The Lottery's current interim director is Michelle Gillcrist, who was appointed by Governor Mike DeWine on April 12, 2023;[2] previous directors include Pat McDonald, Mike Dolan, Tom Hayes, and Dennis Berg.

In April 2023, former Ohio Lottery executive director Pat McDonald denied claims of harassment days before he resigned for medical reasons.

All Ohio Lottery drawings are observed by a representative of the Auditor State, Thomas E. Ferguson.

In 1971, State Senator Ronald M. Mottl began a campaign to begin a lottery in Ohio.

In July 1983, the Ohio General Assembly began earmarking Lottery profits for education.

It was made permanent in 1987 when voters approved a constitutional amendment to make Lottery profits a supplement revenue stream for education.

[citation needed] On April 9, 1981, Pick 4 was added; it began as a once-a-week game, gradually expanding to twice-daily drawings as well.

On August 12, 2012, Pick 5 was added; it is played twice daily in conjunction with the other "numbers" games.

A six-digit number was added to all Super Lotto tickets, whether or not The Kicker was "activated."

When SLP ended in October 2005, The Kicker became an add-on for Mega Millions, but only within Ohio.

[citation needed] Keno is played at Ohio Lottery retailers that have a monitor.

Keno was initially limited to retailers which have a liquor license allowing consumption of alcoholic beverages on the premises, thus making it available mostly in restaurants and bars.

Keno to Go was added on April 9, 2012, which allows players to buy tickets at any Ohio Lottery retailer.

In 2009, the Connecticut Lottery began Lucky4Life, a draw game which featured a "lifetime" top prize.

Numerous changes include a new name Lucky for Life, an extra number to be matched, expansion to 16 states and the District of Columbia (as of November 15, 2015 with Ohio joining), two lifetime prize tiers, and a cash option in lieu of a lifetime prize.

The add-on game The Kicker (see above) was "transferred" from Super Lotto Plus to Mega Millions in 2005; Ohio ended The Kicker when the Megaplier (which began as a Texas-only option) was available to Ohio players of Mega Millions in 2011.

Both games added members on January 31, 2010; although Ohio, already with Mega Millions, did not add Powerball until April 16, 2010.

SLP's last drawing was October 8, 2005, with The Kicker becoming Mega Millions' add-on game.

[citation needed] The Cash Explosion game show returned in October 2007, replacing Make Me Famous, Make Me Rich (which itself had replaced Cash Explosion Double Play a year earlier).