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The American Lottery is a beloved activity that is enjoyed by millions of Americans every week. In fact, recent research shows that of the roughly $160 billion generated from legal gambling per year, more than half of it was through national and state lottery games!

As every state offers different game options, it’s important to stay informed about your local games and regulations. By using Lottery America, you can equip yourself with the most up-to-date and relevant information on how to play the lottery and in which states to play it – including a full state-based analysis. In addition you’ll have quick access to the recent results/winning numbers of the nation’s most notable lotteries, and their upcoming drawings:

By reading this page, you will be directed to all you need to know about the US lottery and how it operates. We have covered everything from the most popular national lotteries and their odds to tips on how to spot and avoid dangerous lottery scams.

It doesn’t matter if you are a seasoned player or a beginner, because we’ve broken everything down into easy-to-read information that can benefit everyone. We’ve done our best to make the lottery experience as hassle-free as possible, including creating a step-by-step guide on how to play!

Contents

• Most Popular National US Lottery Games
• What States Have American Lotteries?
• What You Should Know before Playing American Lottery Games: Tips & Facts
  • What are The Biggest Lotto Jackpots in History
• Common Questions that People Also Ask

Most Popular National US Lottery Games

While most states in the US offer their own lotteries, there are a number of national lotteries that players from many states can participate in. These include the Powerball, Mega Million and Lotto America games. All three are draw games and require players to match their numbers with those drawn by the lottery.

Due to their tremendous popularity, these games can eventually progress to offer massive jackpots. In fact, the two largest lotto jackpot prizes ever offered in the world were from American lottery draws! Below, we will discuss these three multi-state lottery games and why they are so popular with players around the country.

Powerball Lottery: America’s Most Popular Game

The Powerball lottery game is played in 45 states across the nation and offers a minimum jackpot of $40 million. It is drawn on Wednesday and Saturday evenings. It is so widely played that in January 2016, it made history by awarding the largest lotto jackpot of $1.586 billion to three ticket holders!

Powerball is played by selecting five white ball numbers between 1 to 69, then selecting one red Powerball number between 1 to 26. The Powerball jackpot will continue to grow until it is won, though players also have a 1 in 24.9 chance of winning other prizes no matter the size of the jackpot.

Mega Millions: A Brief Look

The Mega Millions lottery is an equally popular game that can be played in 45 states across the US. It is drawn on Tuesday and Friday evenings so as not to clash with the Powerball draw. In 2018, it offered the largest single jackpot prize of $1.537 billion to one lucky ticket holder.

Like Powerball, Mega Millions is a draw game that asks players to choose five numbers and one golden MegaBall. However, Mega Millions also offers huge second-tier prizes including the $5 million Match 5 prize. The Mega Millions also offers a wider reach as all American lotteries participate in Mega Millions.

Lotto America: Available in 13 States

Lotto America is a multi-state lottery that is offered in 13 states across the nation. The lottery was created by states with smaller populations who wanted to offer larger jackpots. Due to the smaller player pool, participants have a 1 in 9.63 chance of winning a prize.

However, the offered jackpot prize is much smaller than Powerball and Mega Millions, with jackpots starting from $2 million and the largest ever prize standing at $22.8 Million. Games are drawn on Wednesday and Saturday nights, and tickets cost $1 or $2 if players wish to participate in the All-Star Bonus round.

What States Have American Lotteries?

In addition to the national lotteries, most states tend to offer their own lottery games, which tend to be operated by local governments to generate tax revenues for a variety of reasons. For example, while Georgia earmarks gaming revenues to fund state education programs, Pennsylvania uses its revenues to fund programs for the elderly.

Each state lottery is regulated by its own authority, with many operated either by their Departments of Revenue or designated lottery commissions. These will generally determine factors like the terms and entry conditions of games, what percentages will be paid out in prizes and what is kept to fund state programs.

There are five states that do not offer a lottery. Alabama and Utah cite religious reasons for their opposition to lotteries, while Alaska’s and Hawaii’s governments have historically adopted anti-gambling stances. Nevada has never established a lottery due to fears it would siphon funds away from the pre-existing gambling industry.

Each state offers a variety of games, including lotto and draw games, scratch cards, raffles and more. Although participants don’t have to be American, players can only buy tickets and claim winnings within the state the US lottery is held. For more detailed information on how each state operates its lotteries, see our state guides below.

It is important to know and understand the differences in lottery regulations outlined by each jurisdiction. A failure to abide by state laws while participating in different regional lotteries can result in a void of winnings and a heavy fine or punishment.

Each state will set their own rules on a variety of factors, including the minimum age to participate, how prizes are claimed, how long a player has to claim their prize and the taxes on wins. States can also set certain requirements on claiming, with a number of jurisdictions allowing anonymous claims and others forbidding it.

To ensure that you are equipped with the most accurate information about playing the lottery within your state, be sure to head over to Lottery America’s state guides. Here, we’ve included everything from the kinds of games played in each state to the lotto winning numbers of recent draws.

Are American Lotto Games Playable Online?

Up until 2011, online lottery sales were generally forbidden in the United States. This all changed when officials at the New York State Division of the Lottery and the Illinois Governor’s office asked for clarification of the Wire Act, a piece of legislation that appeared to outlaw online gambling.

It was found that states were within their right to operate online lottery games if they wished to do so. Since then, numerous jurisdictions offer different online lottery options. In some cases, players can only buy subscriptions to national lotteries, while other states allow for wider gameplay opportunities.

Some states even allow players to participate in online global lotteries. These are immensely popular games that accept participants from all over the world and can offer huge jackpots. However, as these sites can sometimes be operated without strict government oversight, players need to be cautious when playing international games.

For those limited to participating in local or national lotteries, states may offer you the chance to play games like bingo, scratch lotto, draw games and KENO. While the shift to online lottery sales has been quite slow, progress appears to be picking up. Currently, US states that offer online lotteries include:

• Georgia
• Kentucky
• Illinois
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• New Hampshire
• New York
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Pennsylvania
• Virginia

What You Should Know before Playing American Lottery Games: Tips & Facts

Although it may seem that the lottery is a simple game that requires little knowledge and runs entirely on luck, each game has its own set of rules and features that should be understood so you know how to play properly. This way, you will minimize your risk of missing out on particular lottery jackpots.

Each game is also played at different time intervals, so knowing when to buy tickets is also extremely important. Different games also have different odds at winning that generally correspond to how large a jackpot prize is. Below, we’ve explored all of these topics so that you can decide what game to play.

What is the Lotto

American lotteries are a type of pari-mutuel betting that sees a large pool of players charged a price to participate in a game with a random outcome. After taxes and expenses are deducted, the outcome is decided and if there are any winners, the prize is split between them or paid individually.

Due to the high number of players, the jackpot prize tends to be extremely hard to win. For this reason, a number of lotteries offer second-tier prizes that payout smaller rewards for slight matches on the outcome. Lotteries take many forms, though the most popular is a draw lottery.

In the USA, lotteries tend to fund state programs or charities. However, some countries offer lottos that are run by private sector companies and are regulated by governments. There is a long, rich history of lottery games in the United States, with the average American spending roughly $1,000 on tickets a year.

How to Play American Lotteries

Although each lottery game will have its own set of rules, draw games often work in the same manner. These games tend to require you to first select a number of numbers, then sit back and wait for the results to be drawn. The basic steps are as follows:

1. Step 1: Find a Legal And Trustworthy Lottery Outlet
2. Step 2: But a Ticket or Multiple Tickets
3. Step 3: Choose a Combination of Numbers that You Hope Will Get Picked (drawn)
4. Step 4: Wait Until The Lottery Draw Date
5. Step 5: Check the Recent Results to See if You Have the Lotto Winning Numbers
6. Step 6: Claim Money If You Win From a Reputable American Lotto Outlet

When to Play the Lottery: Buying Tickets and Drawing Numbers

Just as each lottery game has its own set of rules, different games are drawn at different times around the country. For example, Dailies are a type of game that, as the name suggests, are drawn daily. The larger national lotteries, on the other hand, are drawn twice a week.

For this reason, it’s important to pay attention to the drawing dates of games as there are strict deadlines for how late tickets can be bought. However, while it is important to buy your tickets on time, you don’t necessarily have to watch draws live and winnings can be claimed months later.

As the table above shows, the two major national lotteries are held on different days and times to ensure there is never any crossover. Lotto America is drawn one minute after Powerball on the same day as it is operated by the Multi-State Lottery Association, which is the same operator as Powerball.

Please note that the above times are shown in Pacific Standard Time, meaning each time will vary from state-to-state. For this reason, Lottery America recommends checking out the individual state lotto pages for more accurate information as it pertains to your state.

What American Lottery Has the Best Odds

It’s important to be aware that different lotteries offer different odds. As jackpots increase, so do the odds, as it tends to mean that more players are vying for the chance to win big. On the other hand, scratch cards and smaller local lotteries have larger odds.

This is why players may opt in to play bonus games that offer second-tier rewards. These tend to award multiple people smaller wins and therefore shrink the overall odds at winning any prize to a much more attractive offer. As the table below describes, the odds of hitting the jackpot alone aren’t exactly inspiring.

As you can see, the odds of winning the major jackpot prizes for Powerball and Mega Millions games are incredibly small. However, while the chances of hitting the jackpot aren’t likely, it isn’t exactly impossible, hence why millions of players buy tickets every week. As they say, you’ve got to be in it to win it.

Keep in mind that odds listed by lotteries can be misleading. For example, many lotteries will advertise that players have a 1 in 38 chance of winning. What many don’t realize is that these prizes may only just cover the cost of the ticket, with the Powerball minimum prize of $4 being offered at the same odds!

What are The Biggest Lotto Jackpots in History

How often have you heard someone pitch a fantasy of theirs that they wish to live out “when I win the lotto…”. For most, a lottery win represents the dream situation — a life-changing catapult into a millionaire life for the price of a cup of coffee. However, not every lotto win has ended with a happy story.

In many cases, winners who all of a sudden have access to unimaginable riches find themselves overwhelmed by the massive influx of cash. This is why lottery regulators always recommend winners seek professional financial advice after a win. This, amongst other reasons, helps winners safeguard their cash and ensure they understand their tax obligations.

Players in the United States will be happy to know that the top 10 Jackpots of all time come from national American lottery games. As the table below reveals, huge prizes have been won in the past, even going on to make one lucky woman from South Carolina a billionaire in 2018!

If these jackpot wins look infrequent to you, it is because it is quite difficult for the jackpot to build to such a large prize without being claimed earlier on. As prizes are awarded for smaller combinations of lotto winning numbers, there will always be winners after every draw.

What Happens When A Person Wins A Jackpot?

Lucky players who have won the jackpot will be offered two payout options that each has different perks. The first option is a lump-sum payment and pays the entire jackpot out at once after it is taxed. The second is called an annuity and pays out players in 30 annual installments.

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Though lump-sum payouts allow winners to have immediate access to major funds, one-time state and federal taxes on those wins can see almost half of the advertised jackpot lost to the government. Annuity installments are also subject to taxes, though the interest generated by the pooled money can cover the losses incurred by tax.

How to Avoid Lotto Scams

Unfortunately, whenever large sums of money are involved, there is usually someone out there who is trying to take advantage of the situation for their own gain. This is why the best course of action to fight these scammers is to know what to look out for and how to avoid risky situations.

One common scam sees unsuspecting people receiving notification that they have won a lot of money in a contest that they don’t remember entering. The notice may come in the mail or over the phone and ask for bank details and personal information to be provided in order to claim the price.

This is the first sign that a scam is underway. Official lottery sellers will never reach out to potential winners and require claimants to make first contact when requesting a win. Here are some more useful tips on how to avoid scams:

• Don’t trust winning notices to contests you didn’t enter.
• Don’t trust winning notices from foreign jurisdictions.
• Don’t trust emails with poor English or grammatical skills.
• Don’t give out your bank details to unverified contacts.
• If a legitimate lottery has been mentioned, seek verification from a company official.
• If you suspect that you are being scammed, end contact immediately.

Aside from this common scam, there are others that use the lottery as a backstory for their hustle. For example, one scam sees victims being notified that a lottery winner has recently created a Trust to award random acts of kindness to strangers on the internet. All they need, they say, is your bank details…

In the real world, there have also been many cases of people being sold “winning” scratch cards or lottery tickets in exchange for cash that, for whatever reason, they cannot claim themselves. Once again, never trust sales of tickets & scratch cards, or trust any promise of a win from an unlicensed vendor.

Conclusion

The American lottery is a hugely popular pastime that has made countless participants millionaires (and even billionaires) overnight. Whether in the form of national draw games or scratch card, it is undoubtedly the largest form of legal gambling in the USA and can be enjoyed in a majority of states for a relatively small price.

While there may be astronomically-low odds at winning the Powerball jackpot, millions of dollars in second-tier prizes are awarded every day in national and local state lottos. And if this doesn’t convince you that the lottery is a worthwhile hobby, just remember that the game generates billions a year for worthwhile causes!

Common Questions that People Also Ask

As more and more Americans are introduced to the lottery every year, it’s quite common for people to still have some questions about how it can best be played. Below, we’ve provided answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about the American lotteries.

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Do lottery tickets expire?

Just as there are certain times that restrict when you can buy tickets, the same goes for when tickets expire. However, every lottery sets a different period of time after a draw that a lottery prize can be claimed. For example, Powerball tickets expire 180 days after a draw date, no matter how large the prize or the location of purchase. Mega Millions tickets, on the other hand, have an expiry date of between 180 days and 12 months depending on the location of ticket purchase. There have been a number of cases of huge jackpot prizes being lost due to winners claiming prizes too late, so always be aware of these expiry dates.

How much tax do I need to pay on my winnings?

No matter what, all lottery winnings are subject to federal taxes, with some jurisdictions levying additional local taxes. If a US resident wins a prize above $5,000, the IRS levies a federal tax of 25% of the prize. As for additional local taxes, this will vary state-to-state.

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Can I remain anonymous if I win?

This depends on the state in which you’ve entered. Only residents of Delaware, Kansas, Maryland, North Dakota, Ohio, and South Carolina have the right to remain anonymous, while states such as New Hampshire require you to disclose your name, town of residence and the prize amount. Other states stipulate that if the jackpot is won, winners can withhold their names. There are a number of reasons why officials prefer winners to make this information public. One reason cites that the transparency of the results can help regulators know that winners aren’t suspiciously close to lottery officials. This might be something you want to know before playing, so be sure to research your own state’s rules.

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How old do I need to be to participate?

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This depends on which state you’re playing, though most states stipulate that players must be 18 years or over to participate in the lottery. There are a few exceptions to this rule. Players in Nebraska are required to be 19 years or over, whereas players in Arizona, Iowa, Mississippi, and Louisiana must be over the age of 21 years old.

Can I play multiple tickets at one time?

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Yes, you can. In fact, there aren’t really any restrictions in place that limit how many tickets can be bought for each round. While theoretically, this will boost your chances of winning the jackpot, prize, we always recommend that lottery players ensure that they are playing within their means and exercise responsible gambling practices.