Lotto America is the smallest of the four games covered here and, on a per-dollar basis, the most interesting. It is five numbers from 1 to 52 plus a Star Ball from 1 to 10, and a line costs $1. Drawings are Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 9:15 p.m. CT.
The jackpot starts at $2 million with no cap, and the odds of winning it are 1 in 25,989,600 — roughly eleven times better than Powerball or Mega Millions. That is a large difference in relative terms, though in absolute terms it is still a very small number.
The Star Ball is the unusual part
In most jackpot games the lowest prize tier requires the bonus ball plus at least one main number. Lotto America pays $2 for matching the Star Ball on its own — nothing else needed. The odds are 1 in 17.
That single feature is why the overall odds of winning some prize here are about 1 in 9.6, against 1 in 24.9 for Powerball and 1 in 23.1 for Mega Millions. If you care about how often you get something back, this is a materially different game.
| Match | Prize | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| 5 + Star Ball | Jackpot | 1 in 25,989,600 |
| 5 | $20,000 | 1 in 2,887,733 |
| 4 + Star Ball | $1,000 | 1 in 110,594 |
| 4 | $100 | 1 in 12,288 |
| 3 + Star Ball | $20 | 1 in 2,404 |
| 3 | $5 | 1 in 267 |
| 2 + Star Ball | $5 | 1 in 160 |
| 1 + Star Ball | $2 | 1 in 29 |
| Star Ball only | $2 | 1 in 17 |
Fewer players means less sharing
Lotto America is sold in 16 states. Powerball is sold in 45 states plus Washington DC, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, and expanded to the United Kingdom in July 2026. Jackpot sharing is a function of how many tickets carry a given combination, and a smaller player base with a smaller prize pool simply produces fewer split wins.
That does not make Lotto America easier to win in any absolute sense. It does mean that the number-selection logic — avoid the combinations everyone else picks — operates in a less crowded field.
The All Star Bonus
For an extra $1 per line, All Star Bonus multiplies non-jackpot prizes by 2X, 3X, 4X or 5X. The multiplier is drawn separately and announced with the main result, and it does not apply to the jackpot.
The same arithmetic that applies to Power Play and the Mega Millions multiplier applies here: it changes outcomes only on tiers you rarely reach, and a second line is usually the better use of that dollar.
Picking numbers
The main pool runs 1 to 52, plus a Star Ball of 1 to 10. Two observations follow:
- Numbers 32 to 52 are above the birthday range — 21 of the 52 main numbers. That is a smaller proportion of safe numbers than Powerball (38 of 69) or Mega Millions (39 of 70), so a birthday-heavy Lotto America ticket is more likely to overlap with the crowd than an equivalent ticket in the bigger games.
- The Star Ball has only ten options. There is no way to be unusual with it, so treat it as a coin you cannot influence and spend your thought on the five main numbers.
A single line played at every draw here costs about $13 a month. That is by a wide margin the cheapest way into a jackpot game in this group, and it is the main reason Lotto America keeps appearing in budget-focused discussions.
TrendLotto.com is an independent lottery information site and is not affiliated with any lottery organization. Game rules, odds and prize amounts described here are based on published official rules and can change — always confirm current details with your state lottery before playing. No number-selection method can guarantee a win. Play responsibly; if gambling is a problem for you or someone you know, call the National Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.