People love a thrill, especially when there’s also a possibility of winning some money. And when there is even bigger money involved, the popularity of an endeavor is almost a guarantee. This is probably why lotteries have been around for some time now, and it doesn’t seem like they’re going anywhere anytime soon. Whether these are online lotteries (check out this site to find the best lotteries and their results), or the biggest national ones, people are still crazy about them, taking part more than once and hoping it will change their lives.
But not many people consider the differences between various lotteries. The idea is always the same; after all, they all are lotteries. However, every country has its own rules on how to win a jackpot, and how much it can be.
In this article, we will focus on two of the biggest and most popular ones, the British and the American lottery.
The British Lottery
The National Lottery is a state-franchised, national lottery in the United Kingdom. The first draw took place in 1994, and the lottery has been conquering people’s hearts ever since. All prizes are paid as a lump sum. What’s more, they are tax-free, as the tax is paid along with the ticket. So whatever you win, you take it all.
The British National Lottery offers some choices as well.
Three main games offered by The National Lottery
Lotto
This is a classic lottery game where a player is supposed to pick six numbers between 1 and 59. Prizes are awarded to people who hit at least three numbers.
Lotto Hotpicks
Here, the game requires a player to choose from the same numbers as in the case of Lotto but allows to pick up to five numbers and decide how many balls they want to match. All numbers need to be matched if a player wants to win.
Thunderball
The third game offered by The National Lottery requires a player to choose five main numbers from between 1 and 39, plus a Thunderball number from 1 to 14. Thunderball is another popular lottery. If you are a lucky Thunderball winner you can check the results of the Thunderball lottery here at lotterytexts.
When it comes to Lotto, to win a jackpot, you need to guess all the six numbers for which the odds are at around 1 in 45 million. However, if the prize is over £50 million, you only need five numbers to win, which puts the odds slightly higher – at 1 in 144,414.
Other British Lotteries
Of course, not all British lotteries are a part of the official National Lottery. One of the largest lotteries in the United Kingdom is the Health Lottery, which consists of 51 local society lotteries from different parts of Great Britain. Each of them raises money for some charitable causes related to health problems in the area. These societies take turns participating in the process; therefore, all can share in the proceeds.
The American Lottery
In the US, unlike the UK, lottery wins are subject to the federal income tax, which takes almost 40% of the lottery winnings. What’s more, many states even have additional taxes and withholding. Luckily, many advisors and lottery tax guidelines are available, so no one gets lost in all the rules and regulations.
The Powerball
The American lottery is called the Powerball, and it is one of the biggest lotteries in the world, offering some of the largest jackpots available.
A player has to choose five numbers from a set of 69 white balls and one from 26 red Powerballs. The latter number can’t be the same as the former ones.
A winner can be paid in 30 installments or in a lump sum.
The biggest jackpot in the history of Powerball was a $1.6billion prize, and then a $758.7 million prize.
The odds of winning the Powerball aren’t very high, being about 1 in 292 million.
Because of the taxes, it’s possible to collect the prize in installments, very often in the span of many years, which is more beneficial, as the tax is lower, and allows you to save the money by reducing the risk of spending it all at once.
Mega Millions
Though it’s hard to compete with the Powerball, Mega Millions is doing quite a good job in the field. It’s also a US lottery offering large jackpots. Its format is the same as the one of the Powerball.Try your luck!
Lotteries definitely are a safer type of gambling than putting your fortune at stake. Though the odds aren’t very high, we constantly hear about people winning millions, so why shouldn’t you try?