Winning the lottery is the dream of millions of people irrespective of the countries they reside in. When it comes to pure wealth, it is without contest that the biggest lottery prizes up for grabs are the American lotteries. The Mega Millions lottery is the biggest of them all! Now, after a rollover streak since February 11 2024 of 32 draws, Mega Millions is currently offering the biggest jackpot prize in the world: $378 million USD. But here is something that most people don’t realise – were you aware that you can participate and even have the chance of winning the Mega Million lottery from anywhere, even India?
Source: Newsweek
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About the Mega Millions Lottery
The Mega Millions lottery was launched in 1996 in the United States to offer everyday people the opportunity to win more money than they ever dreamed of having. The American lottery game was originally first available to about 48 regions the US before it was extended to other regions and countries. The lottery is drawn weekly around 11 pm Eastern Standard time on Tuesdays and Fridays.
The name has changed over time – today the big game is known worldwide as Mega Millions. In playing this lottery and winning the mega jackpot, one needs to directly guess five numbers out of 70 and choose a ball number from 1 to 25. The rollover jackpot can reach such high as $100 million even though everyone can buy tickets from available stores and casinos for as low as $2 to $3 – which is the equivalent of 146 to 220 Indian rupees.
How does this work?
Like all lotteries worldwide, it is all about being lucky. You can play mega millions using these steps:
- Guess five figures correctly from a range of 1 to 70.
- Also, attempt to pick a mega ball number with the above option and choose 1 to 25.
- A player can also stake in a megaplier for just $1. A megaplier is another mega-million option that one can play to increase the chances of getting other prizes aside from the jackpot. Not all lottery operators provide this option.
Source: Voice of America
What can you win in this Lottery?
Aside from the ultimate prize, there are also eight other types of awards that you can benefit from in this lottery. They are:
- Match 5 with a mega ball number: This is the ultimate aim of most gamblers. It involves you guessing the five figures correctly with the mega ball number. The chances of being successful in this are relatively low. However, it has been done before when a Caroline citizen won $1.53 b.
- Match 5:Thinking of betting just means you have to guess the five numbers correctly without the mega ball number. The winning cash for this of $1,500,000.
- Match 4 with a mega ball figure: You will need to guess correctly four out of the five figures and also get the mega ball figure. If you do this, you will win $10,000.
- Match 4: choose four digits correctly from the five drawn numbers and win $300.
- Match 3 and a mega ball figures: If one does these correctly, you will have a chance to win $200.
- Match 3: guess precisely three numbers and win $10.
- Match 2 with a mega ball number: if you do these successfully, you will win $10.
- Match one and a mega ball number: guessing one number correctly and a mega ball number gives you just $4.
Furthermore, il you get a match Nil (none of the five figures guessed correctly) but guess a mega ball number accurately, you get $2 for this prize.
Source: The National
How do you get American lottery tickets from India?
As this is an American lottery, one would be forgiven to believe that it is locked to American citizens only. However, this is not the case. Mega Millions has opened its doors to the world and Indians and other nationalities are permitted to also buy tickets for this great American lottery.
So regardless of whether you live in Bangalore, Mumbai, Goa, or anywhere else in India, you could be that lucky individual to succeed in the American lottery without having to buy a plane ticket. Here is how it’s done; there are several online ticket purchasing services and Indian casino sites where you can buy any international lottery tickets available in India. Some of them may have as many as forty different lotteries available on their sites including European and Asian lotteries.You pick your numbers, choose how many lines you want to play or even join a syndicate. Once you confirm your details and have the ticket you just wait until the next draw. It is as easy as that. Examples of some of these reputable casino sites as verified by Casinos-India.in are, Caxino, Genesis, 10Cric, Betway, KTO, Twin and Pure casino.
How it works is that the ticket purchasing service that all these sites work together with has agents based in the US who buy the official tickets on your behalf and have them scanned over to you. This is the service that the website charges its fee for. However, it means that whatever you win is entirely yours to keep. There are no commissions taken from winning tickets.
Now, we are all aware that the chances of winning the big jackpot are slim, but it has been done before, so who says you can’t win? Even if you don’t win the jackpot, there are other prizes available. But do take note, your lottery winnings will be taxable. The percentages differ across different regions, so it is advisable to get up to date with your local tax laws.
Source: The New York Times
Is it legal to play American lotteries from India?
In August 2015 a lucky individual won $6.4 million USD on the lottery. It was the Oregon Megabucks lottery. He was a resident of Baghdad. He had purchased his winning ticket online, and when it was investigated by the New York Times, CNN and the associated Press it was deemed that his win was perfectly legitimate and fair.
American lotteries like Megabucks and Mega Millions allow their tickets to be sold online and that allows anyone in India to hope to be like that man from Iraq without having anything to fear.
For a chance to enjoy a better life, purchasing a ticket is a small token to pay. Taking a chance with Mega Millions is thereby an opportunity for a chance of success. Why not try your luck with a lottery ticket today?
The Mega Millions jackpot may be big today, but chances are it will continue to grow over the next few draws. As a matter of fact, it is very possible that it might even break the record and turn into a $1 billion USD jackpot! You never know, that enormous prize may very well go to an Indian!
