The North Dakota Lottery is run by the government of North Dakota. The Lottery began in 2004. It is unique among US lotteries in that it is allowed only to offer multi-jurisdictional games, i.e., North Dakota-only games cannot be sold. As a result, all of its games are part of the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL). North Dakota's games are: Mega Millions, Powerball, Hot Lotto, Wild Card 2, and 2by2. (The Sizzler option in Hot Lotto is known by the North Dakota Lottery as Triple Sizzler; it is similar to Powerball's PowerPlay.)
Since most scratch games in the US are offered in only one jurisdiction, there are no scratch tickets in North Dakota (as of March 2010), making it the only US lottery without them.
North Dakota's lottery games require players to be at least 18 years old.
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2by2 is played in North Dakota, Kansas, and Nebraska. It is drawn nightly. 2by2 draws two red numbers from 1 through 26, and two white numbers, also 1-26. Games cost $1 each. There are eight ways to win. The top prize usually is $22,000; however, a ticket good for seven drawings matching all four numbers in a Tuesday draw wins $44,000.
Wild Card 2 is played in North Dakota, Idaho, Montana, and South Dakota. It is drawn Wednesdays and Saturdays. Players get two games for each $1 wagered. Each game is played in a similar fashion to Powerball; in each drawing, five numbers from 1–31 are selected. The sixth "number" is actually one of 16 playing cards, either a Jack, Queen, King, or the Ace of any of the four suits (Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, Spades).
Hot Lotto is played in 15 lotteries including North Dakota's; it is drawn Wednesdays and Saturdays. It draws 5 white numbers from 1 through 39, and 1 orange "Hot Ball" from 1-19. The jackpots begin at $1 million, increasing by at least $50,000 if there is no top prize winner. Hot Lotto also has an option called Sizzler (similar to Powerball's PowerPlay); it triples non-jackpot prizes.
Powerball began in 1992; it was North Dakota's first game. Powerball's jackpots currently start at $20 million; it is drawn Wednesday and Saturday nights.
On October 13, 2009, the Mega Millions consortium and MUSL reached an agreement in principle to cross-sell Mega Millions and Powerball in US lottery jurisdictions. The Lottery Advisory Commission voted unanimously on October 22, 2009 to bring Mega Millions to North Dakota, with Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem eventually approving the game. The Lottery joined Mega Millions on January 31, 2010.
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