Getting vaccinated protects you from catching or spreading COVID-19 — and it’s our best shot at beating this pandemic and getting back to living our full lives. And now, getting the vaccine gives you a shot at winning up to $1 million. As an Illinois resident, if you’ve been vaccinated or are about to get vaccinated, you’re automatically entered in for a chance at part of our $10 million vaccine sweepstakes. Let’s go all in for the win.
Vaccinated adults are entered into a $7 million cash prize pool: three $1 million jackpots and forty $100k cash prizes are up for grabs.
Calendar showing drawings on the following days:
Vaccinated youth are entered into a $3 million scholarship pool: twenty $150k scholarship awards are being offered.
This $150K prize is the equivalent of a full ride, including tuition and room and board, at any four-year public university in Illinois.
The scholarship will be provided as a Bright Start 529 College Savings scholarship and may be used at any educational institution that participates in the US Department of Education’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) system, including:
A full list of eligible institutions is available on the FAFSA website.
Scholarship funds can be applied toward any qualified expenses for a Bright Start 529 College Savings account, including:
Scholarship awards must be used before the age of 26 and cannot be used for K-12 educational expenses.
Calendar showing drawings on the following days:
The most important benefit vaccination will offer is that the vaccine helps prevent you from getting sick with COVID-19.
Vaccines go through rigorous testing to prove their protection, and all three authorized vaccines are highly effective at preventing death and hospitalizations from COVID-19.
Vaccines are how we end this pandemic. Once enough of us have been vaccinated and build immunity, we can get back to our pre-COVID routines.
To incentivize Illinoisans to get vaccinated, the State of Illinois is introducing ‘All In For The Win’ to offer vaccinated residents $10 million in prizes, with awards ranging from $100,000 to $1 million. This vaccine incentive program will award $7 million in cash prizes to residents 18 and older and $3 million in Bright Start 529 College Savings scholarship awards to residents ages 12 to 17 beginning on Thursday, July 8th, 2021, and running until Thursday, August 26th, 2021.
The state will conduct a series of drawings for 43 cash prizes, including:
The State will conduct a series of drawings for 20 Bright Start 529 College Savings scholarship awards, including:
Entry is simple: if you’re an Illinois resident who meets the eligibility requirements (detailed below), you are automatically entered. There are no sign ups, no forms, no waiting in line. You did your part – so this is our way of saying thank you.
You’re eligible if:
Eligible residents are automatically entered into the lottery.
IDPH is coordinating with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to ensure that those who received the COVID-19 vaccine at federal DVA facilities are included in the lottery.
The vaccination clinics operated by or supported by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) are NOT considered Federal facilities. FEMA-supported locations (e.g. the United Center) are supporting state and local vaccination efforts. Anyone vaccinated at these sites is eligible for the drawings.
Employees of the Governor’s Office, Lieutenant Governor’s Office, Illinois Lottery, designated employees of the Illinois Department of Public Health, and employees of designated state vendors, are not eligible. See official rules for details.
No. Eligibility does not depend on immigration status.
Getting vaccinated before July 1st gets you entry into every draw and the most chances to win a prize, including the first million-dollar top prize on July 8th. We’ll continue to check our records before each drawing.
Winners will be notified by the Illinois Department of Public Health by phone and email. IDPH will make multiple attempts to reach each winner.
No. The Illinois Department of Public Health will contact the children’s parents or guardians.
No, the Illinois Lottery does not have access to your vaccine records. Those records are confidentially maintained by Illinois Department of Public Health.
The Illinois Department of Public Health will assign a number to each eligible person for each draw and will report the total number of eligible Illinoisans for each draw to the Illinois Lottery.
The Illinois Lottery will use a random number generator to draw winning number(s) for each drawing from within the range provided by the Illinois Department of Public Health. The Illinois Lottery will provide the winning number(s) back to IDPH who will match it with an individual. The Illinois Department of Public Health will then make the initial contact with winners. The Illinois Lottery will only receive the winners’ names and contact information from the Illinois Department of Public Health after the winners consent to release of their personal information to the Illinois Lottery.
The Illinois Lottery will then guide the winners through its standard prize claiming process, which requires each winner to provide a proof of Social Security Number (SSN) or Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), a valid photo ID, and a signed Illinois Lottery claim form. Prizes can be claimed by mail or in person by appointment at one of five Illinois Lottery claim centers statewide.
The winners of this promotion can choose to remain anonymous. For winners from larger towns with populations of 20,000 or more, the location of the winners’ hometowns will be published. For winners from smaller towns, only the winners’ home counties will be published.
Taxes will automatically be deducted from the winnings. Outstanding obligations to state and child support arrears will be deducted from the prizes if winners owe any such debts. The Illinois Lottery encourages the winners of all large prizes to consider speaking with a qualified tax professional.
No. Each resident is only eligible to win once.
Winners who do not wish to accept the prize may decline when they are contacted by the Illinois Department of Public Health.
The prize money will be paid from federal grants received by Illinois to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic. The money has already been appropriated to the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Illinois Lottery for that purpose, and this promotion will not reduce the amount of the Illinois Lottery’s contributions to the Common School Fund or other state programs.
The scholarship will be provided as a Bright Start 529 College Savings scholarship and will be administered by the Illinois State Treasurer’s Office, the administrator of the Bright Start College Savings program.
The scholarship may be used at any educational institution that participates in the US Department of Education’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) system, including public and private 4-year, 2-year, vocational, and technical schools; schools in all states; and some schools abroad. A full list of eligible institutions is available on the FAFSA website.
The scholarship can be applied toward any qualified expenses for a Bright Start 529 College Savings account, including tuition, fees, books, supplies, equipment, room and board, computer, internet, and expenses necessary for an education-related special needs services.
‘All In for the Win’ is a promotion run by the Illinois Department of Public Health, with drawings conducted by the Illinois Lottery. Read the Official Rules here.
