Ohio Lottery: Millionaire for Life debuts this weekend with $1M-a-year top prize

Millionaire for Life, a new national draw game from the North Carolina Education Lottery, debuts Sunday with a top prize of $1 million a year for life — a change that Ohio Lottery players and others nationwide will see when drawings begin. The game starts with nightly drawings and offers a five-figure pick and a separate Millionaire Ball mechanic.

Ohio Lottery: what players need to know

Tickets for Millionaire for Life cost $5 and can be bought at retail locations that sell lottery tickets or with Online Play through the lottery’s website or the NC Lottery Official Mobile App, with drawings held every night. The basic play requires picking five numbers from 1 to 58 and a Millionaire Ball number from 1 to 5, a format that will be in effect when the first drawing takes place Sunday.

How the game works

Players select five main numbers (1–58) and one Millionaire Ball (1–5); that combination determines the top-prize winner in each nightly drawing. The game offers a straightforward ticket purchase model at $5 per play, and the draw structure — five main numbers plus a separate Millionaire Ball — will be used in each nightly drawing once the game launches.

Prizes, odds and rollout

The top prize pays $1 million a year for life; a second-tier prize pays $100, 000 a year for life. Both top prizes are structured as annuities with payments guaranteed for a minimum of 20 years, and winning players may choose a lump sum cash option instead of the annuity for life. The overall odds of winning any prize are 1 in 8. 47, while the odds of winning the top prize are 1 in 22. 9 million. Millionaire for Life is the North Carolina Education Lottery’s first new draw game since 2024, when Cash Pop debuted.

Drawings begin Sunday and will be held every night. Players should plan purchases for upcoming nightly drawings if they want to participate in the first weeks of the game’s rollout.