Iowa players can get a vintage taste of lottery wins

By Kate Northrop

To celebrate turning 40 this year, the Iowa Lottery released a special anniversary ticket that calls back to the original scratch-off game from 1985.

The Iowa Lottery is commemorating its fourth decade with a new scratch-off game that allows players to get a vintage taste of what playing the lottery used to look like.

Iowa players can stop by a lottery retailer to pick up a 2025 version of the Iowa Lottery's first-ever scratch-off ticket: "Scratch, Match & Win," a $5 game that features artwork of a hand holding a coin, just like the 1985 version. The ticket is also much larger in size than the original from 40 years ago.

The modern game, which launched on June 3, offers eight top prizes of $50,000, as well as eight second-tier prizes of $1,000, and 104 third-tier prizes of $250.

Nonwinning "Scratch, Match & Win" tickets can be entered in the Lottery's "Play It Again" promotion for a chance to win an Iowa State Fair concert prize package.

Entries for the package will close on July 21 at 7:59 a.m. with winners drawn on July 22, but players are encouraged to continue entering nonwinning tickets in the promotion before 10:00 a.m. on September 17 for additional chances to win cash prizes of up to $100,000. 40 players will win $1,000, 10 players $4,000, and one winner will take home the $100,000 grand prize.

"While lotto jackpots may have grown larger and there are more choices available for consumers than when that first Iowa Lottery ticket was sold in 1985, what hasn't changed is the lottery's commitment to integrity, fair play, and being an affordable entertainment option for Iowans," Lottery CEO Matt Strawn said in a press release.

Iowa legislation signed the Lottery into law on April 18, 1985, with the first ticket sales beginning four months later on Aug. 22, 1985. In just the first week of sales, the Lottery sold 6.4 million tickets.

Since then, the Iowa Lottery has grown from selling a single scratch-off game to offering a collection of dozens of draw and instant games to meet different needs and play styles.

"Today's consumers expect variety and convenience. The Iowa Lottery strives to meet those expectations," Strawn continued. "Players now can buy tickets at a lottery terminal, from self-service kiosks in many locations, and in the checkout lanes in select grocery stores. Players can also check the results of their tickets on the go with the lottery's mobile app or by using a self-checker or the lottery terminal in stores."

According to the Lottery, scratch-off games have reigned supreme as the top-selling product, accounting for nearly 67 percent of annual ticket sales in fiscal year 2025.

In its entire 40-year history, the Iowa Lottery has raked in $10.4 billion in sales, transferred $2.5 billion to state causes, and paid out $722.5 million in commissions to retailers. Iowa players have won a total of $6.1 billion in prizes over the years.

The largest prize ever won in Iowa was half of a $687.8 million Powerball jackpot, which was split by another ticket in New York. Iowa woman Lerynne West claimed her $343.9 million share of the prize on Nov. 5, 2018, a little over a week after the drawing on Oct. 27, 2018. Iowa has nine recorded Powerball jackpot wins and 189 lottery tickets that have won prizes of $1 million or more.

Players interested in trying out the Lottery's 40th anniversary scratch-off game can visit any of the Lottery's 2,500 retailers across the state. The overall odds of winning any prize in the "Scratch, Match & Win" game are 1 in 3.65.

(Click to display full-size in gallery)The Iowa Lottery's new new "Scratch, Match & Win" game is a throwback to the original game that kicked off the lottery in 1985.

(Click to display full-size in gallery)The original "Scratch, Match & Win" game ticket from 1985.