IL Lottery Hails HotWins as ‘Next Evolution of Lottery Entertainment’
Wednesday February 25th 2026Illinois Lottery officials have welcomed the new HotWins draw game as a way to ‘play and win, more often’. The game has draws every four minutes and can be played in a variety of locations besides traditional lottery retailers, including bars and restaurants.
How HotWins Works
HotWins is a quick-fire game with 15 draws an hour, between 6:00 AM CT and 3:00 AM CT. To play, you choose between 1 and 10 numbers from a range of 1 to 80. You can also decide how much to wager, from a minimum of $1 to a maximum of $10.
You win prizes based on how many numbers you match out of the ones you pick. The top payout is $1 million for a $10 wager on the 10-number version of the game.
As draws come around so frequently, you never have to wait long to find out if you are a winner. Results are displayed live on in-store screens and terminals, and IL Lottery officials believe the social and interactive element of the game will make it immensely popular.
A New Option
“HotWins represents the next evolution of lottery entertainment,” said Harold Mays, Director of the Illinois Lottery. “It’s designed to be social and to meet players where they already gather - whether that’s a neighborhood bar, restaurant, or local convenience store - offering more chances to play and win, more often.”
HotWins launched with its first draw in November and is now available in an expanding number of bars and restaurants, along with around 7,000 Illinois Lottery retailers.
“HotWins adds a new option for entertainment in these familiar settings,” Mays added. “Players can grab a ticket, watch the draw, and see results in just minutes.”
The Illinois Lottery offers a wide range of other draw games, including Lotto, Lucky Day Lotto, Pick 3 and Pick 4, plus multi-state lotteries Powerball and Mega Millions. Ticket sales from all these games, plus Instant games and Fast Play, have helped to raise more than $25 billion for education since the Illinois Lottery was founded in 1974. Go to the Illinois page to keep up with the latest lottery news from the Prairie State.
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