Lottery fever swept the globe in January 2016 when the American Powerball lottery offered a record jackpot of $1.58 billion. You read that correctly – one and a half billion dollars. The previous record, set four years before by the Mega Millions lottery, was $656 million. With jackpots that high, people all over the world were eager to play the lottery, even though they knew that the odds of winning were stacked strongly against them.
The record Powerball jackpot was split between three winning tickets; each of them received a lump sum cash payment of $327.8 million, before taxes. Lottery jackpots are eventually won, either by a sole ticketholder or split between a number of winners. Each time a jackpot falls and the winner’s story goes public, lottery fans everywhere become more eager than ever to get in on the action.
The only way to participate in these huge lottery draws, it would seem, is by rushing to the nearest retail store to purchase tickets. Yet for someone living in London or Australia, getting on an airplane to fly to the United States to purchase Powerball tickets is totally out of the question. Does this mean that they will never have a chance to join the biggest lottery action in the world?
If you are physically located in the UK or Isle of Man you can purchase Lotto and EuroMillions tickets on the National Lottery’s website. Similarly, participation in the Ireland’s Lotto is possible on the lottery’s website, but registration is only open to legal residents of the Republic of Ireland.
What about the big American lotteries? Purchasing Powerball tickets online is possible in a few of the 44 participating states. For example, you can purchase Powerball tickets online at the official website of the Illinois Lottery, but only if you are physically located in Illinois at the time. A similar condition is set for anyone wishing to buy Powerball tickets on the Georgia Lottery website.
Does this mean that people outside the United States cannot participate? They can if they use an online ticket purchasing service such as theLotter.com.
TheLotter uses agents based in local offices all over the world to buy official lottery tickets on behalf of its customers. In its role as a ticket courier service, theLotter charges a transaction fee and in return, customers receive all of their lottery winnings, commission free.
There might be those who would hesitate to play the lottery online but all deposits and private information is safe and secure at theLotter. A more important question that might be asked is whether winners will actually receive their prizes. The system does work, as can be seen in the story of an Iraqi who won a $6.4 million jackpot in Oregon without ever leaving his home.
M.M., a resident of Baghdad, purchased tickets at theLotter for the Oregon Megabucks lottery in August 2015 and ended up winning a $6.4 million jackpot. His story was so unusual that it was reported in the New York Times, CNN, NBC, the Daily Mail, the Associated Press, and other international media outlets. All of them noted that it was perfectly legal for foreigners to win American lottery prizes when they purchase official tickets online at theLotter.
In this day and age, you can buy almost anything online, even tickets to the biggest lotteries in the world. Playing the lottery online is simple, legal, and extremely convenient, and can be enjoyed in the comfort of one’s home. With a little bit of luck, a lottery ticket purchased online could end up winning a huge jackpot prize.
