Baghdad resident M.M. had been playing lotteries abroad online with theLotter for a few months when he noticed that the Oregon Megabucks jackpot hit $6.4 million in August 2015. After playing that draw, M.M. was driving in his car when he got a call from a customer service representative at theLotter informing him of his amazing jackpot win. "I was in shock!" recalled M.M. Within weeks, theLotter had flown M.M. from Baghdad to Oregon to collect his life-changing prize.
US Powerball’s record-setting $1.59 billion jackpot in January 2016 inspired plenty of fantasies about living the good life of a billionaire, but, most people left it at that, not knowing that it is possible to play lotteries abroad.
As you can see from M.M.’s story, anyone, including South Africans, can play lotteries abroad with a lottery messenger service such as theLotter. A lottery messenger, or concierge service buys actual, physical lottery tickets on behalf of their players, regardless of where they are playing.
Lottery messenger services give South Africans the opportunity to play lotteries with jackpots and prizes far bigger than domestic lotteries. For comparison; South Africa – Powerball has a jackpot of R 2.8 million, US Powerball is $229 million, R 3 billion.
Typically, you will pay for the cost of the lottery ticket, plus a service fee. In return, you will receive an actual, physical ticket that the company safeguards until you are ready to claim it in the event of a big win.
Some companies, such as industry stalwart theLotter, provide players with scanned copies of their tickets. A scanned ticket serves as proof of purchase and establishes that the player is the owner of the ticket.
Because lottery messenger services safeguard the physical ticket for you, they are actually more secure than buying a ticket yourself and potentially losing it.
Lottery messenger services also offer a number of other advantages that are not readily available to individual players, such as syndicate play and automated win notifications.
Industry pioneer theLotter opened in 2002 and today has offices in 20 countries and offers 49 lotteries on its site, thelotter.com.
TheLotter has built an impeccable reputation over its 15-year history, including over $55 million paid out to more than 2 million winners. History and reputation are important; while some companies are more interested in making a quick profit, theLotter’s success is based on its reputation and service.
Another thing to consider: the world’s largest jackpot today is not in South Africa, but you can win it.