Founded by the People
The Ohio Lottery was created by voter referendum in November 1973, when Ohio residents approved a constitutional amendment authorizing a state-run lottery. The first tickets went on sale in August 1974, making Ohio one of the earliest states to adopt a modern lottery. At the time, fewer than a dozen states had lotteries — Ohio was a pioneer.
Revenue Goes to Education
All Ohio Lottery profits are deposited into the Lottery Profits Education Fund (LPEF), which supports K-12 public education across the state. Since inception, the Ohio Lottery has contributed more than $30 billion to education — averaging approximately $1.3 billion per year in recent years. This funding supplements (not replaces) existing education budgets and supports everything from classroom supplies to school infrastructure.
Game Evolution
Ohio's first games were simple instant tickets. Draw games followed in the late 1970s, starting with a weekly lotto game. Pick 3 launched in 1980 and quickly became the most popular daily game. Classic Lotto debuted in 1989 with its distinctive 6/49 format — the same matrix used today. The Kicker add-on was introduced alongside Classic Lotto, giving players a unique second chance to win on the same ticket.
Ohio joined Mega Millions in 2002 and Powerball in 2010 (when the cross-sell agreement allowed states to offer both multi-state games). Rolling Cash 5 launched in 2004 as a daily alternative to the less-frequent Classic Lotto drawings. Lucky for Life became available in Ohio in 2015, adding a daily multi-state option with annuity-style prizes.
The Kicker: Ohio's Unique Add-On
The Kicker is exclusive to Ohio's Classic Lotto. For an extra $1, the terminal generates a random 6-digit number. If your Kicker number matches the drawn Kicker number (in exact order), you win $100,000. Partial matches from the right side also pay prizes, making it a low-cost addition with its own prize structure. No other state lottery offers an equivalent add-on game tied to their main lotto.
Tax Treatment
Ohio taxes lottery winnings at approximately 4%, the state's flat income tax rate. Combined with federal taxes (up to 37% for large prizes), Ohio winners face an effective tax rate of roughly 41% on major jackpots. This is lower than high-tax states like California (13.3%) and New York (10.9% + NYC tax), but higher than tax-free states like Texas and Florida. For a detailed breakdown, see our tax-free lottery states guide.
Ohio Lottery Today
With eight draw games and a robust instant ticket lineup, the Ohio Lottery is the 7th largest state lottery by revenue. The twice-daily digit games (Pick 3, Pick 4, Pick 5) generate more draws per year than almost any other state, creating a rich dataset for analysis. Explore all Ohio games on our dashboard or read the full Ohio games overview.