LotteryWednesday, November 4
Montana Millionaire ticket sales are postponed, and there's no new date yet
The Good Day Billings team
If you lined up for Montana Millionaire on Sunday, the wait isn't over. Technical issues forced the Montana Lottery to postpone the game, and there's still no new sales date or time.
The lottery acknowledged Montana Millionaire problems 30 minutes after sales opened
- Nov. 1Montana Millionaire tickets go on sale at 5:30 a.m.
- Nov. 1The Montana Lottery first acknowledges problems with its system at 6 a.m.
- Nov. 1The lottery announces at 11 a.m. that it is postponing the game.
- Nov. 2The lottery says no drawings have happened and more instant wins will be added.
Sources: KTVQ, NonStop Local Billings, Montana State News Network
Jason Ans took the fifth spot in line at the Circle K on Grand Avenue just before 4 a.m. and waited nearly seven hours. The lottery blamed its new central gaming system, which it moved to in September of 2026. It struggled with so many transactions at once, and instant-win prizes went out faster than designed.
- Drawings: none held yet, so no winners are chosen
- Tickets bought Sunday: still valid, so keep yours safe
- Instant wins: still redeemable; retailers scan the barcode
- New sales date: not set; the lottery promises notice
Montana Millionaire sold 12,919 tickets before the pause
- 12,919
- tickets sold before sales paused
- 991
- of them were $100 instant wins
- 1,019
- of them were $500 instant wins
- $500,000
- estimated worth of instant wins put back in the game
Source: NonStop Local Billings
The lottery is working with Bally's Intralot, which built the new system. The lottery's director says the issues weren't the result of a cybersecurity incident, the Gazette reports. Montana State News Network has the lottery's answers to players' common questions.