Editorial Standards & Corrections Policy

Our mission, in one line

Publish accurate, up-to-date US lottery results and the editorial context that helps readers understand them — without selling, predicting, or moralizing.

Accuracy and sourcing

Every winning-number, jackpot, prize-tier, and claim-procedure claim on Lottery Atlas comes from one of these sources, in priority order:

1. Official state lottery websites and press releases. Primary source for state-specific games (Florida Fantasy 5, NY Take 5, etc.) and for claim procedures, tax withholding, and anonymity rules.
2. Official Powerball.com, MegaMillions.com, and Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) publications. Primary source for Powerball, Mega Millions, Lotto America, Cash4Life, Lucky for Life, 2by2.
3. State statutes and tax authority publications. Primary source for tax rates, anonymity statutes, age requirements, and claim deadlines.
4. A commercial lottery results data feed. We use this to fetch winning numbers within minutes of publication, then reconcile against the official source within 24 hours.
5. Academic studies and peer-reviewed papers, when relevant (e.g., the Hankins-Hoekstra-Skiba 2011 study on Florida lottery winners cited in our 5-years-later blog post).

Where claims could not be verified from a primary source, we say so explicitly with phrasing like "reportedly," "according to," or "we have not been able to confirm." We do not publish unsourced statistics.

Fact-checking process

Every blog post on Lottery Atlas goes through a four-step check before publication:

1. Primary-source verification: every numeric claim, statute reference, and quoted statistic is traced back to its original source. If we can't find the source, the claim is removed or marked as unverified.
2. Currency check: lottery laws change. We verify that anonymity rules, tax rates, claim deadlines, and game mechanics are current as of the publish date.
3. Internal cross-reference: claims about Powerball and Mega Millions rules are checked against our own draw history database to catch any inconsistencies.
4. Read-through for accidental editorializing: we try to keep opinion clearly labeled as opinion. If a statement starts with "I think" or "the data suggests," that's a flag; everything else should be a sourced fact.

Our two flagship data products — the hot/cold/overdue stats per game and the Quick Pick generator — are documented on our methodology page. The math is intentionally simple and reproducible.

Conflicts of interest

Lottery Atlas does not, and will not:

• Sell lottery tickets directly or via a courier service.
• Accept payment, gifts, or other consideration from state lotteries, the Multi-State Lottery Association, lottery operators, ticket vendors, or courier-app companies.
• Accept sponsored or paid placement of editorial content. Where we link to commercial products (e.g., courier apps), the link is not affiliated, paid for, or commissioned in either direction.
• Allow our owners or staff to hold financial interests in any lottery operator, ticket vendor, or courier company we cover.

The site is funded by display advertising delivered through standard ad networks. Advertisers have no influence on editorial content.

Corrections policy

When we publish something incorrect, we fix it visibly. The standard:

• Material errors (wrong winning numbers, wrong jackpot, wrong tax rate, wrong law cited) get a correction notice appended to the top of the relevant page or blog post, noting what was originally published, what it has been corrected to, and the date of correction.
• Typos and small clarifications are fixed silently.
• Data feed errors — where our background sync briefly displayed wrong data because the upstream provider had wrong data — are noted in our corrections log if they were visible for more than 15 minutes.
• We do not delete or unpublish blog posts that turned out to be incorrect. We correct them in place.

If you've spotted an error, please email hello@lotteryatlas.com with the page URL and what looks wrong. We aim to respond within one business day and fix verified errors within 24 hours.

What we won't claim to do

• Predict winning numbers. Our hot/cold/overdue stats describe past draws. They do not predict future draws. Anyone who tells you otherwise is selling you something. See our full explainer.
• Provide financial, legal, or tax advice. Our blog covers these topics to help you know what questions to ask a licensed professional — not as a substitute for one.
• Guarantee anonymity, tax outcomes, or claim approvals. The rules we publish are accurate as of the publish/update date, but lottery commissions and tax authorities can change rules. Always verify with the official source before acting on anything you read here.

AI use disclosure

We use commercial software, including AI-assisted writing tools, to draft research summaries, format tables, and run consistency checks. All published content is reviewed and edited by a human before posting. We do not publish raw AI output, and every fact is verified against a primary source by a human editor.

Reader feedback

We treat every reader email as a potential correction. Tip lines, questions, and pushback are all welcome at hello@lotteryatlas.com. For press inquiries, mention your outlet and deadline.