Powerball Online - The largest Jackpot in the US

The American lottery Powerball was founded in 1987 by the Multistate Lottery Association (MUSL). The MUSL is a non-profit organisation which is formed by several American lotteries, it is also the coordinator of the so-called Powerball lottery for the participating states (every state except Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming as well as Mississippi and Alabama) in the US. The last state joining the Powerball lottery was California on April 8 in 2013. Meanwhile, 45 lotteries of the states stick to this union, which is the reason that they accumulate one of the largest jackpots worldwide.

Beside Powerball, a lot of other lotteries have been formed worldwide by the time, but the odds of winning are generally higher with Powerball, than with any other lotteries, for example Euromillions, Even the jackpots are usually higher. You can buy Powerball online or simply in a retail store. More and more people choose the Internet as their direct source for their tickets, because there are several advantages, such as the higher security level. That means buying powerball online will eliminate the probability of losing the ticket and so losing the possible Jackpot. There are quite many providers for the Powerball lottery, the only thing you need to take care of is choosing a secure provider.

Rules, Odds and Concept

Powerball is easily explained: The first thing you have to do is placing a bet for two dollars where you can select five numbers out of a set with 59. You also have to choose the Powerball number out of 35. If you want you can also get the additional Powerplay factor. Depending on how often you want the actual prize to be multiplied you have to pay one dollar. The maximum multiplication factor is five, you then have to pay five dollar extra. You can categorise the odds of winning in winning classes:

Reaching the first winning class means hitting the jackpot. Therefore you need five matching numbers plus the Powerball number. The odds of winning is one in 175,223,510. The next winning group is reached with five matching numbers but not a matching Powerball number. You then will receive a prize of $1 million at an odd of winning of one in 5,153,633. The next class is the third one. You need four matching numbers and the Powerball number to get $10,000 at an odd of winning of one in 648,976. At an odd of winning of one in 90,087 you will gain $100 with four matching numbers. If only three numbers and the power numbers match you will also receive $100 at an odd of winning of one in 12,245. At an odd of winning of one in 360 you are able to win seven dollars with three matching numbers but not the Powerball number. If two numbers match in addition to the Powerball number you will gain seven dollars too, but at an odd of winning of one in 706. Last but not least the eighth category: It is reached with one matching number in addition to the Powerball number. You then will receive four dollars at an odd of winning of one in 110. The same price is won with only a matching Powerball but at an odd of winning of one in 55.

The starting jackpot is $40 million. If this jackpot is not hit, it is raised to $50 million. Every time when the jackpot is not hit, ten million dollars are added to the current jackpot. Like in every other lottery, the jackpot is split if there is more than one winner. For more information check the official site.

How to claim Powerball Prizes

Powerball Drawing Machines

Every prize must be claimed where the ticket was bought. So when you buy powerball tickets online you dont have such problems. The required age to play Powerball is 18 years in most of the states. In Nebraska it is 19 years, in Arizona, Louisiana and Iowa 21. After the winning draw was held, the winner usually has 60 days to choose the payment method and to claim the prize. There are some exceptions like Idaho, where the winner has only 30 days.

The most awaited Lottery Draw

The first Powerball drawing was held at 22nd April in 1992, at this time, the minimum jackpot was at $2 million. The drawings take place observed by qualified personnel Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 pm (Eastern Timezone) in the Florida lottery's studio located in Tallahassee. You can buy tickets until 10 PM usually.

Payout method and taxes

The minimum jackpot is $40 million (the maximum is $590 million) if the annual payout method is chosen - currently the annuity is 30 years, you will receive a payout every single year, while each annuity payment is 4% higher before. You can also choose the jackpot to be paid out in cash, but then the amount of winning is way smaller.

You also have to mention, that this maximum you get is not the same as the winning amount from the lottery - there are some taxes too, which depend on your place of residence. If you live in the US, there is a federal income tax as well as a state tax on any lotto earnings higher than a specific amount of money. The federal income tax is 25%, if you are from abroad you even have to pay 30%. The state tax depends on the state you live in, e. g. Florida Texas Washington and South Dakota have no state income tax at all of the Powerball winnings.

Advantages by purchasing Powerball online

By playing Powerball online, the security level of your ticket which is actually the possible prize, will rise because every ticket is bind to your account. This entails some advantages, the most important one is that it is no more possible to lose your ticket because it is stored on the server of your provider. Most of the servers are backed up too so that losing your ticket is nearly impossible. Another advantage is that you don't have to claim your prize - your provider will do that automatically and your money is credited to your account.