It’s not Mega Millions or Powerball, but changes are being made to a lottery — of a different sort — in Virginia.
Following “statistically abnormal” results earlier this year, Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority (Virginia ABC) is updating how it runs lotteries for special releases of alcoholic products, according to its website.
Virginians, who are over 21 years old, can buy products like sought bourbons, whiskeys and other small batch spirits through periodic online lotteries.
New changes to how the lottery is run include:
- Removing the one-per-household entry restriction
- Requiring that the person picking up the beverage must be a winner — not a surrogate.
- Proof of ID is being restricted to only those issued by the Virginia DMV or the military.
Last spring, the lottery honored results of a drawing where the same participants won multiple times after a review found no proof of inappropriate administration of the lottery drawing, or intentional manipulation by staff or customers.
Though the winners got their liquor, the Virginia ABC announced in April that it would be making changes to the system.
Virginia ABC’s next lottery runs from August 21-25. Up for grabs: 72 bottles of Virginia-made Reservoir Distillery Hazmat Rye Whiskey priced at about $150. Once the form opens, qualified Virginians can enter online.
WTOP’s Jessica Kronzer and Neal Augenstein contributed to this report.
