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<<HOMETable of Contents 1. Introduction2. A Brief History of the Lottery3. Lotteries Around The World4. How to Win Lotto5. Conclusion6. Resource Guide7. Glossary of Lottery Terms
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3. Lotteries Around The WorldNorth America The local provincial or state governments govern individual lotteries in both Canada and the US. This means that many states and provinces run their own lotteries. Of course, the end result is more chances to play and more chances to win! Most states have their own games: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, D. C., Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin. Eleven states (Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Texas, Virginia and Washington) have also teamed up to create the Mega Millions game. It replaced what was once called the Big Game, and claims to be the “biggest jackpot in the country.” And it might just be right. This is because as millions of people across these states are playing, the prize rises with each bet. Jackpots begin at one million, but second prize is not too shabby itself at $175,000. (Playing this game is also how Mr. Whittaker went down in the history books!) The overall chance of being a winner of some kind is one in 43. Being the jackpot winner is a little less likely at one in 135,145,920. In the US, federal regulation is limited to the distribution of tickets within each state, as well as interstate advertising. But the government will also take some of a winner’s prize. The IRS withholds a whopping 25 per cent of prizes more than $5000. The individual state also makes a grab at a winner’s stash. However, the amount varies from region to region and these withholdings don’t apply to smaller prizes. Rules also vary from state to state on how to collect a prize and on whether or not more than one person can claim the same prize. It’s best to check out each state’s rules before playing there. In Canada, there are fewer lotteries, but every region is likewise represented. The four Atlantic provinces (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland) have joined forces to create the Atlantic Lottery Corporation. In the west, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba have joined up to form the Western Canada Lottery Corporation. The Yukon and the two Territories are associate members of this organization. B.C., Quebec and Ontario have their own governing bodies as well. There are several different games within each corporation. These groups just take on the responsibility of operating the games for their respective provinces. The two big Canadian national games are LOTTO SUPER 7 and LOTTO 6/49. LOTTO SUPER 7 is drawn every Friday. The chances of winning the big jackpot—that is getting seven of seven numbers are about one in 20,963,833. The winner receives 60 per cent of the total pooled funds. In 2002, that amounted to the highest ever prize awarded in the Super 7, an incredible $37,841,970.40. Drawn every Wednesday and Saturday, LOTTO 6/49 has about a one in 13,983,816 to win its big jackpot. The winner does so by having six of six numbers. A little more than 80 per cent of the pooled funds go to the winner. In Canada, the amount of your prize may be smaller because of the lower dollar value. But unlike American lottery winners, Canadians are not required to pay taxes on jackpots of any size! Neither country allows Internet purchasing because lottery tickets must be bought within the borders of each individual lottery’s regulator. People who live out of state/province can purchase tickets, but it must be at a licensed terminal. Most lotteries don’t allow Internet purchasing, because this method requires a credit card. In Canada, at least, lottery tickets cannot be bought on credit. And if you’ve ever wondered why lottery millionaires don’t just sneak off into the sunset towing their cash with them, in order to avoid becoming an overnight media darling... it’s because they can’t. In both Canada and the US, the names and photographs of winners are public property. In fact, the prize will not be awarded if a winner refuses to be revealed to the public. This stipulation is to protect the integrity of the games, to show that there are in fact winners and that they come from every region and every economic class of the respective countries.
Like Canada and the US, almost every Australian state has its own games. New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia all have regulatory organizations that run several different games in each state. There is also a company called Tatersall’s. It has been running in Australia since 1881. Their games can be played in Victoria, Tasmania, the Northern Territory, and the ACT. It also reaches five Asia Pacific jurisdictions. In the Tattslotto, its most well known game, the odds of winning the division one prize are one in 2,036,265. Winning the Oz Lotto is higher at one in 8,145,060. The major difference between Australian and North American lotteries is that Oz games can be played online and from outside the country. Ozlotteries.com is one online company with several games, drawn every day, available for play around the world. It even sends you e-mail when you’ve won! Similar to Canada, Australian winnings are not taxable. But winners are responsible for following any applicable tax laws in their jurisdiction. The New Zealand Lotteries Commission regulates the most well known lottery games in that country. Odds of winning the major lotto game are one in 3,838,380. In this country, new millionaires are eased into their crazy new life with the aide of a winner’s brochure. It guides them through the steps they should take after hitting the big time, and even gives them a list of financial jargon! Lottery players living in remote regions of the country can play by mail. Currently, the Commission is in the process of dealing with online gambling. But as of right now the games can’t be played via the Internet. Australia shares the same policy on winners’ identities as Canada and the US. But in New Zealand, it’s up to winners as to who knows about their newfound wealth. The organization even suggests that the fewer people one tells the less attention one receives. It even suggests contacting them for help if winners feel overwhelmed or bombarded with media or public attention.
There is one major national lottery in the UK, and it’s called simply that, the National Lottery. It was established by an act of parliament in 1993 and claims to have created 1,000 millionaires by 2000. According to the lottery, the average jackpot size runs about £2 million. The two major games are (of course) plain old’ Lotto and Euromillions. The odds of winning the Lotto jackpot, by matching six numbers, are one in 13,983,816. EuroMillions includes several European countries: UK, France, Spain, Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal and Switzerland. The National Lottery calls it “Europe's biggest-ever multinational rolling jackpot game.” Although it involves more than one country, this game remains a separate game in each individual country. The partnership comes in as it shares both the prize pool and draw results. Becoming an ultimate prizewinner (obtaining five main numbers and two lucky star numbers) is one in 76,275,360. Both these games can be played online. But unique to the UK, the National Lottery’s games can also be accessed through SkyActive, a digital cable television system. And soon, UK lotto players will be able to get in the game through text messaging. The company that runs the lotteries for the National Lottery Commission is working on making this feature available to its players. Different from North American and Australian lotteries, winners must be over the age of 16 to collect their prizes. In the other aforementioned countries, players must be at least 18. Winners in the UK, like those in New Zealand, can remain anonymous. That means no long lost cousins showing up on their doorsteps asking for 100,000 to market his next great invention.
It seems the Western world is not the only part of the globe that loves to gamble. Many countries around the world have their own lotteries. The World Lottery Association’s (WLA) membership consists of 144 separate lotteries in 77 countries on five continents. If that’s not enough numbers for you, how about more than $120 billion US? That’s how much all these lotteries generate combined in a calendar year. The WLA member list begins with Argentina and ends with Uruguay. Even Togo, Estonia and Burkina Faso run their own lotteries! Laws and guidelines are different in every country, so it’s best to check out each country’s games individually.
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