Global lotteries: a world of big winnings without borders

The digital age has opened up new opportunities for gambling enthusiasts, making the planet's biggest lotteries available to almost everyone. Today, enthusiasts from all over the world can compete for astronomical prize pools of international lottery games and daily million results. Let's familiarize ourselves with the world's leading lotteries, methods of participation and key aspects potential players need to know.

American titans of the lottery market

The US holds the palm of superiority in terms of lottery jackpots. The country's two flagship lotteries regularly break new financial milestones.

Powerball is a legendary American game, functioning for almost three decades. It was here that the absolute record was set - $1.586 billion in 2016, which went to three lucky players. The mechanics of the game involves choosing 5 numbers out of 69 and one special Powerball number out of 26. Drawings are held twice a week.

Mega Millions is a direct competitor to Powerball, regularly offering comparable prize pools. In the fall of 2018, a single winner received a whopping $1.537 billion. Participants choose 5 numbers out of 70 and an additional Mega Ball number out of 25. Draws are held on Tuesdays and Fridays.

The hallmark of American lotteries is significant taxation. Winners have to pay federal (24-37%) and state (up to 13%) taxes, which in total can amount to about half of the winnings.

European lottery programs

European lotteries attract with impressive prizes and often more favorable tax terms.

EuroMillions is Europe's largest supranational lottery, bringing together players from nine nations. The record jackpot has reached the €190 million mark. Participants mark 5 main numbers out of 50 and 2 “star” numbers out of 12. Draws are organized twice a week.

EuroJackpot is a popular European project with the participation of 18 countries. The maximum jackpot bar is set at €90 million. Players choose 5 numbers out of 50 and 2 bonus numbers out of 10. Drawings are held weekly.

El Gordo (“The Fat Man”) is a famous Spanish Christmas lottery with two hundred years of history. The uniqueness of El Gordo is the huge total prize pool, which exceeds €2.3 billion. Traditionally, tickets are sold by 'tithes', making participation public.

UK National Lottery - the UK's central lottery, with a significant proportion of its revenue going to social projects. The main game requires the selection of 6 numbers out of 59.

Many European countries, including the UK, Germany and Ireland, do not tax lottery winnings, which is a significant advantage.

Lotteries on other continents

Oz Lotto and Powerball Australia are the leading Australian lotteries with jackpots of up to A$100 million. The lack of taxes on lottery prizes makes Australian games particularly attractive to international players.

Japan Loto 6 is a popular Japanese lottery with prizes up to 600 million yen (about $5.5 million). It has relatively high odds of success.

SuperEnalotto is an Italian lottery with an extremely complex system and, consequently, a minimal probability of winning the top prize (approximately 1 in 622 million). This contributes to huge jackpots, regularly exceeding €100 million.