Saturday’s Powerball drawing didn’t produce a $949.8 million winner but that just means the jackpot will roll over and be worth an estimated $1.3 billion for Wednesday’s drawing. That is the highest return ever offered for a U.S. lottery prize. Spain’s El Gordo Lottery currently holds the world record with a?$2.4 billion payout that was dispersed to thousands of players?last month. If you win the Powerball, you’re not likely to share the prize with anyone else at odds worse than 292,000,000:1.
The reason the jackpot is so high is that in October 2015 U.S. Lottery officials made it harder for players to win the?Powerball Jackpot. They increased?the amount of numbers on a card from 59 to 69. In the same move they made it easier to win many smaller prizes by offering 25, rather than 39 red Powerball numbers. You still need to match 5 plus the Powerball to win the big jackpot.
Powerball lottery outlets are everywhere from back road gas stations to dedicated video lottery parlors, so getting out to drop $2 on a ticket is easy for most people to do.
There are?no U.S. residency requirements for?playing or collecting Powerball winnings. Some have suggested that because most of the money in the jackpot is provided by Americans, they should have exclusive rights to the jackpot. So far no such rule exists. Most U.S. lottery games are open to anyone, anywhere as long as local laws permit play.
In December we reported that a man in Iraq won a $6.4 million Megabucks jackpot from a ticket sold at a retailer?in Bend, Oregon. He bought the ticket through online lottery retailer, TheLotter. A local agent of TheLotter went to Binky’s Deli and purchased a ticket for him, registered the transaction, and after?the lucky man’s numbers came up he got news from Oregon Lottery officials that he would receive?25 annual installments of $256,000 (minus taxes) for his “online lottery”?win.
Unfortunately for U.S. players, TheLotter won’t accept online entries from that jursisdiction. But another company will. Lottosend is an online messenger service who will pick up a ticket for you. According to a report in the U.K. news outlet Examiner, “Lottosend is perfect for players with busy schedules who can’t find time to wait in line for their tickets,” a Lottosend spokesperson told the outlet. “Acting as a specialized messenger service or agent, we connect players with lottos, help them buy tickets, notify them of winnings and so much more.”
“Players will be able to see a scanned copy of their ticket in their account,” the spokesperson said. “Should players wish to have the actual lottery ticket delivered to them, we offer shipping service via post to their desired address as well.”
The Powerball?jackpot is fed by players all over the world and sold at retailers in Washington D.C., Peurto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands as well as?all U.S. states except?Nevada, Utah, Mississippi, Alabama, Alaska, and Hawaii.
The World Casino Directory offers information about?TheLotter and Lottosend.
International visitors can go directly to the TheLotter?website?to purchase tickets.
U.S. visitors?can go to Lottosend to read the FAQ and?buy tickets now.
International visitors are also welcome at Lottosend.