Cash Prize Sweepstakes in Madison, WI: Updated 2026 List for Local Winners
A short, verified rundown of which Madison cash-prize drawings are still open in 2026, what they pay, and the entry caps and residency limits attached.
The one cash-prize sweepstakes currently running from Madison that a local saver can enter is Heartland Credit Union's Saver's Sweepstakes, a prize-linked savings account whose drawings pay out $50 to $5,000. Madison's other well-known entries have closed: the Wisconsin Lottery's weekly $1,000 Super 2nd Chance Drawing ended, and PBS Wisconsin's Lucky-Go-Happy Sweepstakes stopped accepting entries on June 1, 2026. That leaves a short, honest list rather than a long one.
Below is what each remaining opportunity actually pays, what it costs to enter, who qualifies, and which Madison-run drawing gives prizes that are not cash at all.
Verification note: Program terms and availability can change. This page was checked against linked sources on October 21, 2026.
The one Madison-headquartered cash sweepstakes still open
Heartland Credit Union, headquartered in Madison, runs Saver's Sweepstakes on a savings account. Every $25 your month-over-month balance grows earns one entry into monthly, quarterly and annual cash drawings, with prizes ranging from $50 to $5,000 according to Heartland's Saver's Sweepstakes program page. Heartland also draws two member-only winners of $50 each month.
"Prize-linked savings" means the money you deposit stays yours — the drawing entries are the incentive, not a wager. That is the practical difference between this and a raffle: you are not buying a ticket, you are moving your own money into an account. The Wisconsin Credit Union League operates the program statewide, with monthly, quarterly and annual drawings funded by participating credit unions in proportion to their size.
The League also requires that a Saver's Sweepstakes account's dividend rate not be cut relative to comparable accounts, so entries are not paid for with a lower return.
How many entries you can earn, and what takes them away
Entries are capped. Heartland's Truth-in-Savings addendum sets the limit at 6 entries per month, 18 per quarter and 72 per 12-month savings period, at one entry per $25 of balance growth. So the saver who gets the most chances is the one who adds a modest amount every month and leaves it alone, not the one who makes a single large deposit.
A chance to win is still only a chance — the drawings are random, and no balance level produces a prize.
- A $150 increase in a month earns 6 entries — the monthly maximum.
- Depositing $500 in one month does not earn 20 entries; the extra growth does not carry forward as entries.
- Withdrawals may reduce the number of entries you earn, per the same addendum.
Who qualifies in Madison
Eligibility for the cash drawings is limited to account holders aged 18 or older — or select minor accounts — who are residents of Wisconsin, Illinois or Minnesota, and the account must be open and active during the drawing period, the Wisconsin Credit Union League states. A Madison entrant who closes the account before the draw is disqualified, even if the entries were already earned. You also need to be eligible for membership at a participating credit union, since the account is the entry mechanism.
Heartland is the Madison-headquartered participant, but it is not the only credit union in the program statewide. Check the prize schedule where you bank, not where you read about it. Participating credit unions publish different schedules for the same statewide program: one lists five quarterly winners at $1,000 each effective August 19, 2026, while another lists 75 monthly statewide winners plus a $5,000 annual prize.
The figure to rely on is the one your own credit union posts.
The Wisconsin Lottery drawing that is open — and pays no cash
The Wisconsin Lottery, run from Madison, has an open 2026 Packers Bonus Drawing, and it is worth knowing precisely because the prizes are not money. Entrants mail in at least $5 in non-winning 2026 Packers scratch or Fast Play tickets, and entries must be received by U.S. Mail by February 24, 2027, according to the Lottery's features and procedures page.
The prize pool is one club-seat season-ticket package, 95 MVP Game Day experiences and 100 Pro Shop gift cards. The cash route closed. The Lottery's Super 2nd Chance Drawing awarded ten $1,000 cash prizes every week to mail-in entrants and held its final drawing on December 26, after the Lottery said it had no plans to replace it, Madison's Channel 3000 reported.
That removed the state's largest recurring cash second-chance drawing for Madison players. One more Madison-run sweepstakes is off the list for a simple reason: PBS Wisconsin's Lucky-Go-Happy Sweepstakes, operated from 821 University Avenue with no payment required to enter and open to entrants 18 and over, closed to entries on June 1, 2026.
Why local cash offers are sweepstakes and not raffles
Wisconsin's Division of Gaming states that every raffle in the state requires a raffle license, and that individuals, businesses and out-of-state organizations may not legally conduct one. That is why a Madison bar, shop or online promoter offering cash almost always structures it as a no-purchase-necessary sweepstakes instead. The disclosure rule gives you a quick screening tool.
Wisconsin's prize-promotion statute, Wis. Stat. s.
100.171, requires anyone sending a prize notice to a Wisconsin resident to disclose in writing, before accepting any payment, the retail value of each prize and the odds of winning it — as the state's Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection explains.
- Ask for the retail value and the odds in writing before you pay anything.
- Treat a cash "raffle" run by a business or an out-of-state group as a reason to check for a license.
- Remember that "no purchase necessary" is not the same as free — mailing scratch tickets costs postage, and a savings account ties up your money.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does entering Saver's Sweepstakes cost me anything?
Not in fees or ticket purchases — entries come from growing your own savings balance. The cost is liquidity: withdrawals may reduce the entries you earn, per Heartland's Truth-in-Savings addendum.
Can I enter the Packers Bonus Drawing with older tickets?
No. The Lottery's procedures specify non-winning 2026 Packers scratch or Fast Play tickets, totaling at least $5, received by mail no later than February 24, 2027.
I live in Illinois but bank in Madison. Am I eligible?
Yes for residency — the drawings are open to residents of Wisconsin, Illinois or Minnesota who are 18 or older, with the account open and active through the drawing period.