Florida Lottery review (2026): 90-day privacy, 180-day claims and odds

Who it’s for

The Florida Lottery suits players who like state games such as Florida Lotto and Fantasy 5 alongside the national draws, and who want some temporary privacy on a large win. It sends more than $1 billion a year to education, which appeals to players who care where ticket money goes.

It suits online-first players less well. We could not verify official online sales on the pages we checked, so we do not say Florida offers them. We did not find a stated minimum age either.

How it works

The lottery is headquartered in Tallahassee. Its draw games include Powerball at $2 (Power Play is $1 extra) and Mega Millions at $5, plus its own games.

Florida Lotto costs $2, with optional add-ons of $1 for Double Play and $1 for EZmatch. It draws twice a week and starts at a $1 million jackpot. Fantasy 5 costs $1 and has a top prize of about $100,000.

The lottery’s winners guide and education pages are the sources for most of what we say below. Florida does not list a regulator on the pages we checked, so we leave that field blank. Prizes and odds shown on the lottery site are the operator’s own figures, and we have not tested them independently.

Odds and value

The national games match every other state: Powerball at 1 in 292,201,338 for the jackpot and 1 in 24.87 for any prize, and Mega Millions at 1 in 290,472,336 and 1 in 23.

Florida’s own games publish overall odds. Florida Lotto’s chance of any prize is 1 in 7.61, and Fantasy 5’s is 1 in 7.58. These are the figures for any prize, which can include small wins. We did not find a jackpot-odds figure for either game on the pages we checked, so we cannot compare them with Georgia’s Fantasy 5, whose jackpot odds are published. Our methodology explains how published odds feed the score.

Read side by side, the two numbers say something useful. Florida Lotto costs $2 and Fantasy 5 costs $1, yet their chances of any prize are almost the same, 1 in 7.61 against 1 in 7.58. Per dollar spent, Fantasy 5 gives you a similar chance of a small win at half the price, while Florida Lotto is the game with the larger starting jackpot of $1,000,000. Neither figure tells you the chance of a profit, because any prize includes small amounts that may only return your stake.

About 24.72% of each dollar goes to education, according to the lottery.

Trust and regulation

We did not find any regulatory actions against the Florida Lottery on the pages we checked, and our record section is empty. That is an absence of evidence, not a clean bill of health.

The helpline is 1-800-GAMBLER. We did not verify a published payout percentage beyond the education share above.

The lottery reports more than $1 billion a year for 22 years. It lists totals of more than $17 billion for public schools, more than $12 billion for colleges and more than $9.3 billion for Bright Futures scholarships.

Claiming prizes and taxes

Draw prizes must be claimed within 180 days of the draw. That is shorter than the one-year window in states such as Pennsylvania and New York.

Florida has a disclosure exemption. Winners of $250,000 or more are exempt from public disclosure for 90 days from the claim, under rules that apply to claims from 25 May 2022. The exemption is time-limited, so this is delayed privacy, not anonymity.

Federal tax of 24% is withheld on prizes over $5,000, and 30% if you do not provide a Social Security number. We do not state a Florida income-tax rate because it was not published on the pages we checked. See the Florida state page.

Playing online

We did not verify official online ticket sales for Florida. The Mega Millions FAQ lists the states where online purchase is possible, and Florida is not among them. Our state data does not list courier apps for Florida either.

If online play is a priority, compare with Michigan or Pennsylvania, which both run official platforms.

Our take

A practical point for large winners: the 90 days run from the claim, not from the draw, and the 180-day claim window runs from the draw. The sensible order is to sign the ticket, get advice and then claim well inside the 180 days. That is general planning, not legal advice.

Florida is a big contributor to education with sensible published odds on its own games. The 90-day exemption for large winners is a small privacy benefit, and the 180-day claim window is a small penalty. Missing information on online sales and tax keeps us cautious. For the state’s winner rules in context, see our guides.

Frequently asked questions

Can I stay anonymous if I win in Florida?

Not permanently. Winners of $250,000 or more are exempt from public disclosure for 90 days from the claim.

How long do I have to claim?

180 days after the draw for draw prizes.

Does Florida sell lottery tickets online?

We could not verify official online sales on the pages we checked.

What are the odds on Florida Lotto?

The lottery publishes overall odds of 1 in 7.61 for any prize.

How much tax is withheld?

Federal withholding is 24% on prizes over $5,000, or 30% without a Social Security number.