Can You Play MegaMillions Lottery From India?
Lotteries have long been one of the favorite `game of chance´ for people around the world.
Every now and then, we come across stories of how someone’s life has been changed completely after they won a huge lottery. And we wish that someday, even we would be lucky enough to win a huge sum. It is this hope that drives people to buy lotteries regularly, and keep trying their luck. Lotteries are legal in many countries across the globe, with many of them being government-sponsored.
The United States has a long history with lotteries, with some of the earliest lotteries being played in the 1800s as a means to fund the colonies. Modern-day government-sponsored lotteries were first started in Puerto Rico in 1934. As of today, 45 states in the US, along with Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia have legalized lotteries. Powerball and MegaMillions are two of the biggest lotteries in the US and are played across all the states where the lottery is legal. Along with physical tickets, players now have the option to play MegaMillions online as well as the Powerball.
In countries like India, lotteries in any form were banned by a British rule called the Public Gambling Act brought in 1867. However, since independence, the Central government has granted more and more autonomy to the states regarding framing their own laws concerning the lottery. In 1967, Kerala became the first state in India to start a lottery, and many states have followed suit. As of today, 13 states in India have their own lotteries.
Obviously, individuals residing in other states felt left out and devoid of a chance to potentially win a huge sum of money. But this has changed since the introduction of online lotteries. Online lotteries exploit a grey area of the law, as the current law bans the sale of physical tickets in some states. Also, most websites offering online lottery tickets are based outside India and hence are not under the purview of Indian laws. These websites allow Indian citizens to participate in various lotteries being played around the world, including MegaMillions from the USA.
MegaMillions was started as `The Big Game´ in 1996, offered in 6 states, with a weekly draw. As more and more states started joining the consortium, the lottery grew bigger and bigger and was renamed as MegaMillions in 2002.
Under the current structure, MegaMillions offers a minimum jackpot prize of 40 million dollars at its weekly draw, with the value of the prize getting increasingly larger in case there are no jackpot winners. The largest-ever jackpot winner on a MegaMillions ticket was an anonymous individual from South Carolina, who won a payout of 1.537 billion dollars in 2018.
How to play MegaMillions from India
Those interested in playing the MegaMillions lottery can visit any of the trusted websites offering the tickets. An individual has to choose 5 numbers between 1 and 70, plus a bonus number or `Mega´ number between 1 and 25. A player also has the option to choose a Megaplier number which can multiply the winnings of a non-jackpot prize by up-to 5 times. The player can choose a Megaplier number ranging from 2 to 5. The Megaplier number is drawn separately from the main draw.
When does the draw take place?
There are two weekly draws for the MegaMillions lottery taking place every Tuesday and Friday night at 11 pm EST.
What is the cost of a MegaMillions lottery ticket?
Each MegaMillions lottery ticket costs 2 USD, with an additional cost of 1 USD in case you want to choose a Megaplier number. The payment can be done by bank transfers or via e-wallets. The currency of payment, however, has to be USD.
How to claim the prize?
Prizes can usually be claimed within 365 days of the draw. Winnings are transferred to your account and are subject to taxes.
