Playing the lottery is not just tapping numbers. Who plays the lottery, has to deal with technical terms and game variants. The lexicon gives a short and clear overview so that you find your way around the lottery jungle easily and quickly.

Additional Number - Powerball is a good example of a lottery game that features an additional number. This additional number allows lottery players to win additional prizes if they choose this option. The additional number feature usually costs an extra fee.

Alerts - These days’ lotto players can have instant emails or messages sent to their computer or cell phone when their chosen lottery results are posted or other lottery-related happenings.

Annuity - Some lotteries with large jackpots payout the super jackpot winners over the course of twenty or so years. This type of payout is called an annuity payout as opposed to one lump sum payment.

Any Order - Any order is a betting style that is the same thing as a box bet. This bet style allows players to match the winning lotto numbers in any order.

Bet - A bet is a transaction that takes place when a lottery player chooses numbers or a quick pick in exchange for the chance to win the lottery.

Betting Slip - A betting slip is the paper form that a lottery player fills out in order to receive their printed ticket.

Bonus Ball or Bonus Number - A bonus ball or bonus number is the same thing as an additional number. Immediately following the regular drawing an additional number or ball will be chosen allowing those lotto players who paid the extra fee the opportunity to win more prizes.

Box - A box is a reference to a wager on a particular group or combination of numbers.

Box Bet - Some lotteries have the option of placing a box bet, which allows the lotto player to win by matching the winning numbers in any order while the alternative is having to match the numbers in the exact order in which they were drawn.

Break Open - A break open is the same as a pull tab. There are some lotteries that offer break opens, which are like scratch tickets except you lift a tab to uncover your winning numbers instead of scratching away a latex film. Break-opens are instant win lotto games.

Cash Lotto - A cash lotto is a lottery game where winners are paid in one lump sum payment as opposed to annuity payments which are paid out over the course of many years.

Cash Option - The cash option is offered on most annuity jackpots whereby sacrificing a significant amount of the jackpot amount, the lotto jackpot winner may be paid in a smaller lump sum rather than the annuity payments over many years.

Cash Payoff - Cash payoff is the same as the cash option. Players may elect to receive one smaller payment of their jackpot prize amount instead of many smaller payments paid out over a long period of time.

Combo - Combo is a betting style that lotto players can choose when playing some lotteries. Choosing a combo play in effect buys you several tickets to cover all the possible wins for your particular lotto numbers.

Commission - Commission is the percentage of the price of the lottery ticket that retail outlets collect for selling the tickets.

Daily Game - Daily games are lottery games where there is at least one drawing per day. Some daily lotto games have more than one drawing per day like some of the pick 3 and pick 4 lotto games offered in the United States.

Double - Double is usually a reference to a series of lottery numbers that contain a pair of the same number. Many of the three and four number lottery games payout larger prizes for winning numbers that contain a double.

Double-Double - A double-double is a reference to a four-digit lottery number that consists of two pairs of numbers. The odds of hitting double-doubles are much harder to beat so the cash prize amounts for these wins is generally larger than other winning combinations in the same lotto game.

Drawing - A drawing is when the winning lottery numbers are chosen.

Exact Order - Exact order refers to having to match the winning lotto numbers in the exact order in which they were drawn. Some lottery games like the pick three and picks four lottery games offer several options of ways to play your lotto numbers. The exact order play has a larger payout amount when it is won.

Exotic Numbers - Number combinations that very rarely happen like four of a kind in the four number lottery games are referred to as exotic numbers.

Fixed Payout - A fixed payout is a lottery cash prize amount that does not fluctuate with the number of lottery players that are playing at that time. The alternative payout is a pari-mutuel payout where the amount of the cash prize depends on how many players and how many winners there are. The prize amount is divided equally among the winners in the pari-mutuel system.

Instant Game - Instant games are lottery games that can be played, won and redeemed at the time of purchase. There are several kinds of instant win games the most common being instant win scratch tickets and instant win pull tabs.

Jackpot - The jackpot is the highest prize in a lottery game. Jackpots are paid either in annuity payments or in one lump sum.

Lottery - A lottery is a game of chance rather than a game of skill whereby winners are chosen by randomly choosing a set of winning numbers and corresponded to number combinations purchased by lottery players. There are usually a variety of different size cash prizes for matching different amounts of the winning numbers.

Lottery Agent - A lottery agent is where lottery tickets are purchased retail.

Lotto - Lotto is a lottery game. Lotto games offer players the possibility of winning very large sums of money. Lotto players purchase a lotto ticket usually choosing some numbers and hoping to match them when the lotto results are drawn.

Mega Ball - Mega Ball is another additional feature in a lottery game where for extra fee players will have an additional number they can match for additional prizes.

Mint - Mint (or often abbreviated as Mt) is a lotology term referring to the condition of an instant scratch ticket that has not been scratched and still has all the latex undisturbed.

Multi-Draw - Multi-Draw is an option that many lotteries are offering. Players who purchase a multi-draw lotto ticket purchase lotto tickets for more than one drawing. Multi-draw lotto players can choose their own numbers for each drawing or purchase quick picks which numbers are chosen by a computer.

Odds - The odds are the chances of a lotto player winning the lottery.

Off-Line Game - An off-line lottery game is a lottery game that can be purchased and played without the use of a lottery computer terminal.

Online Game - An online lotto game is a lottery game that is part of a network of lottery computer terminals that are all linked to a central computer that keeps track of the lotto activity.

Payout - Payout is the money or cash prize that a player wins for matching a certain combination of numbers.

Play Slip - A play slip is the card or slip of paper that lotto players must fill out with their chosen numbers in order to receive a lottery ticket.

Powerball - Powerball is a multi-state lottery game. The Powerball is also the extra number feature of the game where players can win extra cash prizes by purchasing the Powerball feature.

Prize - A prize is usually the cash that lottery players win when they match the winning lotto numbers.

Prize Pool - A prize pool is the total amount of money that is available to be divided among the winners in a lottery game or drawing.

Reversals - Reversals is a term for scratch tickets that have mistakenly been printed on the back two times. One time in each direction.

Rollover - Many lotto jackpots, when not won, will carry over to the next drawing making the jackpot amount larger. This is referred to as a jackpot rollover.

Scratch Game - A scratch game is a lottery game where players buy a ticket and scratch away a latex film thus revealing the prize amount. Scratch games are instant win lotto tickets.

Spiel - A spiel is a common add-on feature for some lotto games in Canada where for an additional charge the player will be given an extra set of numbers that add ways to win prizes.

Ticket - The ticket is the official printed slip of paper given to the lotto player with their lottery numbers printed on it. This ticket must be presented in order to claim winnings.

Tix - Tix is another term for Sc, which is an instant scratch lottery ticket with the latex scratched off.

Video Lottery Terminal - A video lottery terminal is similar to a video slot machine except the calculations are done differently and the payouts are usually a printed voucher that can be redeemed for prizes from the retailer.

Wheel - Wheel is lotto slang used as a noun and as a verb when referring to the wheeling system of lotto play.

Withholding - The withholding is what can be expected to be lost to taxes when a significant cash prize is won. For non-residents in the United States, the base tax rate is 38%.