Everything we found in Wisconsin
Wisconsin is where ShareTheWinning started, so this page gets checked first. Every fact below comes from the Wisconsin Lottery’s own pages and forms, the Wisconsin Statutes, powerball.com or the IRS; each fact shows its source and the day we checked it. Pools can be created in every state that runs a lottery; Wisconsin is open.
Is a private pool legal here?
We found no Wisconsin statute that prohibits a group of people from putting money together to buy lottery tickets and share any prize. The lottery’s Multiple Winner Checklist says groups “may play the Wisconsin Lottery together.” Who the lottery pays: Wisconsin pays one claimant; the agreement names who claims and how the pool splits it. One person signs a group ticket and the Wisconsin Lottery pays that claimant; paying several winners on one ticket takes a court order. (Wisconsin Lottery FAQ, checked Oct 1, 2026)
The checklist adds the practical steps:
- Only one signature may be on the ticket, and that person is the group’s contact with the lottery.
- The lottery cites Wis. Stat. 565.30(1), which lets a prize be paid to someone other than the holder “under a court order.”
- Multiple winner claims are handled only at the Madison headquarters, not Milwaukee. Each claimant fills out a claim form.
In plain words, the lottery will not divide a prize among several people on its own. The group, a court, or both do that. That is exactly the gap a locked pool record fills. The Wisconsin Lottery does not publish how it handles the IRS form a group uses to split the tax paperwork; ask the lottery directly.
ShareTheWinning is free, takes no cut of tickets or prizes and never holds money. Whether a particular arrangement is lawful is a question for counsel, not for us.
Minimum age
18 or older (Wisconsin Lottery FAQ, checked Oct 8, 2026). The lottery FAQ and Wis. Stat. 565.17(4)(a) both set the age for buying a ticket. Members confirm their age when they join a pool.
Where tickets are sold
Only at Wisconsin Lottery retailers. The FAQ answers “Can I buy tickets online, by mail, or through a subscription?” with “No.” The lottery’s mobile app can build a digital playslip to scan at the counter, but “players cannot purchase lottery tickets directly from the mobile app.”
Couriers are banned by law. Wis. Stat. 565.17(1m): “No person may operate a ticket courier service in this state.”
- Powerball multi-draw: Up to 12 drawings per ticket (Wisconsin Lottery Powerball page, checked Oct 8, 2026).
- Mega Millions multi-draw: Up to 8 drawings per ticket (Wisconsin Lottery Mega Millions page, checked Oct 8, 2026).
- Powerball Double Play: not offered in Wisconsin; powerball.com’s Double Play page does not list it.
- Group purchase limits: None found in the rules we read (not yet verified). We also found none in Wis. Stat. 565.17, the statute on limits for ticket sales and purchases.
Claim deadlines
180 days after the drawing (Wisconsin Lottery FAQ, checked Oct 8, 2026) for Powerball and Mega Millions. A prize not claimed in time is forfeited.
Where to claim depends on the prize:
- Up to $599: any Wisconsin Lottery retailer, either lottery office, or by mail.
- $600 to $199,999: the Madison or Milwaukee lottery office, or by mail.
- $200,000 and up: in person at the Madison office. Jackpot winners call ahead for an appointment.
- Any shared (multiple winner) claim: the Madison office only.
Can winners stay anonymous?
No. Under the state's open records law, the Wisconsin Lottery must release the winner's name and city on request. (Wisconsin Lottery FAQ, checked Oct 8, 2026) Other details are released only with the winner’s consent. The claim form adds that under the open records law (Wis. Stat. 19.31 to 19.39) the lottery may disclose a winner’s name, likeness and place of residence.
Taxes
- State withholding: 7.65% on prizes of $2,000 or more (State withholding table, checked Oct 1, 2026). Wis. Stat. 71.67(4) sets lottery withholding at the highest rate that applies to the claimant.
- Federal: The lottery withholds 24% federal tax when a prize minus the wager is more than $5,000. A prize of $2,000 or more is reported to the IRS on Form W-2G. (IRS Form W-2G instructions, checked Oct 1, 2026) The final federal tax is settled on your return.
The split calculator applies the Wisconsin rate. For how a group handles the paperwork, see How a pool claims a prize.
Claim offices
- Madison: Department of Revenue, 2135 Rimrock Road, Madison, WI 53713. Handles every prize amount and all multiple winner claims.
- Milwaukee: State Office Building, 819 N. 6th Street, 4th floor (James Lovell Street entrance), Milwaukee, WI 53203. Prizes up to $199,999.
- Hours: Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.; arrive by 3:30 p.m., or by 2:00 p.m. for prizes of $50,000 or more.
- Mail: Prizes, PO Box 777, Madison, WI 53774. Player line: 608-261-4916.
Official site: wilottery.com. Questions: contact the Wisconsin Lottery.
How our pool record helps in Wisconsin
A court order that splits a prize needs exactly what a pool record holds: who was in and who held what. In a ShareTheWinning pool the members, shares and confirmed payments lock before the ticket is bought; the ticket is photographed and recorded before the drawing; and every change afterward is a new entry, never an edit. When a prize reaches the threshold for Wisconsin ($600 by default), the round goes on hold and we preserve an export bundle for the lottery, the accountant and the court.
Our worked example in Ten friends, one jackpot uses the Wisconsin rate. For the first 48 hours after a win, read You won. The first five things to do. The “If we win” stop on the Journey shows the deadline and the privacy rule for Wisconsin next to your numbers.
