Lotto players have turned against Hot Lotto so much that the officials who run it have decided to end its run. The last drawing will take place on October 28th and it will be replaced with Lotto America, an multi-state lottery game.
Hot Lotto has been sold across Iowa and 13 other states since 1999 and provides Powerball-style gameplay with lower odds. Although sales had decreased substantially over time, its official state has decided that replacing it with another game makes sense.
Hot Lotto used to be an immensely popular lottery choice among players looking for their chance at a large jackpot prize. First introduced in April 2002, players had various ways of staking a claim to cash prizes; choosing five numbers between 1 and 47 and the Hot Ball number between 1-39 as their five selections and then selecting just 1 number plus Hot Ball = jackpot prize with 1 match being enough; any matching all numbers AND Hot Ball also garnering smaller awards if possible.
Iowa switched to offering cash-only Hot Lotto in 2013 and experienced an immediate surge in sales. By eliminating tax-free jackpots, winners must now withhold taxes on winnings over $100; previously these tax rates ranged between 5%-6% for state taxes and either 25% (US citizens) or 30% (non citizens).
Hot Lotto was popular among players, yet not without controversy. Eddie Tipton was charged in 2009 with manipulating the game to his own benefit, winning millions in fraudulent jackpots across multiple states and sparking controversy over how it was fixed and whether lottery officials knew about his activities prior to being arrested.
Lottery experts don’t expect lottery players to accurately forecast which numbers will be popular in future drawings. While certain numbers tend to get picked more often than others, such patterns don’t remain consistent across drawings – and hot numbers could quickly go back into cold territory again! Therefore, for optimal performance when selecting numbers it is wise to take an inclusive approach when picking your numbers and include some overdue or cold numbers among your selections.
Some players argue that overdue numbers are more likely to appear in future drawings; however, this strategy limits your selections and doesn’t improve odds significantly. Instead, it is best to focus on hot numbers as part of an overall balanced lottery strategy.