Illinois Lottery announced today they will take a major step and suspend all Powerball and Mega Millions sales in Illinois, due to the Illinois budget crisis.

• Powerball sales in Illinois will be suspended at 9:00 p.m. on Wednesday June 28, 2017
• Mega Millions sales in Illinois will be suspended at 9:45 p.m. on Friday June 30, 2017.

In addition, the Illinois lottery is temporarily changing it’s payment policy:

The Illinois Lottery is announcing a temporary change in its winner payment policy effective July 1, 2017, should funding for Lottery prizes not be approved by the General Assembly. Players with valid claims of more than $25,000 will experience a delay in payments for all games because of the ongoing state budget impasse in Springfield.

From the Illinois Lottery:

WHAT IT MEANS FOR POWERBALL

·         Powerball sales in Illinois will be suspended at 9:00 p.m. June 28, 2017.

·         All Powerball tickets purchased before that cut-off time will be valid tickets.

·         All active Powerball subscriptions will be cancelled after the last draw on June 28. The Lottery will issue refunds to players for the remaining length of their subscriptions.

·         When a Fiscal Year 2018 appropriation for the Illinois Lottery is passed, the Lottery will work with the Multi-State Lottery Association to determine a path for the return of Powerball sales. The timing is unknown.

·         No other Illinois Lottery games will be suspended.

WHAT IT MEANS FOR MEGA MILLIONS

·         Mega Millions sales in Illinois will be suspended at 9:45 p.m. June 30, 2017.

·         All Mega Millions tickets purchased before that cut-off time will be valid tickets.

·         All active Mega Millions subscriptions will be cancelled after the last draw on June 30. The Lottery will issue refunds to players for the remaining length of their subscriptions.

·         When a Fiscal Year 2018 appropriation for the Illinois Lottery is passed, sales for Mega Millions will resume.

·         No other Illinois Lottery games will be suspended.

WHAT IT MEANS FOR PRIZE PAYMENTS

·         Players should not delay claiming a winning ticket.

·         Valid claims of more than $25,000 will experience a delay in payments due to the Comptroller’s inability to make payments on behalf of the Lottery without an appropriation.

·         Players with valid claims of any amount who owe money to the state (via an “offset”) will experience a delay in payments due to the Comptroller’s inability to make payments on behalf of the Lottery without an appropriation.

·         At this time, the Illinois Lottery will continue to pay valid claims of $25,000 or less at any of the five Lottery Prize Centers located throughout Illinois – Chicago, Des Plaines, Fairview Heights, Rockford and Springfield.

·         Prizes of $600 or less will continue to be paid at the Lottery’s nearly 8,000 retail partners.

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