MUSL Canvasses Opinions on National ‘For Life’ Game
Wednesday February 12th 2025The Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) is carrying out market research with a view to introducing a new ‘For Life’ lottery across the nation.
It emerged last year that discussions were taking place over a new annuity game, reportedly set to be called Millionaire for Life. The MUSL is now in the process of canvassing opinions to see how much interest there would be in such a launch.
The end of Cash4Life and Lucky for Life?
Cash4Life and Lucky for Life are both currently available in multiple states, and offer a similar prize structure with a jackpot of $1,000 a day for life.
According to the MUSL, members of both lotteries have recently ‘agreed to explore retiring the existing games for one game that can deliver a stronger value proposition and game matrix’. The idea would be to have a single game with a higher jackpot and a more winnable prize structure.
An expert team looked into what sort of lottery format could support a new game with a top prize of $1 million a year for life, and four concepts are now being put forward to players for testing as part of a wide-ranging survey.
Preliminary research has already shown that Cash4Life and Lucky for Life are generally played in conjunction with Powerball or Mega Millions, and that there is more participation across the board when jackpots for either Powerball or Mega Millions are above $400 million.
The MUSL now wants to discover what the appetite would be like for a ‘$1 million a year’ game, and whether people would be more likely to play the new lottery regularly, occasionally or just alongside Powerball or Mega Millions.
Research is set to be carried out in 37 states, including four that do not currently offer a ‘For Life’ game, before a recommendation can be provided to the Product Group who will ultimately make the final call on a new game.
Four Potential Formats
The following concepts are being tested with players to try to measure the level of interest in comparison with current games. Each one would have daily drawings and a fixed top prize of $1 million a year for life. Here are the other key points for each one:
- Option A: Choose five numbers from 1 to 60, plus one number from 1 to 5. The cost is $3 per play, and the second prize is a fixed $1 million.
- Option B: Choose five numbers from 1 to 60, plus one number from 1 to 5. The cost is still $3 per play, but the difference is that the second prize is $50,000 a year for life.
- Option C: Select five numbers from 1 to 54, plus one number from 1 to 6. The cost here is $5 per play, and the second prize is a fixed $1 million.
- Option D: Select five numbers from 1 to 58, and one number from 1 to 5. The cost per play is $5, and the second prize is $100,000 a year for life.
The overall odds of winning are better for options C and D, and the jackpot odds are better too. However, the cost is $5 rather than $3.
Researchers are expected to present their findings as quickly as they can without compromising the quality of the study, so it could be that a decision on which format gets the go-ahead is made in the near future.
In the meantime, you can play Lucky for Life in 23 states, Cash4Life in 10 states, or Powerball or Mega Millions in even more jurisdictions.
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