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Every person dreams of a lottery win even when they don’t buy tickets. This article listed the most popular lotto games in many European, African, Asian, and other countries. Check the list, and undoubtedly, you will find something interesting and appealing. We will even tell you what to do if you win the lottery.
In the table below, you can see the sections of this article and jump to it. Choosing to read top to bottom, you will go through the definition, history, and lottery games popular around the world. The last section of our article is dedicated to the lottery winners and the most amazing win stories.
What is a Lottery?
The dictionary definition of the word “lottery” is “the means of raising money by selling numbered tickets and giving prizes to the holders of numbers drawn at random”. You will be surprised to learn that this game has not changed much since it was first recorded in 205-187 BC in China. The Han Dynasty held the first raffle to finance the construction of the Great Wall.
A couple of centuries later, the Roman Emperor Augustus Caesar organised lotto games as entertainment during his dinner parties and gave away symbolic prizes to guests who have bought tickets. The lottery history shows that the first national lotto, as we know it today, appeared in the 17th century. Known as the oldest European lotto, the Netherlands (Dutch) state-owned Staatsloterij lotto lay the foundation of the lottery win games, which soon spread all around Europe.
The modern gambling lotto games with the known lottery numbers became popular in the 1880s. Since the money flaw and prizes were huge, the government holds, regulates, and operates the largest lotteries. There are even instructions what to do if you win the lottery, how to get your prizes, pay taxes, and even spend the money.
Are Lotteries Legal?
Anyone who wished to win the lottery inevitably wondered if those games are legal and how much taxes on the win have to be paid. First, all national lotteries are legal and regulated by the government. Many countries regularly update their gambling and lotto policies to meet the modern changes. An excellent example is the UK’s national lottery’s new rules, which ease the players in winning a large prize.
If you wish to learn more about what happens when you win the lottery, check your preferred lottery’s website and your country’s lottery and gambling laws. When it comes to taxes, every national lottery and every country have different policies. Sometimes the winners need to pay taxes, while other times, they can donate a part of the prize to the community. The winners are informed of the options when they receive the prize.
Play Lotto Games – Online, Apps, Lotto Kiosks
Playing at a lottery kiosk or lotto store is still the most popular way of entering the game. People like it because filling up a paper ticket and paying for it with real money is part of the thrill. A time-saving alternative is offered by the best lotto online websites in the UK. There, players can buy a ticket, check the lottery results, find details about the lottery itself, and more.
The fastest way UK players learn about their lottery win is via the best lottery apps in the UK. Having a lotto application on your phone allows the same freedom of access to the lotto games and information as the website and lottery shops. The difference is that you can always check your phone and the results.
How to Win the Lottery? – Strategies & Odds in Lotto Games
We can find success and happy lottery winners stories in articles like “Biggest Lotto Wins – The Game of Numbers and Its Big Rewards”. Those players are happy to share their experiences and how they enjoyed spending the prize. Many of them even share step by step the process that led them to hit the jackpot. In this section, we will tell you some strategies and what winning odds you may have.
Winning Lotto Tips
There is a long way to go until it is time to check the lottery results. The lotto millionaires stories always start with the idea to purchase a lotto ticket. The wonderful thing about this simple gambling game is that you can win even if you have never played and don’t know the rules. Here are some simple tips to help you go for the jackpot:
- Pick a lotto game: There are many options, but if you wish to get any prize, no matter how small, look for the “lottery Goldilocks zone”. Those are games with large jackpot and frequently dropped smaller prizes.
- Buy a lottery ticket: The traditional choices are a regular one-draw ticket, a multi-draw ticket for many consequential draws.
- Decide how many tickets to buy: Every lotto ticket is an investment and money loss at the same time. Decide if you will play with one ticket or purchase multiple tickets for a single draw.
- Pick the lottery numbers: Use your lucky numbers, birthday, or any other significant to you numbers.
Playing lottery with friends, family or co-workers can be beneficial because the more people take part, the more luck is pulled towards the ticket. When a group of people buy a ticket together is called a lottery syndicate. Since everyone picks a number and takes part in the ticket price pool, the money is split evenly upon winning the prize.
Odds of Winning the Lottery
When players select their lottery numbers, they rarely know what the exact odds of winning are. The faith in getting the largest possible prize is more than enough to block the idea of losing. Even so, there are many players who study the chances of winning and approach the lottery games as a puzzle to be solved.
If you take the logical approach, the most important thing to know is that even the worst odds can be beaten. With this said, you should know that the probability of winning a specific lotto game varies depending on the specific game. As you can see below, the Powerball odds are quite different than 6-from-49 Lotto:
- 6-from-49 Lotto: 1 in 13,983,816
- EuroMillions: 1 in 139,838,160
- Mega Millions: 1 in 258,890,850
- Powerball: 1 in 292,201,338
- SuperEnalotto: 1 in 622,614,630
- UK National Lotto: 1 in 45,057,474
Seeing this, many players get discouraged and begin to think that the lottery win is just a dream. If you are willing to take a piece of advice, then don’t buy pre-generated tickets. Instead, if you believe that the next great jackpot belongs to you, use your lucky numbers. This way, there will be fewer people playing with the same numbers, and you will increase your chances of winning the lottery.
What Happens When You Win the Lottery?
You see that the numbers on your lotto ticket appear in the draw one by one. Congratulations! You just won the lottery! At this moment, the joy will overwhelm you, but after the initial euphoria, it is time to ask yourself what happens when you win the lottery. There is no need to do extensive research because we will tell you.
A lottery win draws attention. The bigger the prize is, the more people will “call to hear how are you doing”. Even before you get the prize check, there will be a long line of people asking for money or business owners and investors offering you financial and investments tips. Don’t trust everyone, and don’t give away your money for no reason. That’s one of the main reasons why there are so many anonymous lotto winners.
Once you avoid the greedy crowds, you can enjoy spending your money. Going on around the world trips, buying fast cars, jewels, and big houses are the first things on the winners’ list. Even though you can get many of the things you have dreamed of, it is recommendable that you spend wisely, so you have cash for longer.
The wisest tips for lotto winners is to research solid business and investment strategies, which can bring stable income for the future. Alongside this, there are many current lottery winners who started developing their own business. By investing wisely your prize, you will be guaranteed an abundance of profits in the future, and you will always be able to go on luxurious vacations, drive nice cars, and line in mansions.
Lottery Games in Different Countries
Lottery winners can be found in almost every country worldwide. For example, you can find information about the biggest lottery wins in Canada and then find out how the Indian lottery winners enjoy their prizes. Today, besides the national lotteries run by each country, many private lotteries have become international, and the prizes accumulate by country or several countries.
Unique Lottery Games Worldwide
Undoubtedly, you have heard of the largest lottery jackpots in the USA history which made many people millionaires and even billionaires. The standard lottery gives away money prizes and sometimes material awards like tech devices, vacations, and other small gifts. In the table below, you will find a few interesting and unique lotteries from around the world:
| 💎 Unique Lotto & Raffle Games | ⭐ Prizes |
|---|---|
| 🟩 Green Card Lottery | 🛃 The participants worldwide apply for a USA immigrant visa. |
| 👩⚕️ Health Lottery | ❤️ Part of the capital of this British raffle goes to fund health causes and medical societies. |
| 🏺 Heritage Lottery Fund | 🏛️ Money from the National Lottery are used to repair and preserve UK’s heritage. |
| ☘️ Pennsylvania Lottery Second Chance | ✨ Players with losing tickets get another chance in a second draw. |
| 📪 Postcode Lottery | 📩 Subscription lottery where tickets are based on the postcode and people pay monthly. |
| 👶 Scottish Children’s Lottery | 😊 Charity lotto, which funds go to improve the lives of the children of Scotland. |
| 💡 South Africa National Lottery Raffle | 🏡 Instead of money, this South African raffle gave away houses to the winners. |
As you can see, there are many ways to win the lottery, and the prizes are not always money. As the examples in the table show, buying a lotto ticket may not bring you a prize every time, but it does help many charities. This is a good thought to have in mind the next time you decide to take part in a lotto game or a charity raffle draw.
Popular Lottery Games by Country
As we already said, the lottery games are worldwide entertainment. To take part, the contestants need to be at legal age to gamble and buy a lotto ticket. The next step is to wait for the lottery results to draw and collect the prize. The lottery fever has spread, and today, there are even films dedicated to the game like It Could Happen to You (1994), The Two Million Dollar Tip (2016), and Lottery Ticket (2010).
It is a well-known fact that in most countries, even the tourists can win the local lottery. Buy a ticket for fun and then worry what to do if you win the lottery in a foreign country. For instance, you can buy tickets for the Spanish El Gordo Christmas lottery during a trip to Spain or you can do it online from just about any country. Think about this, the next time you go on holiday because even a ticket bought as a joke can bring you an incredible prize. Here are the most popular lottery games you can find in many countries around the world:
| Lotto by Country | National Lottery | Powerball | Mega Millions | Euro Millions | Other Lottery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada Lottery | 6/49 | Yes | N/A | N/A | Lotto Max |
| Czech Republic Lottery | Sportka | N/A | N/A | N/A | EuroJackpot |
| Germany Lottery | German Lotto 6aus49 | N/A | Yes | Yes | N/A |
| Ghana Lottery | Ghana Lotto | Yes | Yes | Yes | N/A |
| Greece Lottery | Tzoker/Joker | Yes | Yes | N/A | |
| Hong Kong Lottery | HKJC Lotteries | Yes | Yes | Yes | SuperEnalotto |
| Hungary Lottery | Hungary Hatoslottó | Yes | Yes | Yes | N/A |
| India Lottery | Lotto India | Yes | Yes | Yes | N/A |
| Ireland Lottery | Irish Lotto | Yes | Yes | Yes | Irish Lotto Plus 1 |
| Japan Lottery | Lotto 6 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Lotto 7 |
| Kenya Lottery | My Lotto Kenya | Yes | Yes | Yes | N/A |
| Malaysia Lottery | Sport Toto 4D Malaysia | Yes | Yes | Yes | N/A |
| Malta Lottery | Lotto Malta | Yes | Yes | SuperEnaloto | |
| New Zealand Lottery | Lotto NZ | Yes | Yes | Yes | N/A |
| Nigeria Lottery | Give ‘n’ Take | Yes | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Philippines Lottery | PCSO | N/A | N/A | N/A | Ultra Lotto Jackpot |
| Serbia Lottery | Državna Lutrija Srbija | Yes | Yes | Yes | N/A |
| Spain Lottery | El Gordo | Yes | N/A | Yes | N/A |
| Sri Lanka Lottery | Sri Lanka Lotto | Yes | N/A | Yes | SuperEnalotto |
| Sweden Lottery | Swedish Lotto | Yes | N/A | Yes | SuperEnalotto |
| Uganda Lottery | Uganda Lotto | Yes | N/A | N/A | South Africa National Lottery |
| Zambia Lottery | Zambian Lotto | Yes | Yes | Yes | N/A |
The numerous national lottery games in different countries give the opportunity to countless players to win. The sizes of the jackpots vary depending on the country and the popularity of the game amongst people. In addition, many of the table lotto games listed have multiple draws and other games, which give every ticket more than one chance to win and then wonder “what happens when you win the lottery”.
It is strongly advisable when you check the lottery results to check the different games and second or third draws if there are any. In addition, since most of the lotteries make special games campaigns, it is also a good idea to check the lotto’s websites and promotional campaigns. Now that you know all about the lottery games, we will mention some lucky winners in the last section of this article.
Biggest Lottery Wins Worldwide & Lotto Winners Stories
The lottery winner stories are amazing, unexpected, spectacular, and even crazy. It is hard to believe, but the lottery wins come in all sizes. The news always shows only the mega jackpot drops, turns them into a sensation, and winners into famous people. In reality, every draw distributes a large number of smaller prizes to many people.
Knowing this, you may wonder if it is better to hit the largest prize once in your life or get smaller prizes every few weeks. It may surprise you to learn that there are people who win a prize every time they gamble. But if you dream of big money, here are a few inspirational stories of winners who hit the jackpot.
Mavis Wanczyk from Massachusetts, USA, bought a Powerball ticket like many times before and filled in her lucky lottery numbers. Little did she knew that this draw would make her famous as the single winner of the largest lottery jackpot in US history with a prize of $758.7 Million.
Thanks to the EuroMillions lottery, France is known as the country with most lottery winners because almost all citizen of the country plays lotto games. Another example is “It Could Be You” slogan of the first UK lotto, which inspired the people to buy tickets. On 19th November 1994, from 48,965,792 tickets, 1,152,611 lucky ticket holders shared the entire prize fund of over £22 million.
Powerball’s world’s largest jackpot of $1.586 Billion (almost £1.200 Billion) dropped in 2016. The three lucky ticket holders split the prize pool and lived happily ever after. The one common thing all those people did to win the lottery was to buy a ticket and check the results. Canadian players can test their luck with the best online lottery in Canada.
How to Win the Lottery Popular Questions
The lottery is one of the most accessible and easy to play gambling games. Here are the answers to popular lotto questions many of our readers and lottery players ask. Follow the links in the answers for detailed information on each topic.
