The Lottery Glossary: Lottery Terms you need to know
When it comes to playing in a matched overseas lottery, some may feel that they’re opening the door to a whole other language… entries, multi-draws, quick plays. What do all of these mean regarding an overseas lottery?
The Lottery Office CEO Jaclyn Wood explains, “There are a lot of buzzwords in lotto that sound confusing but are actually really straight-forward once you get to know what they all mean.”
Furthermore, “We encourage our players to become familiar with lottery lingo, so they know exactly how to play and can take advantage of all the special features we have to offer.”
So whether you’re new to the lottery or want to stay up to date with the terminology used, this post is for you! We’ll cover everything from ‘quickplay’ to ‘jackpot.’ So whether you’re just starting in the lottery world or a seasoned pro, read on for a crash course in lottery lingo!
ANNUITY VS CASH PRIZE
This applies to both USA Power Lotto and USA Mega Lotto. If you win the Division 1 prize in USA Power Lotto or USA Mega Lotto, you can choose between the annuity option or cash option for the payout.
The annuity option is paid out as 30 installments, one immediate payment followed by 29 annual payments. Each payment is 5% bigger than the previous one.
The cash option is a one-time, lump-sum payment. If you choose to take the lump-sum cash option, the Lottery Operator pays only the amount that it would invest in the 30-year annuity plan, and that amount will be less than the jackpot that was advertised.
The advertised jackpot amount is the estimated pre-tax annuity amount.
BONUS NUMBER/SUPPLEMENTARY NUMBER
A bonus number or supplementary number is drawn after the main winning numbers. In most games, 1 or 2 bonus numbers or supplementary numbers are drawn immediately after the main winning numbers are drawn. These numbers are used to determine prizes in some of the divisions. If one or more of your selected numbers match the drawn bonus numbers or supplementary numbers, your chance of winning a prize increases.
DIVISION
There are several levels of prizes in a lottery game. Each level is called a ‘division.’ The first division is the highest division. Check the ‘How to Play tab for each lottery to see how many numbers you have to match to win each division. Some overseas lotteries refer to divisions as ‘prize categories.’
ENTRY
In the lottery, an ‘entry’ represents a chance to win a prize in a lottery draw. They are one or more lines of lottery numbers that you play in a lottery draw. You can buy multiple entries into a single lottery draw. The more entries you buy in a draw, the more chances you have of winning a prize.
EUROJACKPOT
Eurojackpot is a European transnational lottery and was set up to rival its European Counterpart ‘EuroMillions’. For every European Jackpot ticket purchased on our site, we purchase a matching ticket in an overseas Eurojackpot draw.
EUROMILLIONS
EuroMillions is a European transnational lottery. Until recently it held the record for the biggest jackpot in Europe. It runs Superdraws 2 – 3 times a year.
We purchase a matching EuroMillions ticket for every European Millions ticket purchased with us.
FAVOURITES
If you use the same set of numbers regularly, adding them to your ‘favourites’ allows you to add them to your cart in one easy click every time you play.
GAME
A game is a single set of numbers you play. Players can play one game at a time or multiple games at once. 1 game may also be referred to as 1 line or 1 play.
ID VERIFICATION
To comply with the Australian Federal Government Anti-Money Laundering legislation and as part of our approved responsible gambling program, we undertake identity checks on all players with The Lottery Office and before a player can withdraw any winnings.
We use a recognised and approved third-party ID verification provider for this service. Where manual verification of your identity is necessary, we require 1 Government issued form of identification. E.g., driver’s license, passport, 18+ card.
INSTANT WIN PRIZE
The Instant Win Prize is available with the Italian Super Jackpot. Each ticket is automatically assigned 4 numbers. If all 4 numbers match the numbers you are playing in any of the games on that ticket, you receive an Instant Win prize of approximately AUD$40.
IRELAND’S ‘LOTTO‘
Ireland’s national lottery. Started in 1986, this lottery is drawn twice weekly and makes ordinary people millionaires. For every Irish Lotto ticket purchased on our site, we purchase a matching ticket in Ireland’s’ Lotto’.
JACKPOT
Lottery Jackpot refers to the top prize formed by accumulating un-won prizes. It happens when there is no winner for the Division 1 prize, and the prize is rolled over to the next draw. The Division 1 prize then increases and becomes a ‘Jackpot.’
JACKPOT CAP
Some lottery games have a ‘Jackpot Cap.’ This means the Division One prize can only grow to a certain amount. Once it reaches this amount, any unclaimed prize money is directed to other divisions (usually Division Two).
JOKER
The ‘Joker’ is an optional game that can be played alongside the La Primitiva lottery. This option will randomly assign a 7-digit number to you to be used in a raffle with seven fixed prize categories.
SPAIN’S LA PRIMITIVA
The Spanish La Primitiva is a lottery originally created centuries ago. It has remained popular for over 200 years. We purchase a matching La Primitiva ticket in Spain for every La Primitiva ticket purchased on our site.
LOTTERY DRAW
A lottery Draw is an event where the winning numbers are randomly selected from pool(s) of lottery numbers, usually by machines. Our draws include running these winning numbers through our lottery systems to identify our winners.
LOTTERY SCAM
A lottery scam is a type of advance-fee fraud which begins with an unexpected email notification, phone call, or mailing explaining that “You have won!” a large sum of money in a lottery.
The Lottery Office is not a scam. We are licensed and regulated by the Northern Territory Government of Australia. We do not ask you for an advanced fee when you win, and a significant function of our Government regulator is to ensure full payment of prize winnings.
LOTTO BETTING
The Lottery Office does not offer lotto betting. Instead, we sell our own licensed lottery tickets that we then match with real overseas lotteries as explained below. Lotto betting involves making bets on the outcome of lottery draws.
LOTTO SYSTEM
Lotto systems allow you to select more or fewer lottery numbers than you would generally be able to when playing a standard lottery game. This increases your chances of winning a prize compared to a standard game.
MATCHED LOTTERY OFFICE TICKET
When a player places an order with us, they purchase games in our Government approved lotteries e.g., USA Power Lotto. After receiving an order, we purchase a matching ticket in the overseas lottery e.g., US Powerball, and issue the player a Lottery Office ticket.
We refer to the overseas lottery ticket as the ‘matched’ ticket because it matches all details of the players’ Lottery Office ticket.
If our own lottery ticket that we sold to our customer wins so does the matching one we bought overseas and we pay our winning customer the exact same amount of prize money that we collect.
US MEGA MILLIONS
US Mega Millions is an American lottery game played in multiple states. It currently holds one of the biggest jackpot records in the world. For every USA Mega Lotto ticket purchased on our site, we purchase a matching USA Mega Millions ticket.
MULTI-DRAW
Rather than playing once, Multi-draws give you the option to play the same set of numbers for multiple draws in a row. This allows you to “set and forget” so you don’t miss entering upcoming draws.
MULTIPLIER
When a player selects this option, non-jackpot prizes will be multiplied by 2, 3, 4, 5, or 10 times for the USA Power Lotto based on the multiplier number drawn and multiplied by 2, 3, 4, 5 times for the USA Mega Lotto.
PAY IN-STORE
Pay Instore is a convenient way to deposit funds into your Lottery Office account by paying over the counter at any participating news agency. Simply visit a participating Pay In-Store outlet and see the attendant for an instant deposit to your Lottery Office account. Find a participating store with our Pay In Store Locator.
POOL
Pool refers to the range of numbers that players can select from. E.g., choosing 6 numbers out of 45 numbers – the pool size is 45 balls ranging from 1-45.
US POWERBALL
US Powerball is an American with a starting jackpot of over AUD$25 Million. Draws take place three times a week. We purchase a matching US Powerball ticket for every USA Power Lotto ticket purchased on our site. The ‘Powerball’ lottery referred to on this website is the US version of Powerball, not the Australian version of Powerball, which Tabcorp runs.
The Lottery Office has no affiliation with Tabcorp.
QUICK PLAY
Quick Plays will randomly generate your lotto numbers for you. All lotto numbers have the exact same chance of winning a prize, regardless of if they were generated randomly or if you chose them yourself.
RESULTS
The winning numbers from a lottery draw. Our lottery draw results will always be the same at those of the matched overseas lottery operator’s draw. These will be displayed on our site.
SUPERDRAW
From time to time, extra funds are added to the Division 1 prize to make the game even more exciting. The European Millions has a Superdraw a few times a year that usually has a first division in excess of AUD$200 million.
SUPERENALOTTO
SuperEnalotto is Italy’s national lottery, and with no jackpot caps, it is well-known for its massive jackpots. It currently holds the record for Europe’s biggest ever jackpot. For every Italian Super Jackpot ticket purchased on our site, we purchase a matching SuperEnalotto ticket in Italy.
SYNDICATES
When you enter into a syndicate, you buy a share, and all other syndicate players do the same. All the money is combined to purchase large quantities of lottery tickets, increasing your chances of winning.
Tax (USA)
Federal and State US taxes are payable on larger US lottery winnings, and they will apply to winners in the USA Power Lotto and the USA Mega Lotto. The Federal Tax rate due as a non-resident winner is 30% on payouts above USD 600. The State tax rates can vary slightly as they are set locally. The state where we purchase our matched US lottery tickets taxes 8% on winnings of USD 1500 and above. All US taxes will be deducted from the prize amounts before we collect them and you will receive that same after-tax prize amount.
TAX (Australia)
Players do not need to pay tax on winnings within Australia.
TAX (New Zealand)
Winnings may be subject to New Zealand tax laws, and players within New Zealand need to seek their own tax advice on winnings.
TAX (Italy)
There is a 20% tax applicable on winnings over €500. We pay you the same value as the prize we collect after deduction of the Italian tax.
TAX (Spain)
There is a 20% tax applicable on winnings over €40,000. We pay you the exact same value as the prize we collect after the Spanish tax is deducted.
UK’s ‘LOTTO’
The UK’s national lottery began in 1994 and is drawn twice weekly. For every UK Lotto ticket purchased on our site, we purchase a matching ticket in the UK’s ‘Lotto.’
WINNING NUMBERS
Winning numbers are the numbers drawn in each lottery draw.
So there you have it! Lottery lingo to help you understand lottery terms and feel like a lottery expert in no time.
Now that you know the lottery terms get out there and start playing! Who knows, maybe you’ll be the next big winner. Good luck!
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