Washington Powerball Rules
When you play Powerball in Washington, you need to bear these state-specific rules in mind as you select your numbers:
- You must be at least 18 years old to play.
- Ticket sales close at 6:45pm Pacific Time (9:45pm Eastern Time) on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, with draws taking place at 7:59pm PT (10:59pm ET).
- You can take part in the Double Play game in Washington at a cost of $1 per play.
- You can play the same numbers for up to 24 consecutive draws.
- There is no state tax on lottery winnings in Washington.
How to Claim
You can claim winnings of $600 or less from any licensed lottery retailer, but for larger amounts you will need to visit a regional office, providing photo ID and your social security card. If you win a prize of $100,000 or more, you should call the office first to make an appointment. If you win a jackpot of over $100 million, you will need to claim it from the lottery headquarters in Olympia.
The table below shows the addresses of the regional Washington Lottery claim centers, including the main office in Olympia:
| Location | Address | Telephone Number: |
|---|---|---|
| Olympia (Main Office) | 814 4th Avenue East Olympia, WA 98506 | (360) 810-2888 |
| Everett | 11419 19th Ave SE, Suite A106 Everett, WA 98208-5120 | (425) 356-2902 |
| Federal Way | 33701 9th Ave. S Federal Way, WA 98003 | (253) 661-5050 |
| Spokane | 10517 East Sprague Avenue Spokane Valley, WA 99206-363 | (509) 921-2337 |
| Vancouver | 1503 Northeast 78th Street, Suite #4 Vancouver, WA 98665-9668 | (360) 576-6084 |
| Yakima | 9 South 5th Avenue Yakima, WA 98902-3431 | (509) 575-2252 |
You can also claim prizes though the mail by sending off your signed ticket. For prizes of $601 and above you will also need to attach a claim form. You must go to a lottery office in person to claim prizes of $100,000 or more. If you are mailing your claim, you can send it to the following address:
Washington Lottery Headquarters
PO Box 43050
Olympia, WA 98504-3050
Claim Period
If you buy your Powerball ticket in Washington, you have 180 days from the date of the drawing to come forward and claim any prize you win. If you win the jackpot, you have 60 days from the date you claim your money to decide whether to take the annuity or the cash. You will automatically receive the annuity if you do not state your preference in this time.
Lost and Damaged Tickets
Your Powerball ticket is the only proof that you have played the game, so you will not be able to claim a prize if you lose your entry. You should sign the back of your ticket to prevent anyone else from being able to make a claim. If your ticket has been damaged, you may still be able to claim a prize if it passes the Washington Lottery’s validation requirements and can still be verified as a legitimate winning entry.
Going Public
You are allowed to claim prizes through legal groups such as trusts or limited liability companies in Washington, but there is no guarantee that this will keep your identity private. Due to the state’s Public Records Act, the Washington Lottery may have to release your name if there is a public records request. If you do not claim your prize through a trust, your name will be disclosed to the public.
Where Does the Money Go?
When you buy a Powerball ticket in Washington, the money is split a number of different ways so that it benefits a wide range of people. The majority of the revenue, 62.5 percent, is used to pay prizes, but 18.8 percent also goes to the Washington Opportunity Pathways Account (WOPA), which benefits educational programs such as the State Need Grant, the State Work Study program and early learning. Contributions are also made to the General Fund and to the CenturyLink Stadium and exhibition center. The following table shows how all the funds are distributed.
| Where The Money Goes? | Percentage of Revenue |
|---|---|
| Prizes | 63.34% |
| WOPA Education | 19.48% |
| Cost of Sales | 6.09% |
| Retailers | 5.02% |
| Stadium and Exhibition Center | 1.49% |
| General Fund | 2.50% |
| Administration | 1.53% |
| Economic Development | 0.50% |
| Problem Gambling | 0.05% |
Washington Powerball Winners
Having joined Powerball in January 2010, Washington had to wait almost five years for its first jackpot winner. Lisa Quam, from Auburn on the outskirts of Seattle, landed $90 million on November 29, 2014, having taken a break from cooking on Thanksgiving Day to pick up a newspaper with the Black Friday ads in it. She decided to buy her first ever Powerball tickets while she was at the Haggen Store on Tapps Parkway, and could not believe her good fortune when she checked the numbers, as she never considered herself to be a lucky person. Lisa and husband Everett announced at their media ceremony that they would both be quitting their jobs with plane company Boeing and had already chosen a new car - a Subaru Forester.
Quam remained Washington’s only jackpot winner for almost a decade, until a player from the state won $754 million on February 6, 2023. It was comfortably the largest payout ever seen on any game in Washington, and the fifth-biggest ever seen in Powerball at the time. The jackpot was claimed by Auburn’s Becky Bell, who had bought an extra ticket for the draw after seeing the Powerball jackpot advertised at $747 million. As an employee of Boeing, she took it as a sign, and was later left in tears of joy when she realized how lucky she had been.
