What are the luckiest states for lottery players? See where Idaho ranks
How lucky are lottery players in Idaho?
Sports betting platform Vegas Insider recently analyzed U.S. lottery data to discover which states score the most Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots — and where big wins are rarer.
While each lottery ticket carries the same odds, some state “consistently produce winners,” according to casino expert Amy Harris, a member of the Vegas Insider research team.
The difference comes down to “participation history, population scale and long-term win patterns,” rather than total ticket sales, Vegas Insider found.
“Where you live could be shaping your lottery odds more than you think,” Harris said.
Here’s where Idaho ranks in terms of lottery jackpot wins:
What is the luckiest state for lottery winners?
According to Vegas Insider, Michigan was the No. 1 state for lottery wins in the nation.
The Wolverine State “doesn’t just produce a high number of jackpot wins,” the site said. “It (also) delivers them regularly and at one of the highest rates per person.”
The Vegas Insider study found that Michigan had a total of 46 Powerball and Mega Millions jackpot wins, with 72.7 lottery wins per year.
That broke down to 98.4 wins per 1 million residents.
“In real gaming, the odds are fixed,” Harris said. “In the lottery, where you play can change the outcome.”
How many lottery winners does Idaho have?
Since its inception in 1989, the Idaho Lottery has sold more than $4.6 billion in lottery tickets and awarded nearly $2.8 billion in prizes to players, according to its website.
Powerball tickets have been sold in Idaho since 1992, and Mega Millions tickets became available in the state in 2010.
However, Idaho was relatively low on Vegas Insider’s list of the U.S. states and districts with the most lottery wins, landing at No. 36.
The Gem State had just two jackpot wins, with an average of 2.8 lottery wins per year, according to the Vegas Insider study.
There were 21.3 lottery wins for every million people in Idaho, the study found.
Has an Idaho resident ever won the Powerball jackpot?
Although lottery players frequently score big prizes in Idaho, Powerball jackpot winners are rare.
From 1992 to 2022, the Gem State produced a handful of Powerball wins worth $18 million or more, according to a news release celebrating Powerball’s 30th anniversary in Idaho.
In November 1992, Meridian resident Martha Gibbons became Idaho’s first Powerball jackpot winner, claiming a $22.1 million prize.
Other big Powerball winners in Idaho include the Robinson and Seagrave families, who scored $48.2 million in 1996, and Eric Kyle, who scored $18.5 million in 2005,
More recently, Sandpoint resident Nathan Wood won a $2 million prize in 2024 after buying a winning Powerball ticket at a Kootenai gas station, according to state lottery officials.
Who are Idaho’s biggest Powerball winners?
Idaho’s most famous Powerball winners are two Boise-area residents who purchased their tickets at the same Jacksons Food Stores location, the Idaho Statesman previously reported.
Eagle resident Pam Hiatt won a Powerball jackpot worth $87.5 million in 1995 after buying a winning ticket at the Jacksons convenience store on Orchard Street off Interstate 84 in Boise.
Brad Duke of Star purchased a winning Powerball ticket at the same store in 2005 and scored one of Powerball’s biggest prizes to date — $220 million.
What about Mega Millions?
Only one Idaho resident has won a Mega Millions jackpot in recent years.
In 2011, Rathdrum resident Holly Lahti split a $380 million jackpot with a Euphrata, Washington, couple, pocketing $190 million, The Christian Science Monitor reported at the time.
Where do Americans win the lottery most often?
According to Vegas Insider, these were the 10 states with the most Powerball and Mega Millions winners:
- Michigan
- Virginia
- New York
- California
- Maryland
- Iowa
- Massachussetts
- New Jersey
- Rhode Island
- Missouri
How did Vegas Insider rank luckiest states?
To identify the U.S. states where lottery players win the most, Vegas Insider looked at data from official Powerball and Mega Millions winners.
This dataset included all recorded wins from the 1990s, when the Powerball and Mega Millions games were launched, to the most recent available data in 2025.
Vega Insider sourced population data from the latest U.S. Census estimates.
The site’s analysis included total wins, wins per year adjusted for participation time and wins per million residents.
This story was originally published June 17, 2026 at 9:00 AM with the headline "What are the luckiest states for lottery players? See where Idaho ranks."
