Tennessee Powerball Rules
The method of playing Powerball in Tennessee is the same as in most states: pick five main numbers and one Powerball and try and match them with the winning line. The following rules also apply in the Volunteer State:
- You must be at least 18 years of age to play.
- The optional Double Play feature is offered in Tennessee.
- You can play up to 10 draws in advance.
- You will not have to pay any state taxes on your winnings if you buy a ticket in Tennessee, although federal taxes will still be taken.
Head over to the How to Play page for more information.
How to Claim Prizes
Prizes of less than $600 can be claimed from any licensed lottery retailer or from one of the District Offices below. Prizes of a greater value can be claimed at a District Office or the Tennessee Lottery’s Nashville headquarters, but prizes worth $200,000 or more can only be claimed from the lottery’s headquarters.
| Area | Address | Office Hours |
|---|---|---|
| East | 9298 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37922 | Monday-Friday 8:30am to 5:00pm ET |
| Southeast | 2020 Gunbarrel Road, Suite 106, Chattanooga, TN 37421 | Monday-Friday 8:30am to 5:00pm ET |
| Middle (HQ) | One Century Place, 26 Century Boulevard, Nashville, TN 37214 | Monday-Friday 8:30am to 5:00pm CT |
| West | Chiles Plaza, 7424 U.S. Highway 64, Suite 104, Memphis, TN 38133 | Monday-Friday 8:30am to 5:00pm CT |
Alternatively, you can claim prizes of any value by mail. You need to fill in a claim form and send it to the following address, along with your winning ticket:
Tennessee Education Lottery,
PO Box 290636,
Nashville, TN 37229-0636
If you claim a prize of $600 or more (either in person or by mail) you must provide a copy of a valid form of identification and proof of your Social Security number, such as your Social Security card (or a photocopy of it for mail-in claims).
Acceptable forms of ID include a state-issued driver’s license or identification card, a valid passport, voter’s registration identification card, military identification card, or alien registration receipt card.
Claim Period
All Powerball prizes must be claimed within 180 days of the winning draw taking place. Any prize money left unclaimed after this period is used by the Tennessee Department of Education to fund after-school programs in the state.
Lost and Damaged Tickets
The Tennessee Lottery states that it is not liable for lost, stolen, or damaged tickets. It advises that as lottery tickets are bearer instruments – meaning that whoever holds one has the right to claim prizes with it – you should sign the back of your tickets when you purchase them. If you do lose or damage a Powerball ticket, you should contact the Tennessee Lottery as soon as possible, but note that the lottery is not under any obligation to replace or refund the ticket or pay out any prizes it may have won.
Going Public
You cannot remain anonymous if you win a Powerball jackpot in Tennessee, as it is the lottery’s policy to treat the information as public record. Your name, home state, and town or city of residence will therefore be disclosed upon request.
Where Does the Money Go?
Over a quarter of all the revenue generated by lottery ticket sales in Tennessee goes towards funding public education in the state. The lottery has provided funding to the tune of over $6.6 billion since its inception in 2004, creating scholarships and grants for students across Tennessee, as well as funding for after-school programs and an initiative to help improve the energy efficiency of public K-12 schools.
The rest of the revenue from ticket sales is used to pay out prizes, give commissions and bonuses to retailers, and to cover the lottery’s operating costs. You can see a full breakdown in the table below:
| Area of Spending | Percentage of Revenue |
|---|---|
| Prizes | 63% |
| Operating income to education | 26% |
| Retailer costs | 7% |
| Operating expenses | 4% |
Charitable Allocation Program
The Tennessee Lottery Education also gives you the opportunity to donate some of your winnings to a registered charity through its Charitable Allocation Program. If you register with the program, you can elect to donate a specified amount or percentage of any gross winnings over $5,000 to one of the registered organizations.
To register as a contributor, you would need to provide some personal details to the lottery, such as your name and address, and you would need to specify how much you wish to donate on any winnings of $5,000 or more. This can be a specific monetary amount or a percentage of 5% or greater. If you wish to cancel, you must provide the Tennessee Lottery with 30 days written notice.
Tennessee Powerball Winners
A couple from Tennessee helped make history in 2016 when they won a share of the world record $1.58 billion Powerball jackpot. John and Lisa Robinson of Munford were the first to reveal themselves as the winners, and they appeared on the Today show just a couple of days after the January 13 drawing to talk about the win and show off their lucky ticket. They opted to take the lump sum payout of $328 million before taxes and soon moved into a new $6.2 million, 320-acre mansion with its own private lake.
A group of 20 co-workers from an auto-parts manufacturer in Portland shared Tennessee’s second-biggest Powerball jackpot in November 2016. The $420 million prize had a cash value of $254 million, which worked out at around $12.7 million for each of the group’s members, who dubbed themselves “The Tennessee 20”. They pooled their money to buy $120 of Powerball tickets every Wednesday and Saturday, until their luck came in. Amy O’Neal, who bought the winning ticket, said: “You never think you're going to win this lottery, but you do it for fun.”
Roy co*ckrum, who previously spent several years living in a monastery in Massachusetts, won a $259 million jackpot on June 11, 2014 and came forward three weeks later to claim a pre-tax cash lump sum of $153 million. The former actor from Knoxville went on to create the Roy co*ckrum Foundation “to support world-class performing arts projects in not-for-profit professional theatres” across the U.S.
