Sounds like they are planning a regular draw with a super draw at the end of the year. 

One idea might be to make the wager and prize in local currency. For example, in the UK a ticket is a pound and the prize 500 million pounds. In the U.S. the ticket is a dollar and the prize 500 million dollars. In Mexico the ticket is a peso and the prize 500 million pesos.  Would be really cool if we could play online through any country for those of us who would prefer a low ticket cost for playing a big wheel even if the prize is smaller, it could still be equal or larger then a local game. 

I wouldn't mind a high odds Pick-6 or Pick-7 game with or without bonus balls and decent 3# and 4# prizes like the current UK game, but I'd ignore or just buy a quick pick if there is a power/mega ball and no 3# prize.

BobP

Jack won far less than 197 pounds at today's convertion rates. Doubt the game will go anywhere in the states. I hope Canada picks it up though.

does anyone honestly think powerball or mega millions are going to let this happen?  heck no.thats taking money out of their pockets.

this will not pass although i like the idea.

i did a poll a while back wondering if we would ever see a 500 million pot.

I agree!

If my memory is good, I recall someone pushing to have a U.S. national lottery with profits going to reduce the national debt. This would be a better choice. We are already sending too many dollars out of the country to pay off assorted crooks in Iraq and other places.

As long as there's no federal prohibition against it the choice will be up to individual states, or the federal government could decide to offer it. The people who run PB and MM  would be free to lobby against it, but they don't get to make the decision.

Let's assume that for every dollar spent on the proposed lottery a dollar doesn't get spent on MM or PB. If the state sells that ticket, how does that reduce their income from ticket sales? If they keep 50 cents on the dollar, they'll  make 50 cents for each dollar spent on the new game instead of making it from a PB or MM ticket. If the advertised jackpot actually reached $500 million ticket sales would probably be huge, and they'd make a lot more than if they offered PB or MM with a smaller advertised jackpot.

The size of the jackpot may be related to how many countries participate, as it says in the article, but the likely payout will be a function of the odds and how much goes into the jackpot from each ticket. If the game has odds of 1 in 100 million then players should expect 1 winner for every 100 million tickets that are sold. Let's assume tickets are $2 (about what Euromillions costs), 30% goes to the jackpot, and they sell 800 million tickets. They'd collect $1.6 billion and the jackpot would be $480 million. With odds of 1 in 100 million we should expect about 8 winners.$480 million split 8 ways is $60 million. For their next drawings MM and PB are already offering more than that with better odds for a $2 wager.

Would the winner get it all at once, or in an annuity?

----“ The exchange rates have always made such a lottery almost impossible since even spending the equivalent of a dollar for a lottery ticket in some countries could cut deep into the average family budget.” ----

Valid point, however, a global lottery will most likely be a collection of 1^st world countries with one or two developing countries on the fast track to first world status. Third world countries, poverty stricken countries, anti gambling countries, and countries with strong religious beliefs against gambling will not be represented.

I believe the jackpot would be cash/lump sum and not an annuity prize. I believe the US is the only country that has annuity based lottery.

I don’t think the US will block an official global lottery. As qutgnt said, Higher Payouts= Higher Interest= Higher Jackpots= Higher Revenues for all parties involved. If the US considers the gain from taxing a one time payment/lump sum of ½ billion dollars or more, why would the US or any state pass up revenue?

I would say the price of the lottery ticket would range from $2.00 to $10.00 with $2.00 the most likely price for a lotto type game and $5.00 to $20.00 for a raffle type game.

No, but when people see they can win one time payment/lump sum of ½ billion dollars or more, they won’t consider the odds. They will put logic aside and just buy a lottery ticket.

However, if Camelot puts a cap on the top prize, I think sales will be disappointing. Does anyone think Camelot would put a cap on the top prize?

I would assume a US winner would collect the winnings in the same manner as a Powerball or Mega-millions lottery winner would. All the countries convert the money into $US and forward the money to the winning state. The winner goes to the lottery commission office and claims the money. The lottery commission of the winning state withholds the federal tax and state tax (if any). If a US state does not place a tax on an international lottery the state in question is really missing a golden opportunity.

So is Camelot discussing a global lottery with 39, 50, 89, or 90 countries? Did the number of interested parties drop from 50 down to 39?

I would say the following states have been in discussion with Camelot: California, Nevada, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Iowa, Virginia, and Illinois.

out of those states illinois is the one closest to me so i hope they get involved so i can drive up and get a few tickets

I thought Nevada was dead-set against lottery.  But if Idaho doesn't participate, I hope Nevada does cuz it's the next state closest to me.  I'd definitely make the 4 hour round trip drive to get a ticket as long as they're not over $20.

I will agree with you that Nevada is dead-set against state lotteries. If the global lottery is annuity based Nevada will most likely pass. However, I see a global lottery with a billion dollar one time payout (give or take a few 100 million) as unique and as a possible exception to the rule. There are so many ways the Las Vegas tourism board can use the world lottery to promote tourism. As you said, you would drive to Nevada to buy a ticket. People already drive and fly for hours to gamble and hope to win a few thousand dollars. There must be a lot of other people who would drive or fly to win close to a billion and simultaneously take a long weekend.

Sounds like it is an annual game like the El GOrdo.  It was not clear, help us out.

So Preppy, how do you Know which states have been considering it.  Not a single Southern state I see.

Logic

The article stated that “The overall size of the annual jackpot will be dictated by the number of countries that decide to take part in the competition.”

Camelot will most likely go after states and countries with large populations and/or high lottery sales. In my opinion most southern states with a lottery will not make the cut and some Powerball states will not make the cut. Some Mega millions states will not make the cut. So you are left with states in the Northeast, some in the Midwest, and some west coast states.

How would you classify Virginia? How do you define southern?