The History of the CT Lottery

State Representative John A. "Tony" Miscikoski, of Torrington, known by many as "The Father of the Lottery," believed that a state lottery could provide substantial benefits to the residents of the state. Each year for nearly a decade, Miscikoski presented legislation to authorize lottery sales. Miscikoski's dream became a reality in 1971, and the Connecticut State Lottery came into being.

picture of the originial members of the Commission on Special Revenue

CT Lottery Timeline

1971June 1971: To generate revenue for the state, Governor Thomas J. Meskill signs Public Act No. 865 to create the Connecticut State Lottery. In September, a bi-partisan team of commissioners is selected.
1972February 15, 1972: The Connecticut State Lottery begins ticket sales at 3,000 retailer locations statewide, offering one game called “The Lottery.” Tickets cost 50 cents each. Drawings are held weekly with a top prize of $5,000. Connecticut’s Lottery is the fourth in the nation.
1975September 9, 1975: “Instant Match,” the first scratch game in CT, goes on sale. Top prize is $10,000. Proceeds are temporarily earmarked by the legislature to support education services in the state.
1976September 1976: The Lottery appears on television with “Double Play,” its first weekly TV game show. Top prize: $200,000. This becomes the highest rated television show originated in Connecticut at that time.
1977March 16, 1977: “The Daily Numbers” begins. Match three digits, or variations on the combination, to win up to $2,500 per ticket. Drawings are held daily.
1978July 1978: “The Money Tree” TV game show launches, following the departure of “Double Play.”
1980October 1980: “Play 4” begins. Match four digits, or variations on the combination, and win up to $25,000 per ticket. Drawings are held once a week at the start.
1982November 1982: A TV game show, “Rainbow Jackpot” replaces “Money Tree.” Contestants on the show can win up to a $100,000 grand prize!
1983November 7, 1983: Feel like a million? As an enhacement to the existing lottery system, “Lotto” is born. For just $1 per play, players choose 6 numbers for their chance at winning a minimum jackpot prize of $1 million.
1983FY 1983: Lottery contributions to state's General Fund reach $1 billion!
1990February 9, 1990: Instant Fun! Distribution of multiple concurrent scratch games begins.
1991FY 1991: Lottery contributions to the state’s General Fund top the $2 billion mark.
1992April 15, 1992: The Lottery launches “Cash Lotto,” where players select 5 numbers from 1 to 35. Top prize is $100,000.
1995November 1995: POW! Connecticut joins a multi-state lottery game, “Powerball®,” with a minimum jackpot of $5 million. Players select five numbers from 1-45 plus a Powerball number.
1996July 1, 1996: The Connecticut State Lottery becomes a quasi-public agency named the Connecticut Lottery Corporation, reflecting its “business” orientation as a major retail supplier.

FY 1996: $3 Billion accumulated to the state’s General Fund.
1996November 17, 1996: The “Cash Lotto” game becomes “Cash5.” A “Kicker” feature is added for more chances to win.
1998February 2, 1998: “Mid-Day3” and “Mid-Day4” drawings begin each day.
1999To encourage responsible play, the CT Lottery, the CT Council on Problem Gambling and DMHAS join forces to establish the "CT Partnership for Responsible Gambling."
2000January 2000: The CT Lottery updates its logo. The original “Money Tree” format is replaced with “The Happy Dancer” symbol, marking a shift in the Lottery’s marketing initiatives. October 7, 2000: The CT Lottery is back on TV with the premiere of “Powerball - The Game Show.” Top prize is $1,000,000.
2002January 1, 2002: Mary Stange wins a $28.5 million “Classic Lotto” jackpot prize, the largest single ticket jackpot in the game’s history.
2002In its first 30 years, the Lottery's contributions to the state's General Fund exceeded $4.6 billion! To celebrate 30 years of fun, the CT Lottery releases “30th Birthday Bingo,” a $3 scratch game.
2003June 13, 2003: Lt. Governor M. Jodi Rell hailed the broadening of Connecticut’s AMBER Alert system through a newly formed partnership between the Connecticut Lottery Corporation and local and state law enforcement.
2006FY 2006: The CT Lottery transfers a record $284.8 million to the state's General Fund. Total contributions are nearly $6 billion!
2007February 2007: Everybody wins with the CT Lottery! The CT Lottery celebrates 35 years of revenue raising with social responsibility.
2008May 11, 2008: Mid-Day game names are changed “Play3 Day” and “Play4 Day”. Nightly game names are changed to “Play3 Night” and “Play4 Night”. Daily and Nightly game drawings are now held 7 days a week.
2009March 29, 2009: “Lucky-4-Life” drawing game begins; double matrix, 4 of 39 balls and 1 of 39 (Lucky Ball) with a top prize of up to $2,000 a week for life.

June 8, 2009: Kenneth Blount, III becomes “Lucky-4-Life’s” first $2,000 a week for life top prize winner!
2009June 2009: Self-service “ticket checker” scanners are installed at all lottery retailer locations allowing players to know immediately if their ticket is a winner.
2010The CT Lottery joins the multi-state lottery game Mega Millions® (5 of 56 white balls; 1 of 46 Mega Balls).
2010August 2010: The Lottery contributions to the state's General Fund top the $7 billion mark.

FY 2010: The CT Lottery sets a new record of $285.5 million for a one-year contribution to the state's General Fund.
2010September 2010: Instant ticket vending machines are installed in select Lottery retailer locations, increasing player convenience and helping to reduce lines at the registers.
2010October 2010: “Super Draw,” a new “raffle style” draw game is launched. Unlike any other draw game previously offered – a game of chance that guarantees a top prize winner will be selected at random from a limited pool of tickets sold – Super Draw provides players with the best chance to become a CT Lottery millionaire.
2011The CT Lottery’s website is redeveloped, providing consumers enhanced graphics, expanded search capabilities, mapping features, archiving of winning numbers and more.
2011February 2011: The CT Lottery becomes a member of the World Lottery Association and achieves Level 1 Responsible Gaming Framework Accreditation.
2011June 2011: The CT Lottery makes a record one-year contribution of $289.3 million to the state's General Fund.
2011August 2011: The CT Lottery transitions to a mobile-friendly website, capable of automatically recognizing Smartphones such as iPhones, Androids, Blackberries and other mobile devices allowing users to more easily navigate the Lottery's website.
2011November 2011: The largest prize in CT Lottery history, a Powerball jackpot ticket worth an incredible $254.2 million, is claimed by the Putnam Avenue Family Trust.
2012January 2012: The Multi-State Lottery Association introduces a revised Powerball® game with a new matrix, higher minimum jackpots, more prizes of $1,000,000, and a new price point of $2.
2012February 2012: The CT Lottery celebrates 40-years of “A Lotto Good” since 1972.
2012March 2012: Six New England states join together to launch a regional version of the Connecticut draw game, “Lucky for Life®.” The regional game offers a top prize of $7,000 per week for life!
2012June 12, 2012: Noel Peel of Seymour wins a $60 million Powerball jackpot.
2012June 2012: The CT Lottery sets a record one-year contribution of $310.0 million to the state’s General Fund.
2012July 2012: The CT Lottery achieves Level 2 Responsible Gaming Framework Accreditation from the World Lottery Association.
2013January 2013: Tickets for the new “50/50 Super Draw” game go on sale. The game’s jackpot prize is determined by player participation—50% of the ticket sales!
2013March 2013: Classic Lotto becomes “Lotto!” - new name - same great game!
2013June 30, 2013: The CT Lottery sets record one-year contribution of $312.1 million to the state’s General Fund.
2013July 2013: Find us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube!
2014January 2014: The variable Power Play® add-on feature returns to Powerball®, giving players a chance to multiply their winnings (except the jackpot) by 2, 3, 4 or 5 times.
2014May 2014: 5 Card Cash launches as the first CT Lottery draw game to offer an instant win feature with the excitement of a daily drawing.
2014June 30, 2014: The CT Lottery delivers a record one-year return of $319.5 million to the state’s General Fund.
2014October 2014: The CT Lottery's newsletter "Chatter that Matters®" is selected by the National Council on Problem Gambling as the best problem gambling-related newsletter.
2014October 2014: The CT Lottery wins an award for best Responsible Gambling Communications in the Electronic Category for Retailer Training by the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries.
2014December 2014: The CT Lottery’s Responsible Gambling Initiative “Do a ‘Lotto’ Good, Give a Toy!” holiday toy drive to benefit the Connecticut Children's Medical Center is held.
2015January 2015: “The Game of a Lifetime®" — Lucky for Life® offering a top prize of $1,000 a day for life and a 2nd prize of $25,000 a year for life, launches in lotteries across the country. “Lucky” got its start in CT in 2009.
2015April 2015: The CT Lottery introduces a whole new way to play with the launch of the twice daily Lucky Links with 2XPOWER draw game.
2015June 2015: The CT Lottery launches its first Mobile App.
2015June 2015: The CT Lottery receives the La Fleur's Magazine "Sustainability Award" for leadership in responsible gambling.
2015June 30, 2015: The CT Lottery delivers a new record one-year return of $319.7 million to the state's General Fund.
2015October 2015: The Powerball® game is revised with a new matrix and a 10x Power Play multiplier.
2015October 2015: The CT Lottery receives the "Best New Draw Game" award a the 2015 North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries Annual Conference and Trade Show in Dallas for Lucky Links with 2XPOWER.
2016February 2, 2016: The Connecticut Lottery Corporation entered into an agreement with the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) for the right to use “GameSense,” BCLC’s proprietary, award-winning responsible gaming education program.
2016April 2016: CT Lottery introduces KENO, “ON THE SPOT FUN®” with a chance to win every four minutes, 7 days a week.
2016FY 2016: The CT Lottery sets a new record of $337.5 million for a one-year contribution to the state’s General Fund, record commissions to CT Lottery Retailers of $68.7 million and record prizes to Lottery winners of $760.3 million.
2017July 21, 2017: The CT Lottery continues to be a leader in Responsible Gambling, receiving the “Corporate Newsletter Award” and the “Corporate Public Awareness Award” from the National Council on Problem Gambling.
2017October 15, 2017: CT Lottery's "New Year's $1,000,000 Super Draw" Returns with new Early Bird drawings.
2018FY 2018: The CT Lottery sets a new record of $345 million for a one-year contribution to the state’s General Fund, record commissions to CT Lottery Retailers of $70 million and record prizes to Lottery winners of $792 million.
2019January 2019: CT Lottery upgrades Lottery Ticket Vending Machines with new HD touchscreen displays. The Lottery Ticket Vending Machine’s HD touchscreen display has a vibrant, interactive user interface that puts the player in command of the CT Lottery games they want to play and information they want to access.
2019March 7, 2019: CT Lottery has its first Lucky for Life® top-prize, $1,000 A DAY FOR LIFE, winner.
2019FY 2019: The CT Lottery sets a new record of $370 million for a one-year contribution to the state’s General Fund, more than $1 million per day!
2019September 25, 2019: The CT Lottery launches a refreshed website and mobile app that offers an optimized, user-friendly browsing experience across all devices.
2019October 2, 2019: The CT Lottery crossed the $10 billion threshold for profits returned to the CT General Fund since the Lottery’s inception in 1972.
2019November 1, 2019: Connecticut's "Lotto!" Jackpot of $25.9 Million, the third-highest in game's history is won.
2020June 30, 2020: The Lucky Links Day and Lucky Links Night games ended with the last drawings on June 30, 2020.
2020July 20, 2020: CT Lottery introduces Fast Play, an exciting new category of games with instant cash prizes and rolling jackpots!
2021Feb. 22, 2021: CT Lottery adds the Wild Ball feature to its popular Play3 and Play4 day and night games.
2021July 19, 2021: Lucky for Life®, "The Game of a Lifetime®" with a top prize of $365,000 a YEAR FOR LIFE moves to drawings EVERY NIGHT!
2021August 23, 2021: The Multi-State Lottery Association adds a Monday drawing to Powerball®. Drawings now occur every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
2021October 2021: CT Lottery and its partner Rush Street Interactive launch the PlaySugarHouse.com online sportsbook, and together with Sportech, open the state’s first non-tribal retail sportsbook at Sports Haven, in New Haven.
2022January 2022: The CT Lottery's 8th Annual "Give a Child a Toy, Not a Ticket" Holiday Toy Drive delivered 15,000+ toy donations in total to Connecticut Children's. The CLC in partnership with iHeartRadio, has donated nearly 30,000 toys over the years, while also spreading the message that lottery tickets are not suitable gifts for children.
2022February 14, 2022: The CT Lottery has its first Powerball jackpot winner since 2012, with a $185.3 million winner from Cheshire, CT. The prize-winning ticket was sold at One Stop Convenience, located at 914 South Main St., Cheshire.
2022February 15, 2022: The CT Lottery celebrates its 50th Anniversary, marking 50 years from its first day of lottery sales. In recognition of the CLC’s 50th Anniversary, Governor Ned Lamont proclaimed this day as “Connecticut Lottery Day” in Connecticut.
2022July 2022: The CT Lottery capped its 50th year by returning $406 million (unaudited) in profits to the State in the 2022 fiscal year (July 2021 - June 2022), second only to last fiscal year’s record profits. Lottery sales also totaled a second-best ever $1.45 billion, which included $839 million in instant game sales.
2022August 15, 2022: The CT Lottery and Credit Unions Building Financial Independence teamed up on a new financial literacy and education campaign, “Wise Winnings.” This joint effort is the first-of-its-kind in the country and offers no-cost financial advice to CT Lottery cash prize-winners, along with helpful tips on making a plan for a sudden windfall.