The Pennsylvania Lottery is celebrating its 45 birthday.
The lottery’s very first game went on sale on this day, March 7, in 1972. The game was a 50-cent ticket with weekly drawings, offering a $50,000 top prize and periodic drawings for $1 million.
The first $1 game, Lucky 7, went on sale in November of 1972 and also featured weekly drawings. The first scratch-off didn’t come until 1975.
When the Pennsylvania Lottery first launched, players had to read a newspaper to find that week’s winning numbers. Today, players can immediately learn if their ticket is a winner by using the ticket checker feature on the lottery’s mobile app.
