Complete Guide to American Lotteries | All About US Lottery

If you didn’t know, US lotteries are renowned throughout the world for giving away some of the largest lottery prizes in the world. The US also provides a variety of thrilling state lotteries, like the Lone Star state’s Lotto Texas, that frequently go unnoticed by foreign lottery players in addition to fan favorites like US Powerball and Mega Millions.

Learn more about American lotteries and how to play a few of them online by continuing to read!

Which American Lottery Has the Biggest Starting Jackpot?

The top two lotteries on the lists are Powerball and Mega Millions, both of which have $20 million beginning jackpots. These start jackpots are also the largest in the globe.

In terms of state lotteries, California Superlotto takes first place with a top reward starting at $7 million, followed by Lotto Texas at $5 million. Simply put, the fact that millions of people throughout several jurisdictions buy lottery tickets allows multi-state lotteries to offer such large jackpots.

What Are the Biggest American Jackpot Prizes?

The largest top reward granted by a lottery is currently a $1.586 billion jackpot won by US Powerball in 2016, making Powerball the richest lottery in the world.

It has so far given out seven of the top ten largest jackpots in American lottery history, with the other three going to Mega Millions, the runner-up lottery. In fact, these two lottery behemoths paid out all 50 of the largest jackpots in American history.

While the $1.537 billion top prize for the Mega Millions lottery in 2018 was the largest lottery prize ever won by a single ticket, the Powerball still retains the record for the largest prize ever recorded in history.

A 4-member lottery club in the state of Michigan won the third-largest US lottery prize in January 2021 when they purchased a $1.05 billion Mega Millions jackpot.

What Types of Lotteries Are Available in the United States?

State lotteries and multi-jurisdictional lottery games are the two types of lotteries that are played in the US. What’s the distinction? Only residents of the particular state may participate in and win state lotteries.

For instance, Texas features a number of state lotteries that are only playable within the state’s boundaries, including as Texas Two-Step, Cash Five, and Lotto Texas Extra. Since the payouts in these games are typically less, the chances of winning are higher.

Multi-jurisdictional lotteries are those that can be played in a number of states. The Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL), a US government non-profit organization founded to manage lotteries across US states, established these games.

Multi-jurisdictional lotteries are able to sell more tickets since they are offered in more states, which allows them to offer greater prizes. Powerball and Mega Millions are the two most popular multi-jurisdictional lotteries.

The other lotteries listed above are only offered in a few markets, but Powerball and Mega Millions are available in all American states.

Can Foreigners Play US Lotteries?

Yes! You’re good to go as long as you buy a lottery ticket within state boundaries. So even if you aren’t a US citizen, feel free to buy a Powerball lottery ticket if you chance to be in one of the participating states while on vacation or while visiting the country for business.

The alternative is to play lotteries online if you want to play frequently or won’t be taking off anytime soon.

How to Play American Lotteries Online?

So how does it function? Pick a lottery, enter your numbers, buy a ticket, and then wait to see if you’ve won. The official lottery tickets can be purchased on your behalf by agents at lottery agency local offices in a number of US states.

You will then receive a scan of your official ticket. This will serve as evidence of possession and enrollment in the official drawing.

How to Win US Lottery Prizes Online?

It’s not as difficult as it sounds to win and claim a prize from America while traveling overseas thanks to contemporary technology!

If you match any non-jackpot reward, the funds will be sent directly to your lottery account for withdrawal once they have been received from a lottery operator.

Jackpot winnings must be picked up in person. In this situation, the Lotter may decide to give the winner a free flight to the US and legal counsel to help with prize collection.

If you play Mega Millions and win the jackpot, you will have to choose whether to receive your prize as annual instalments or as a one-time cash payout. Additionally, you would have to decide whether you wanted to receive your Powerball jackpot as a cash payment or an annuity.

In contrast to the majority of lotteries in Europe, winnings from US lotteries are liable to federal and state taxes, with a $600 winning threshold triggering an immediate IRS report. Some jurisdictions may also impose taxes in addition to these two levies on winnings from the US lottery.

Are American Lottery Prizes Taxed?

The tax withholding percentage is 30% for non-US citizens. Local taxes might apply to you in the nation where you currently reside. To find out if your lottery winnings will be taxed, visit the tax website.

The History of Lotteries in the United States

Since the time of the country’s colonization, Americans have participated in lotteries. Private individuals and public figures organized lotteries at that time, awarding winners not only cash prizes but also houses, plots of land, slaves, pets, and other valuables to the colonists. Typically, these lotteries were held to support the growth of the colonies and individual initiatives.

The Virginia Company of London organized the first authorized lottery in the Americas in 1616 to collect money for the colonial project authorized by King Charles. The first permanent settlement in America, Jamestown, Virginia, was founded and maintained financially thanks to these lotteries.

All 13 original colonies eventually created their own lotteries to raise money, and as a result, participating in the lottery came to be regarded as a civic duty. Lotteries were later utilized to finance a variety of governmental and private projects.

The revenues from the lottery were used to start churches, libraries, and some of the first and most prominent institutions in America, including Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Dartmouth, and Princeton.

Gambling, and particularly lotteries, came under fire during the 1800s and were outlawed in the majority of states due to scandals, moral and religious objections, and the perception that lotteries preyed on the poor.

However, the public desired their lottery! Due of this, an enormous market for illicit lotteries grew up, which persisted until 1934, when Puerto Rico introduced the first modern government-run lottery.

The first state lottery was formed in New Hampshire in 1964, three decades later, and many other states quickly followed suit.

Following the popularity of state-run lotteries, a number of them—more particularly, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont—joined forces in 1985 to launch Tri-State Megabucks, the country’s first multi-state lottery game.

The largest lotteries in the world, Powerball in 1992 and Mega Millions, which debuted as The Big Game in 1996, were made possible by the Multi-State Lottery Association, or MUSL, which was chartered in 1988 by Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Oregon, Rhode Island, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

Lotteries are now available in 45 of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Prior to recently, in order to play American lottery games, you had to be physically present in the country.

Now, players may participate in US lottery draws from anywhere in the world thanks to ticket buying sites like theLotter and many more! You can play for a chance to win millions in your preferred American draws by purchasing lottery tickets online.

Most Asked Questions on American Lotteries