Last Powerball, Mega Millions Drawings Without State Budget

If Illinois legislators aren't able to reach a budget deal — including lottery funding for fiscal year 2018 — Powerball sales will end at 9 p.m. Wednesday and Mega Millions ticket sales will end at 9:45 p.m. Friday, the Illinois Lottery announced Tuesday. Lottery officials called the suspension of Powerball and Mega Millions an "unprecedented step."

For Powerball — which currently has a $92 million jackpot — all tickets purchased before the cutoff will be valid. All subscriptions will be cut off after the last drawing on June 28, and the lottery will issue refunds to players for the remaining length of their subscriptions. "When a Fiscal Year 2018 appropriation for the Illinois Lottery is passed, the Lottery will work with the Multi-State Lottery Association to determine a path for the return of Powerball sales," Lottery officials said. "The timing is unknown."

The rules for Mega Millions tickets and subscriptions are the same, although Mega Millions ticket sales would resume as soon as an appropriation for the Illinois Lottery is passed by the General Assembly.

Effective July 1, players with valid claims of more than $25,000 will experience a delay in payments due to the budget impasse, lotto officials said.

• No Budget, No Powerball Or Mega Millions In Illinois

“Players should be confident knowing the Illinois Lottery has the money to pay these winning claims,” Illinois Lottery Acting Director Greg Smith said in a statement. “That means the General Assembly needs to approve a truly balanced budget that includes Lottery funding in order to ensure all prize payments will occur.”

It's not the first time lottery winners have faced delays in receiving their winnings. In 2015, the ;ottery didn’t have Fiscal Year 2016 appropriation authority to pay winners until December, resulting in nearly 3,900 valid claims being delayed, totaling more than $112 million. Within a month of receiving an appropriation, all valid claims were paid to winners.

The lottery said it will continue to pay valid claims of $25,000 or less at any of the five Lottery Prize Centers located throughout Illinois – Chicago, Des Plaines, Fairview Heights, Rockford and Springfield.