It’s go again. The American Powerball lottery, which did not find a winner on Saturday, will put its grand prize into play on Monday, the amount of which has now reached $ 1.9 billion. To win it, you have to find the five main numbers, between 1 and 69, and the Powerball number, between 1 and 26.
But can this gain, the largest ever at stake and the amount of which turns many heads, be won outside the American borders?
The rules are clear on this point: participants must, when they play, be on American soil. However, nothing is specified regarding their nationality. “You don’t have to be a citizen or resident (of the United States) to play. You can be a tourist,” says the Powerball site.
A different tax
And it is necessary, for the French being in the country and wanting to participate, to be in one of the 44 States which authorize this lottery. That is the vast majority of them, except Alabama, Wyoming, Nevada, Alaska, Hawaii, Arkansas, Mississippi, Nevada and Utah.
Another subtlety: taxation is not the same depending on the status of the winner. As indicated by our colleagues from BFMTV, tourists will be taxed on 44.6% of the jackpot, against 39.6% as for American residents. There are also local taxes to be expected, which depend on the state in which the ticket was purchased.
On Saturday, 16 players found the first five numbers in the draw (without therefore the Powerball) and each received a million dollars. The jackpot was then 1.6 billion dollars, already a record. The odds of hitting the jackpot, by buying a two-dollar ticket, are only one in 292.2 million. For comparison, the probability of being struck by lightning is one in a million, according to US health authorities.
The lucky winner(s) will have to choose between receiving the full amount via payments spread over three decades, or being paid all at once, up to 782.4 million, according to an estimate by Powerball.