 Hot Lotto was the name of an Idaho-only lottery game available in the 1990s. It is unrelated to the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) game called Hot Lotto, which began in 2002; the Idaho Lottery became its 11th member, in 2007.
The former Hot Lotto was a pick-5-of-32 game that was $1 per play. Matching two numbers won $2; three or more won a parimutuel cash prize. Matching all five won a small prize even for a pick-5 game, it was believed to always be under $2,000 (because of the generous prize for just two numbers.) If no ticket matched all five, which almost always happened, the first prize pool was added to second prize.
Idaho has offered several pick-5 games in its history, but not currently.
Parimutuel betting
Parimutuel betting (from the French language: pari mutuel, mutual betting) is a betting system in which all bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool; taxes and a house take are removed, and payoff odds are calculated by sharing the pool among all placed bets.
The parimutuel system is used in gaming on horse racing, greyhound racing, jai alai, and all sporting events of relatively short duration in which participants finish in a ranked order. A modified parimutuel system is also used in some lottery games.
Parimutuel gaming is frequently state-regulated, and offered in many places where gaming is otherwise illegal. Parimutuel gaming is often also offered at "off track" facilities, where players may bet on the events without actually being present to observe them in person.
Parimutuel betting differs from fixed odds betting in that the final payout is not determined until the pool is closed – in fixed odds betting, the payout is agreed at the time the bet is sold.
Multi-State Lottery Association
The Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) is a "non-profit, government-benefit association owned and operated by its member lotteries."
It was formed in 1987 by six states and the D.C. Lottery. Its first game was launched the next year. Slowly, more states joined MUSL. After the original game ended in favor of Powerball (whose first drawing was held on April 22, 1992), US lotteries were more eager to join. Powerball (as of June 2007) is played in 29 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. All MUSL members offer Powerball. MUSL additionally runs several smaller games, including Hot Lotto, and Cashola, a video lottery jackpot game. MUSL also has retired several games, including Daily Millions, Rolldown, and the Powerball scratchcard game.
In September 2007, MUSL will launch Midwest Millions, a scratch ticket game, in Iowa, and Kansas.
Unlike Mega Millions, which is more loosely organized, the rules of MUSL games are virtually the same in all jurisdictions. The only major differences are: the minimum age to purchase tickets (which usually is 18, but is 19 in one state, and 21 in three others), and the period to claim winning tickets, which ranges from 90 days to one year.
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