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Lotto America is a multi-state lottery game available to players in 13 participating states in the United States. Players in South Africa can bet on Lotto America through licensed online betting services such as Betway.
Lotto America is a rebranded version of a lottery game that was available in participating states from 1988 to 1992. It was originally reformatted and marketed as Powerball and then re-branded again as Lotto America in an exciting new lottery format when Hot Lotto was cancelled.
Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) has operated Lotto America since it was established in November 2017. The lottery game was created to replace the outgoing scandal-hit Hot Lotto which ended in October 2017.
Lotto America is a 5/52 plus 1/10 lottery game. Players pick 5 numbers from a pool of 1 to 52 numbers and a bonus number from a pool of 1 to 10 numbers. To win the Lotto America jackpot, players must match all 6 drawn numbers.
Each play costs $1 or $2 with the All-Star Bonus option. Lotto America is similar to US Powerball but it is only played in 13 participating states. It has lower odds of winning than Powerball and 9 prize divisions with a 1 in 9.6 chance of winning any cash prize.
Lotto America is a twice-weekly draw game. Drawings take place every Wednesday and Saturday in the evening. Times differ slightly by states.
The minimum advertised (starting) jackpot is US$ 2 million and the big payout rolls over if no-one in that draw matches all 6 winning numbers. The odds of winning the Lotto America jackpot is 1 in about 26 million.
Currently, there are 13 states in the United States that participate in Lotto America. The game format is the same for all participating states but there are some differences. This mainly relates to how much the winnings are taxed in a particular state and where the revenue from ticket sales goes.
In October 2017, Lotto America was re-launched in all 13 states to replace the outgoing Hot Lotto. New Hampshire applied to participate in Lotto America but its entry has been delayed because the state launched Keno in the interim.
65% of revenue goes to Lotto America prizes
20% of revenue goes to charitable causes
15% of revenue goes to retailer compensation
Players in Montana pay for a lottery ticket using an e-Playslip on their Smartphone. This technology helps to speed up ticket sales in lottery retail stores because a player pays for his or her ticket before going into the store. All a player needs is for the cashier to print out the ticket which is done by scanning the digital barcode sent to the Smartphone.
Revenue from ticket sales in Montana is used to help fund public services in the state. Since the state lottery was established in 1986, over US$ 240 million has been donated to Montana’s General Fund and the Montana STEM scholarship programme.
Players in North Dakota use a Pick & Click service which is available for online betting. Pick & Click allows players to enter consecutive draws for up to 52 months (one year).
Lucky winners are allowed to remain anonymous if they win the jackpot or any large cash prize.
Approximately $0.22 of every $1 Lotto America tickets is donated to North Dakota’s General Fund. This fund is used to help a range of sectors but has a focus on healthcare and public education.
South Dakota
South Dakota is one of only two participating states in America that does not tax prize winnings. This can make the difference of millions of dollars to lucky winners. For this reason, many players from neighbouring states go across to South Dakota to buy their Lotto America tickets.
Winners are not allowed to remain anonymous in the state of Mount Rushmore.
Since Lotto America was launched in 2017, revenue generated from ticket sales have helped support a range of charitable causes. The primary focus is on the Water and Environment Fund.
The first jackpot won in 2018 in Minnesota paid out $22 million to a lucky player who shared it with her brother.
Minnesota has one of the highest lottery tax rates among the states that participate in Lotto America.
Over 24% of revenue generated from Lotto America in Minnesota is donated to charitable causes, with a focus on the healthcare, public education and environmental sectors in the state of The North Star.
Lotto America is operated by Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL). In 1987, six participating states as well as the District of Columbia joined together to establish their own multi-state lottery. The aim was to combine revenue generated from ticket sales to create bigger jackpots.
The first multi-state lottery game was launched as Lotto America in 1988. There were 7 participating states at the time and the first lottery drawing took place in the same year. Today, there are 13 participating states that offer lottery games operated by MUSL.
In April 1992, a new version of the lottery game operated by MUSL was launched in November 2017 in the form of Lotto America. The new Lotto America replaced the scandal-tainted Hot Lotto game.
It is possible to bet on Lotto America in South Africa. Register and open an account with a reputable online betting service such as Betway. This means you can now buy tickets online for Lotto America in South Africa from the comfort of your own home or office.
Lotto America is a twice-weekly fixed-odds betting game that is hugely popular in participating states in America. You cannot buy a ticket for Lotto America from a South African lottery retail outlet. You can only bet on the lottery game online and/or using the Lotto America mobile app.
The easiest way to access Lotto America in South Africa is downloading a betting app such as the Betway Mobile App. It’s user-friendly, easy to access and developed specifically for Smartphones. The betting mobile app gives you up-to-date notifications about draws and the latest gaming promotions.
Lotto America is a 5/52 plus 1/10 lottery game. Players pick 5 numbers from a pool of 1 to 52 numbers and a bonus number from a pool of 1 to 10 numbers. To win the Lotto America jackpot, players must match all 6 drawn numbers.
It’s simple and easy to bet on Lotto America at licensed lottery retail outlets in the 13 participating states in America. Follow these simple steps to stand the chance of winning the big lottery payout.
When you mark the Quick Pick box on your betslip (or tell the cashier to select it), the lottery terminal automatically generates 6 random numbers for you for the draw. In some states, Quick Pick is called Easy Pick.
The Quick Pick random number generator for a lottery draw game has no built-in memory. Once a set of numbers is picked for one play, the terminal resets itself to generate a fresh batch of completely random number for the next play.
Players generally opt to use Quick Pick because it saves them the bother of coming up with their own set of unique numbers.
With Lotto America, you get three sets on a board for one play. The first set can be picked manually and the second and third set are selected by the terminal machine as if it’s a Quick Pick. You can opt to use Quick Pick to choose your 7 lucky numbers in the first set.
Star Ball in Lotto America is like the Bonus Ball in US Powerball. Players choose 5 numbers from a pool of 1 to 52 white balls and 1 extra Star Ball number from a pool of 1 to 10 red balls.
To win the Lotto America jackpot, players must match all 5 numbers drawn from the main pool and the extra number drawn from the Star Ball pool.
The All-Star Bonus option is a multiplier feature which increases the amount of money you win on non-jackpot prizes. This option much be added to your betslip when you buy your ticket.
For any cash prize that is not the big jackpot payout, you stand the chance of increasing your winnings by up to five times its original value.
The All-Star Bonus costs an extra $1 per line. To play it, mark the option on your betslip or tell the cashier you want to play All-Star Bonus.
An All-Star Bonus number is chosen from a pool of 2 to 5 numbers and is randomly selected by the terminal machine. Any non-jackpot prize you win is multiplied by the number drawn from the All-Star Bonus pool.
For example, if you win the second-tier prize of $ 20 000 and the All-Star Bonus number drawn is 3, your winnings increase to a whopping $60 000.
Lotto America is a 5/52 plus 1/10 lottery game. A player must match 6 out of the 6 drawn numbers (5 main numbers and 1 Star Ball).
There are 9 prize divisions for Lotto America and the odds of winning the top prize is 1 in about 26 million.
In South Africa, players must be 18 years and older to purchase and redeem Lotto America tickets online through a licensed betting service such as Betway.
In the United States, players must be 18 years and older to bet on Lotto America. Iowa is the only participating state where players must be 21 years and older to bet on a lottery game.
Lotto America is drawn twice a week on Wednesday and Saturday Evenings at 22h00 Central Time (CT). This is 23h00 Eastern Time (ET) and 21h00 Mountain Time (MT).
The Lotto America draws are hosted in the same studio in Florida as the US Powerball. The latter is drawn before Lotto America.
Ticket sales close at different times of the day depending on each participating. For more information on draw times and sales cut-off times, click here.
The Lotto America Jackpot starts at US$ 2 million and rolls over to the next drawing if there is not lucky winner or winners to share the bonanza payout.
The jackpot is not capped which means it keeps growing until someone wins it. The bonanza payout has been known to grow well beyond US$ 10 million.
The jackpot is shared if there is more than one player that matches all 6 drawn numbers. To win the jackpot, players must match all 5 numbers drawn from the main pool and the extra number drawn from the Star Ball pool.
Numbers matched | Cash Prizes | Odds of winning |
---|---|---|
5 numbers + Star Ball | Jackpot | 1 in 25 989 600 |
5 numbers | $ 20 000 | 1 in 2 887 733 |
4 numbers + Star Ball | $ 1 000 | 1 in 110 594 |
4 numbers | $ 100 | 1 in 12 288 |
3 numbers + Star Ball | $ 20 | 1 in 2 404 |
3 numbers | $ 5 | 1 in 267 |
2 numbers + Star Ball | $ 5 | 1 in 160 |
1 number + Star Ball | $ 2 | 1 in 29 |
Star Ball | $ 2 | 1 in 17 |
Claiming Lotto America prizes if you’ve bet on the game in South Africa is easy. The licensed betting service does it for you by guaranteeing the payout.
Players in the United States must present a signed and valid ticket to claim their Lotto America cash prize, including the big jackpot payout.
You need to claim your prize within the time period specified for the state where you bought your Lotto America ticket.
Remember to sign the back of your winning ticket. This stops someone from stealing your winning ticket and claiming your prize. As an added safety precaution, write your name and contact details on the back of the ticket.
The method of claiming a Lotto America prize depends on where you bought your ticket and how much you have won. General rules and regulations apply with some differences between participating states.
Claiming a prize if you have bet on Lotto America with a licensed online betting service such as Betway is so much easier. Your cash prize is automatically transferred to your bank account.
When you fill out your Lotto America betslip, you must choose how you want to receive the jackpot if you win it. You have the choice of a discounted lump sum or a graduated 20-year annuity payment. This means you are paid out a sum of money over a period of 20 years until the total value of the advertised jackpot is fully paid up.
If you do not select the payment option, you are automatically paid out in annuity payments.
You should be possible to claim a cash prize of $600 or less from any authorised lottery retail store in the participating state. However, some retail outlets do not keep that much cash in their tills and they aren’t obliged to pay you out. In this case, you can claim your cash prize by sending a prize claim form and relevant ID to your state lottery organisation. It’s advisable to use express or certified mail or a courier service that allows you to track your package which contains your winning ticket.
States that offer Lotto America have district offices and claim centers that you liaise with to claim any cash prizes that are larger than $600. These can be collected in person or if you live far from the district office or claim centre, you have the option of mailing your winning ticket to them and receiving your cash prize as a bank deposit.
If you have the great fortune of winning the Lotto America jackpot, you need to contact the lottery organisation headquarters in the state where you bought your ticket. You’ll need to make arrangements with a representative to collect your massive payout in person.
Addresses and telephone numbers for each of the state lotteries that offer Lotto America can be found here.
Lottery prize winnings are not taxed in South Africa. Any money you win by betting on a lottery is considered capital in nature and is exempt from Income Tax. In addition, lottery prizes benefit from a special exemption from Capital Gains Tax which means no tax is payable on lottery winnings of any size.
Lottery prizes are taxed in the participating states at different percentages. There are only two states that do not tax Lotto America cash prizes: South Dakota and Tennessee.
The original lottery game that preceded Lotto America was a 7/40 game for $1 per line. To win, players had to match all 7 drawn numbers and the odds of this were 1 in 18 million. At the time, this was the longest odds for a lottery game in the United States.
The top prize of the original lottery was a 20-year annuity with no option of a cash lump sum.
The original Lotto America game was changed to the popular 6/54 Powerball format. Players got two games for $ 1 and the odds of winning the annuity payout was a favourable 1 in 13 million. This version was entirely pari-mutuel.
Pari-mutuel is derived from the French term meaning ‘mutual betting. In a pari-mutuel lottery system, revenue from ticket sales is divided amongst the prize categories. There is no fixed prize amount and cash prizes depend on ticket sales volumes. US Powerball, US MegaMillions and EuroMillions are examples of a pari-mutuel lottery.
When looking online for Lotto America, you’ll still find the lottery game goes by different names in some of the participating states. Some examples include Lotto Minnesota, New Mexico Lottery and Iowa Lottery. Participating states ran their own lotteries under authority of a multi-state lottery organisation for a long time until they joined MUSL and consolidated their individual lotteries under the revitalised brand Lotto America.
In between the original Lotto America and the current new-format Lotto America, the lottery became Powerball. It ran as Powerball from 1992 until Hot Lotto was cancelled and Lotto America took its place in 2017. At the time, the Powerball offered unheard of jackpot odds of 1 in 55 million.
With ticket sales for Hot Lotto declining rapidly and the game operating under a cloud of scandal, a new version of Lotto America was launched in participating states in November 2017. The first draw for the new Lotto America was held on 15 November 2017.
Hot Lotto used a random number generator while the new Lotto America format uses physical ball machines with red and white numbered balls. One machine draws the 5 main numbers and the second machine draws the Star Ball.
Game | Odds of winning | Prize winning estimate |
---|---|---|
Lotto America | 1 in 25 989 600 Match 6 numbers | Jackpot (starts at US$ 2 million) Uncapped jackpot |
US Powerball | 1 in 292 million Match 6 numbers | Jackpot (starts at US$ 40 million) Uncapped jackpot |
Mega Millions | 1 in 302.5 million Match 6 numbers | Jackpot (starts at US$ 40 million) Uncapped jackpot |
Lotto America replaced the scandal-hit Hot Lotto game in 2017 and introduced an exciting and revitalised new format to lottery fans in the United States. There are 13 states that offer Lotto America and the lottery game has made many players super rich with big cash payouts.
The new Lotto America format is based on the Powerball format where players pick 5 numbers from a main pool and an extra number from the Star Ball pool. The starting jackpot is US$ 2 million and rolls over until one lucky player or players match all 6 drawn numbers.
The best thing about Lotto America game is you don’t have to be a citizen or resident of the United States to bet on the lottery game and collect prizes. If you are a citizen or resident of the US, some states require you to produce evidence of citizenship or a federal SSN. If you are betting on Lotto America from South Africa, you have unlimited access to play the game using a licensed betting service such as Betway.
Here are 10 common lottery myths:
The lottery system draws numbers using a random algorithm and numbers picked manually or using Quick Pick have an equal chance of being drawn. There is no proof that Quick Pick creates more winners. Quick Pick is convenient and saves you from having to come up with your own numbers all the time.
The thinking is that when you combine numbers, the probability changes and the probability of your number combination depends on its structure. Some combinations will appear more often than others and some combinations are not likely to appear.
The lottery does not work on individual numbers. You have to pick 5 or 6 correct numbers to win a cash prize. The thinking is if you look at combination patterns rather than individual numbers and you use mathematics with binomial coefficients and a detailed probability analysis, it is possible to determine winning number combinations.
The thinking is that you can tell how a pattern performs in a given number of draws by multiplying probability by the number of draws to get the estimation.
This is where players pick the most common numbers that have occurred in the past 100 draws. According to the probability theory, every number has an equal chance of being drawn but if a single number appears at a higher frequency, then the other numbers will occur more or less in the same frequency over a large number of trials.
Actually, this is the ‘worst time’ to play the lottery because big jackpots attract substantially more lottery players. There’s a good chance that if you win a big payout on a lottery with a big jackpot, you will have to share it with other lucky winning players.
This is an ‘old-wives’ tale because there are no unlucky or unlucky numbers. All numbers have the same theoretical probability of being drawn.
Again, the argument is to look at number combinations rather than individual numbers. What is known is that playing all-odd numbers or all-even numbers reduces your chance of winning a lottery payout because numbers like this in a combination rarely occur.
Lottery experts tell you not to use numbers that are dates for birthdays, anniversaries or your children’s ages because they are poor numbers. It’s not because they’re poor numbers but because they’re likely to be used by many other people. This means that a jackpot payout will be shared with many players.
The only reason you would pick numbers on a board using a pattern such as a zig-zag or up-down-sideways pattern is if you’ve run out of inspiration to manually pick your own numbers. In this case, use the QuickPick option and the machine will randomly generate numbers for you.
Numbers matched | Cash Prizes | Odds of winning per CA$ 5 play |
---|---|---|
5 numbers + Star Ball | Jackpot | 1 in 25,989,600 |
5 numbers | $ 20 000 | 1 in 2,887,733 |
4 numbers + Star Ball | $ 1 000 | 1 in 110,594 |
4 numbers | $ 100 | 1 in 12,288 |
3 numbers + Star Ball | $ 20 | 1 in 2,404 |
3 numbers | $ 5 | 1 in 267 |
2 numbers + Star Ball | $ 5 | 1 in 160 |
1 number + Star Ball | $ 2 | 1 in 29 |
Star Ball | $ 2 | 1 in 17 |
Lotto America is not a scam and is a legal lottery offered by legitimate lottery organisations in 13 participating states in the United States. The multi-state lottery is operated by MUSL which is regulated by federal state laws. This means you can play Lotto America with the confidence that the big jackpot payout and cash winnings from the prize tiers are guaranteed.
On a general note, don’t be taken by any of lottery scam that promises you unexpected prize money for a competition or lottery that you have never entered.
Operators of state lotteries such as Lotto America will never contact you directly to notify you of a prize you have won. If you receive a message or phone call telling you that you’ve won a prize, it is a scam. Never give out your personal and identity details if requested and never pay a fee to receive a so-called cash prize.
Someone contacts you either by email, text message or phone to say you have won a lot of money on a competition using your name and details from something like a promotion or research survey. You are requested to pay a fee to claim your prize which is to cover the cost of transferring the money to your account.
You’re also asked to provide your banking details where the money should be paid out. The email or text is always ‘urgent’ and you’re told to respond quickly or risk losing out on the prize money.
The scammers make money from the ‘fee’ you pay them or they use your banking details to take wipe out your bank account.
People do fall for these lottery scams because the scammers are masters at what they do. They usually have obtained your personal information which makes it sound like a legitimate deal. Sometimes, the scammers even send you money as ‘part of your winnings’. This cheque will bounce but often only after you have given them more information and money they ask for.
You receive correspondence via email, text or phone to say you’ve won a guaranteed prize in a lottery or competition but you never bought a ticket or entered the competition.
The scammer claims you are a winner using personal email and social media information that makes it look genuine.
To claim your prize, the scammers ask you to buy pay a fee or tax on the prize money.
You’re asked to provide personal details such as your ID and contact details such as a postal address as well as banking details for the electronic transfer.
Ignore anything that is suspicious. Do not even reply to a message saying you’ve won a large cash prize or even something like a fancy holiday, electronic goods or gifts.
Never pay a fee to win a prize. Ithuba National Lottery does not charge a fee for any prize-winning transaction and the only way they can access your banking details is from the authorised Prize Claim Form that you are required to complete.
Don’t trust anyone who asks you to send them money or give your credit card, banking details or copies of personal information in exchange for prize money.
Thirteen states in the United States offer the popular Lotto America game. It follows the same format at US Powerball and is essentially a re-branded version of the world-leading lottery except that it is limited to participating states.
Players pick 5 numbers from a main pool and 1 number from a secondary pool. To win Lotto America, you need to match 6 (5 main + 1 Star Ball) with the drawn numbers. This popular lottery format has stood the test of time and was an obvious format to follow when Lotto America replaced Hot Lotto in 2017.
There has only been one top prize winner since the re-branded Lotto America game was launched in November 2017. That was a lucky couple who resided Minnesota. The Loves who won a whopping US$ 21.6 million.
The odds of winning Lotto America are high at 1 in about 26 million but there are 8 other chances to win cash prizes as Lotto America has 9 prize divisions.
You’ve got to be ‘in it to win it’ so use the add-on features of Lotto America to participate in multiple consecutive draws and increase the amount of money you win on any non-jackpot prizes by paying $ 1 extra for All-Star Bonus. Lotto America is easy to bet on in the United States and ever easier to bet on in South Africa using a licensed online betting service such as Betway.
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