New Lotto Draw Times On Deck In Massachusetts

Starting from June 15th, you will no longer experience difficulties in catching the local lottery draw as the draw times for certain Massachusetts Lottery games have been rescheduled.

Phase 2 of the Massachusetts Lottery Commission’s four-phase plan, which was introduced in 2019, is responsible for the draw time changes. This phase, initiated in December 2019, involved the procurement of new draw equipment and the acquisition of studios.

Phase 3 is currently in progress, focusing on incorporating graphics, music, and livestreaming to enrich the content. The next phase, Phase 4, will involve the implementation of remote drawings.

No further modifications are anticipated to be made by the commission regarding the existing lottery games.

Why change the draw times?

Massachusetts draw times used to be determined by broadcasters’ program schedules in the past. This meant that younger players, who may not have been familiar with the inflexibility of television, had to participate in draws before the convenience of pausing TV or accessing a friend’s cable with a password.

Despite the state taking over the operation of the lottery, the broadcast times remained unchanged. However, the times were subsequently assessed and compared to industry norms, resulting in the decision to implement a modification.

The commission’s rationale was elucidated by Mark William Bracken, the executive interim director of the state lottery.

We are thrilled to announce that we have made our evening drawings more accessible to a wider range of customers. Our team has worked diligently to improve the visual presentation of our drawings, and by changing the draw times, we aim to provide more customers with the chance to witness the exhilaration of these live drawings.

What are the new times?

Starting June 15, the three in-state draw games will have new draw times.

• The Numbers Game drawings are now scheduled for 2 p.m. and 9 p.m. every day, whereas they used to take place at 12:45 p.m. and 7:45 p.m. The interval between the draws remains unchanged at seven hours.
• Starting from now, the Mass Cash draw will take place daily at 9 p.m., while the Megabucks Doubler draw will be held on Wednesdays and Saturdays at the same time. Previously, the Mass Cash draw occurred at 9:45 p.m., and the Megabucks Doubler draw was scheduled for 10:45 p.m.

Pools for the upcoming drawings of each game will open shortly after the evening draws. The draw times for the national games Lucky For Life, Mega Millions, and Powerball will remain unchanged.

Overall lottery sales down from April 2021

According to a report released on May 31 by the Massachusetts Lottery Commission, the total unadjusted lottery sales for the state in April witnessed a decline of $25.9 million compared to April 2021. It is worth noting that sales have consistently decreased every month in 2022 when compared to the same period last year.

Taking into account a settlement of $9.8 million from the Mega Millions and Powerball games across multiple states, the net profit in April experienced a decline of approximately $27.4 million. Instant ticket and keno sales made up nearly 90% of the total lottery sales during that month.