Timeline

The Delaware Lottery: Fun and Games Through the Years

  • May 31, 1974: The Delaware Lottery is established by an act of the General Assembly and signed into law by Governor Sherman W. Tribbit.
  • October 1975: The Delaware Lottery sells tickets for games with weekly drawings.
  • February 10, 1976: Diamond Instant Dollars, Delaware’s first Instant Game, is introduced.
  • September 27, 1977: Lucky Stars, a weekly game, is the first Delaware Lottery game with drawings televised on WHYY-TV, Channel 12.
  • January 24, 1978: Daily Numbers, Delaware’s first drawing daily numbers game — now known as PLAY 3 — is introduced.
  • Jan. 5, 1980: Ticket sales begin for PLAY 4 drawing numbers game.
  • April 23, 1983: The Delaware Lotto game, with an annuity jackpot prize, is introduced.
  • 1984: E-Z Pick, now known as Quick Pick, is introduced, allowing players to have the computer pick numbers at random.
  • 1991: The Multi-State Lottery Association’s Lotto America jackpot game is introduced.
  • 1992: Lotto America becomes POWERBALL®.
  • 1993: Delaware Lotto becomes LOTTO, with a cash jackpot prize.
  • July 1994: Video Lottery legislation passed, allowing Delaware’s three racetracks to operate Video Lottery machines.
  • 1996: Winning Hand™ is introduced, the first of several special, limited-time games to be offered.
  • 1998: Run for the Money is introduced, a special horse race game featuring animated horses.
  • 1999: Lucky Date, another special game, is introduced, allowing players to use favorite dates.
  • 2000: Rolldown®, a game from the Multi-State Lottery Association, is introduced.
  • 2001: POWERBALL® adds Power Play®.
  • 2002: The Multi-State Lottery Association’s POWERBALL® Instant Millionaire TV Game Show is introduced.
  • 2004: Money, Money, Money is introduced as the first $20 Instant Game ticket.
  • 2005: LOTTO becomes MULTI-WIN LOTTO.
  • 2008: Delaware Lottery begins to offer HOT LOTTO®.
  • 2009: Delaware Lottery offers Sports Lottery at Dover Downs, Delaware Park in Stanton, and Midway Slots & Simulcast in Harrington beginning September 10.
  • 2009: Delaware Lottery begins to offer FAST PLAY® on October 26. Retired on January 14, 2012.
  • 2010: Delaware Lottery offers multi-state game MEGA MILLIONS® on January 31.
  • May 2010, Table Games was introduced at the three racetrack casinos: Delaware Park, Dover Downs and Harrington Raceway & Casino.
  • 2011: Delaware Lottery begins to offer DELAWARE CASH 5® starting February 2.
  • 2012: POWERBALL® changes to a $2 game starting January 15.
  • 2013: Delaware Lottery launches Keno starting January 22.
  • May 12, 2013: HOT LOTTO® changes to an all-cash jackpot game with pre-paid federal witholding taxes.
  • September 30, 2013: The Delaware Lottery launches first state-authorized online gaming system in the country.
  • October 19, 2013: The enhanced MEGA MILLIONS® game debuts with bigger, faster growing jackpots and many other new attributes.
  • November 7, 2013, Delaware Lottery became the first state in the nation to launch iGaming with casino-style gaming (poker, blackjack, etc.) on the Internet.
  • January 19, 2014: Power Play® returns to a random multiplier.
  • January 24, 2015: DELAWARE CASH 5® retired
  • January 27, 2015: The Delaware Lottery launches LUCKY FOR LIFE™, a $2 multi-state draw game with a top prize of $1,000 a day for LIFE.
  • October 4, 2015: Powerball® matrix was changed.
  • October 28, 2017: HOT LOTTO® was retired.
  • November 12, 2017: LOTTO AMERICA® was launched.
  • June 5, 2018: SPORTS PICK full scale sports wagering was launched.
  • July 19, 2021: LUCKY FOR LIFE® draw days changed to 7 days a week on July 19, 2021.
  • August 23, 2021: POWERBALL® drawings changed to 3 days a week on August 23, 2021.
  • July 18, 2022: LOTTO AMERICA® drawings changed to 3 days a week on July 18, 2022.
  • August 1, 2023: KENO drawings changed from every 4 minutes to every 3.5 minutes.
  • August 31, 2023: NEW Players Club launched August 31, 2023.
  • October 22, 2023: Play 3 Play 4 added Sunday day drawings on October 22, 2023.
  • December 27, 2023: Launched Sports Mobile Single App with iGaming and Online Sports.

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