The first product ever sold by the Iowa Lottery was a scratch ticket, so they go back a long way in the Hawkeye state. The first game was called "Scratch, Match & Win", and Iowans purchased over 28 million tickets for the game while it was running (over 6.4 million in the first week of sales!).
To celebrate the Lottery's 40th anniversary in 2025, Iowa set a Guinness World Record: The most people scratching scratch tickets simultaneously. 1,380 players with commemorative reprints of the original "Scratch, Match & Win" tickets smashed the Polish lottery's record of 550.
The lottery frequently publishes stories of big winners and their prizes (the Iowa Lottery is more on-it than most other states for this!). Check the table below for a selection of the latest lucky players:
| Winner | Scratch-Off Game | Prize Amount | Win Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Zieser (Coggon) | ($30) $300,000 Jackpot | $300,000 | 09/08/2026 |
| Christi Longstaff (Des Moines) | ($50) 500X | $500,000 | 09/08/2026 |
| Deb Rotenburger (Fairfield) | ($10) The Price is Right | $100,000 | 09/08/2026 |
| Stephen Leininger (Rockwell) | ($30) Ruby Red Crossword | $300,000 | 08/26/2026 |
| John Haley (Osage) | ($30) Ruby Red Crossword | $300,000 | 08/26/2026 |
There isn't a definitive list of all the Iowa scratch-off winners publicly available, but here's a selection of massive prizes won by players whose stories we were able to find online…
In July 2007, Martin Rodriguez stopped at a convenience store for something to eat in between a few games of baseball at the weekend when he bought his winning ticket. Once he realized it was a winner, he drove home to hide it, before going on to play the second game of the day. Rodriguez planned to buy a house and invest the winnings, and continue working.
Another million-dollar prize was claimed by Larry Shupe Jr. in November. Shupe, a railroad contractor, wanted a pizza, and ended up trying three different stores to find one. At the third store he got his pizza, and his winning ticket!
2026 - David and his wife were on the road headed to a friend's birthday party when he realized his ticket was a winner. He announced the win to his buds upon arrival, and was accused of hijacking the celebration for himself! Smutz, 71, had no plans to retire from his role as the general manager of a trucking company, but suggested going on some bigger holidays in future.
2026 – Christi Longstaff couldn't believe she'd won the $500,000 top prize in '500X' at first and kept scanning it over and over again to confirm it was real. Longstaff claimed her prize at the Iowa Lottery HQ in Clive on her 65th birthday, and planned to use the win to buy a new car, save for the future, and share with her family.