and its twice-daily draws.

Players previously had to purchase all Virginia Lotto products through traditional retail outlets. However, beginning in July 2020, some lotto games were also available to buy through the lottery’s website.

Now, one of the most popular games, Pick Three, has joined the lineup.

How to play Virginia Lottery Pick 3 online

You can play Pick 3 at more than 5,000 convenience stores, supermarkets, truck stops, and other Virginia Lottery retailers.

However, you can also now play Pick 3 online from your computer, phone, or tablet right from home.

Previously, the VA Lottery website offered a limited selection of games. They included:

  • Digital instant-win games (“online scratchers“)
  • Specialty instant win games such as Blackjack Doubler, Wheel of Fortune, and Instant Keno Multiplier
  • Multi-state draw games of Powerball, Mega Millions, and Cash4Life

Now, Pick 3 has joined the lineup. (The VA Lotto says the recently created Fireball option will also soon be available for Pick 3 online.)

However, some VA Lotto games remain exclusive to retail outlets:

  • Traditional scratch-off tickets
  • Pick 4
  • Cash 5
  • Print ‘n Play games
  • Virginia New Year’s Millionaire Raffle

Pick 3 tickets cost 50 cents or $1. The top prize on a $1 play is $500, and there’s a 1 in 1,000 chance of winning. There are also multiple ways to play (Exact Order, Any Order, 50/50, Combo, and Pairs).

Pick 3 drawings take place daily at 1:59 and 11 p.m.

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Virginians dig draw games

According to officials, online lotto sales have actually helped boost sales at traditional retailers, too.

VA Lottery Executive Director Kevin Hall said that through six months of sales, online lotto had already reached its 12-month projections.

With the addition of Pick 3, online sales should only grow.

After all, Pick 3 remains one of Virginia’s favorite lotto games. The state lottery has been around since 1988, and some veteran players clearly have a preference for classic games.

Pick 3 has long been a lottery staple, and according to the VA Lottery, it generates a lot of business. During its most recent fiscal year, the Virginia Lottery tallied more than $2 billion in total sales. Daily draw games such as Pick 3, Pick 4, and Cash 5 accounted for about a third of all sales.

Lotto officials expect daily-draw sales, including Pick 3, to increase by 11% during the current fiscal year. And with players now able to purchase Pick 3 tickets online, that popularity is unlikely to wane.

VA Lottery online sales: 1 year later

With Pick 3 online now available, the second year of Virginia Lottery online sales should be a big one.

Here are some highlights from the first year, which range from July 2020-June 2021:

  • Total players: 147,000
  • Biggest prize: $100,000 (player Keith H. of Hampton on Virginia Cash Expander)
  • Total player winnings on instant games: $665 million
  • Instant-game contributions to K-12 education in Virginia: $75 million
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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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