The Tennessee Lottery is run by the Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

 Education Lottery Corporation (TELC), which was created on June 11, 2003 by the Tennessee General Assembly

Tennessee General Assembly

The Tennessee General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee.-Constitutional structure:According to the Tennessee State Constitution of 1870, the General Assembly is a bicameral legislature and consists of a Senate of thirty-three members and a House of Representatives of...

 through the Tennessee Education Lottery Implementation Law.

The TELC is responsible for the operation of a lottery

Lottery

A lottery is a form of gambling which involves the drawing of lots for a prize.Lottery is outlawed by some governments, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find some degree of regulation of lottery by governments...

, and is deemed to be acting in all respects for the benefit of the people of Tennessee. It is a member of the Multi-State Lottery Association

Multi-State Lottery Association

The Multi-State Lottery Association is a non-profit, government-benefit association owned and operated by agreement of its 33 member lotteries MUSL was created to facilitate the operation of multi-jurisdictional lottery games, including Powerball, Mega Millions), video lottery, and instant ...

 (MUSL); it participates in the Mega Millions and Powerball games.

The TELC sold its first ticket on January 20, 2004. On July 28, 2007, Tennessee switched from ball drawings to those using a random number generator (RNG). However, Powerball (which relocated its drawings from Iowa

Iowa Lottery

The Iowa Lottery is run by the government of Iowa. It is a charter member of, and home to, the Multi-State Lottery Association , which administers its games on behalf of the member lotteries...

 to Florida

Florida Lottery

The Florida Lottery is a government-run organization in Florida, USA. With numerous on-line and scratch-off games available, players have a wide variety of prize levels to choose from. Since it began, the Florida Lottery has continued to add variety to its portfolio of games...

 in 2009) continues to be ball-drawn, although, as part of the move, the PowerPlay multiplier is now also drawn by an RNG. Likewise, Mega Millions is ball-drawn in Atlanta

Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

, with the Megaplier RNG selection conducted in Texas

Texas Lottery

The Texas Lottery is the government-operated lottery available throughout Texas. It is operated by the Texas Lottery Commission, headquartered in downtown Austin.-History:...

, as some lotteries with Mega Millions do not have the Megaplier option.

Tennessee also has a third, smaller jackpot game, Tennessee Cash, which replaced Pick 5

Fantasy 5

The following is a list of lottery games in the United States and Canada in which five regular numbers are drawn from a larger set of numbers. The list includes the name, the number field for each, and the frequency of drawings. All pick-5 games in the U.S...

 in October 2010.

Persons must be at least 18 years of age to purchase or redeem TELC tickets.

Player and beneficiary statistics

Nationwide, and presumably in Tennessee, the heaviest lottery players (top 20 percent) are nearly twice as likely to lack a high school diploma

High school diploma

A high school diploma is a diploma awarded for the completion of high school. In the United States and Canada, it is considered the minimum education required for government jobs and higher education. An equivalent is the GED.-Past diploma styles:...

 and have a household income below $10,000 as the population as whole. Recipients from families with an annual income over $72,000 make up 47% of the Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarships awarded.

Cash 3

Cash 3 is drawn twice daily, except once on Sundays. It draws 3 digits, each 0 through 9. Prices, prizes, and options vary.

Cash 4

Cash 4 also is drawn 13 times weekly; it draws a four-digit number in the same fashion as Cash 3.

Tennessee Cash

Tennessee Cash is drawn Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. It draws six numbers in the style of Mega Millions and Powerball. The top prize increases (e.g., a jackpot

Progressive jackpot

A progressive jackpot is a jackpot for a gaming machine where the value of the jackpot increases a small amount for every game played...

) if there is no top prize winner.

Powerball

Since 2004, Tennessee has been a member of MUSL. Powerball

Powerball

Powerball is an American lottery game sold in 44 jurisdictions as a shared jackpot game. It is coordinated by the Multi-State Lottery Association , a non-profit organization formed by an agreement with lotteries. Powerball is a game whose advertised jackpot starts at $20 million and can roll into...

 began in 1992. Its jackpots begin at $20 million; it is drawn Wednesday and Saturday nights.

Mega Millions

On October 13, 2009, the Mega Millions

Mega Millions

Mega Millions is a US multi-jurisdictional $1 lottery game. Since it replaced The Big Game in May 2002 , Mega Millions' advertised jackpots have started at $12 million, paid in 26 yearly installments , increasing when there is no jackpot winner...

consortium and MUSL reached an agreement in principle to cross-sell Mega Millions and Powerball in US lottery jurisdictions. On November 2, 2009, the Tennessee Education Lottery Board of Directors voted to add Mega Millions. As part of adding Mega Millions, the TELC discontinued Lotto Plus. The TELC joined Mega Millions on January 31, 2010.