Are there lottery drawings on holidays? Yes. Powerball, Mega Millions and nearly every state draw game run on their normal nights even when the date lands on Christmas, Thanksgiving or New Year's Day — the schedules are tied to fixed weekdays, not to a business calendar. Powerball has been won on Christmas Day four times. What holidays actually change is retailer hours, sales cut-offs, and whether the claim office is open.
The national games never take a night off
Powerball draws Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 PM ET. Mega Millions draws Tuesday and Friday at 11:00 PM ET. Those nights are fixed, so the only question on any holiday is which day of the week it falls on. Powerball jackpots have been won on Christmas Day in 1996, 2002, 2010 and 2013, and on Christmas Eve in 2011 — the draws happened as scheduled every time.
The rest of 2026 at a glance
| Holiday | Day | National draws that night |
|---|---|---|
| Labor Day — Sept 7, 2026 | Monday | Powerball |
| Columbus Day — Oct 12, 2026 | Monday | Powerball |
| Veterans Day — Nov 11, 2026 | Wednesday | Powerball |
| Thanksgiving — Nov 26, 2026 | Thursday | None (neither game draws Thursday) |
| Christmas Day — Dec 25, 2026 | Friday | Mega Millions |
| New Year's Day — Jan 1, 2027 | Friday | Mega Millions |
State draw games mostly follow the same logic — daily Pick 3, Pick 4 and Cash 5 games draw seven days a week in most states and keep going through the holidays. A small number of state games do pause for Christmas Day or Easter, and a few states shift a midday draw when retailers close early. The reliable check is the game's own page: every game on this site shows its live draw schedule and its most recent draw.
What actually changes on a holiday
- Retailer hours. The draw happens whether or not your usual store is open. On Christmas Day in particular, a large share of retailers close entirely — the practical constraint is buying a ticket, not the drawing.
- Sales cut-offs stay put. Cut-offs are set by each state, typically one to two hours before a national draw, and holidays don't move them. Details in what time they stop selling tickets.
- Claim offices close. State claim centers follow state-holiday calendars, and many close for a stretch around Christmas and New Year's. Retailer cashing of small prizes usually continues.
- Deadlines that fall on a holiday. Most states roll a claim deadline landing on a weekend or state holiday to the next business day — but don't rely on it. Claim early; the windows are in how long you have to claim.
- Payment timing slows. Bank holidays delay wire transfers and check clearing, so a claim filed just before a long weekend pays out later than usual. See how and when the money arrives.
Do holiday draws have better or worse odds?
The odds of your ticket are identical on every draw — they're a property of the game's number matrix, not the calendar. What does change slightly is how many people you'd share a jackpot with: holiday-period draws often coincide with heavier sales, especially when a jackpot has rolled through December, and heavier sales mean a higher chance of a split jackpot. That affects the value of a win, not the chance of one. The distinction is worked through in what are the odds of winning the lottery and what happens if two people win.
Gift tickets are a holiday tradition worth one caution: lottery tickets should never be given to anyone under the legal age in your state, which is 18 in most states and 21 in a few. The age rules are in who can play the US lottery.
For tonight's schedule and the exact next-draw time in your state, check the results homepage or your state's page — draw times and days are listed on every game page and update automatically.
Play responsibly — 1-800-GAMBLER. Never give lottery tickets to minors.