How to Play Lotto
Lottery 101: What Types of Lottery Games Exist?
The word lottery tends to evoke the mental image of either picking numbers or scratch-off tickets, however to be clear there are 5 types of lotteries; Lotto, Little Lottos, Dailes, Multi-State Games and Instant Games. This first of 5 guides is a quick run-down of the regular lottery system in the Lottery 101 School by Online Casino Reports.
Lotto
In regular lotto, six numbers are drawn from a range of numbers that are decided by whoever hosts the lottery. For instance, in Michigan, you may pick numbers up to 47 and in Florida, you may pick numbers up to 53. It completely depends on the state you are playing in or the national lottery host such as Powerball for example.
In order to play Lotto, you must mark your chosen numbers on a play slip, and then take it to the lottery retailer or agent. The retailer will then enter your selection into the online terminal and it will spit out your ticket. You must keep this ticket as your receipt because when the numbers are drawn, this must be presented and validated by the retailer.
Lotto tickets can be found in convenience stores, gas stations and grocery stores; online lottery agents, of course, too are growing more popular as a means to fill out lotto tickets. Prices range from $1 a ticket and up. Drawings are usually held twice a week, though it differs from state to state.
By using special ball-drawing machines that have numbered balls, the machine will shoot out six randomly selected balls which will display the winning numbers for that drawing. If all six of your chosen numbers match the balls drawn, then you win the jackpot. In Lotto, as long as the numbers match, they don't have to match the exact order of the balls drawn.
If two or more people pick the same numbers, the winnings will be split. If no one wins then the prize money rolls over which makes the jackpot grow larger until someone wins it. There are smaller prizes awarded by matching three, four or five numbers. While the payout may not be as large, the odds are better if only matching part of your numbers.
The amount of the jackpot depends on a few factors: how much total sales and winners are there. This means the more populated states will have a higher jackpot simply by having more people purchasing tickets.
