Ypsilanti, MI United States
Member #15,733
May 20, 2005
217 Posts
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please guys, i understand completly what you are saying and sorry if i may sound defensive or even worst.....but i think that i can find MANY MANY ways to cash a winning lottery ticket (if the situation arises) or sell it to the highest bidder. being in possession of a US winning ticket while not living there is not a crime.....(my gf was on vacation there, bought it and brought it back for me)...if pbs can cash the ticket for me, so therefore i can find many institution that would be "willing" to buy that ticket off my hands.......if you see what i mean...... i know laws are made for a reason...... but i cant really see the point in saying that it is illegal to send it abroad but legal to play through online betting website....to me it is absolutely the same thing..... only difference being that I get the ticket in my hands instead of someone else holding it for me. i dont know about you guys but i would not trust anybody with a 186millions winning lottery ticket. lets put this in theory..... if i buy a ticket online through PBS then i MUST go by the PBS rules of claiming that winning ticket.....tax wise and other problems that may come my way, i will have to pay them a fee and wait nervously until they come up with a "solution"., a new law or a cheque. in the other hand, if i was in possession of the winning ticket while temporarily living in china(i am french by the way) then i could take my time to search for the best possible financial way to "sell" or cash that winning ticket.i would go through multiple of company background/banks or even wealthy people who might give me a much better deal that i would get by taking a lump sum or annuity.....i would be in total control of my destiny and if....someone would cheat me then it would be my fault and i could only blame myself. i mean as i read before if someone gets 360mill jackpot, they are lucky if they get 100mill as a lump sum....but i am sure there would be many institutions that would be glad to buy it back from you to a better fee than what the lottery would give you, take the annuity and make a nice profit on the top..........just like a long term loan!!!! please quote me if i am wrong
I think it would actually be much, MUCH EASIER claiming it thru PTS than anxiously awaiting the ticket in the mail. At least with PTS you KNOW that the winning ticket is being kept for you, not out in the vast mail system waiting to get lost or stolen.
PTS' Fees are paid for when you purchase the ticket. The only interest they retain in the ticket is 1%, so they can legally buy it for you and then arrange for you to pick it up in person when you direct them to, since you are 99% of the ticket's owner. It's somewhat the equivalent of a lottery pool, except there's no pool when you claim it; just you.
I think anyone who won a jackpot out-of-state, or for EM, out-of-country, would be able to concoct just about anything that would pass for "how you bought the ticket." Doesn't seem like it would be that hard - "I was visiting the country and like to play back home, so I played a couple tickets and won!" Seems simple enough.
In short, use PTS. It's more convenient that anything I have seen, and DEFINITELY the most honest site out there.
United States
Member #2,338
September 17, 2003
2,063 Posts
Offline
The real reason for not mailing tickets has to do with corruption in the Louisiana lottery. Lotteries had problems with large scale corruption since it was private parties selling tickets not state governments. Every state had banned lotteries because of this except Louisiana. Advertisements for the Louisana lottery would appear in other states and that led to the ban on mailing tickets.
You can check out the history of lotteries at www.naspl.org/history.html
Only thing they really miss is the first big national prize in 1993 of 111 million. It was that prize that really sparked interest in large national scale lotteries. MUSL existed before that but that was by far the biggest prize they had in it's history.
Now the rule wouldn't be removed as a liability protection for both state lotteries and the Post Office. If it's illegal to mail than you can't sue if you loose it.
Dump Water Florida United States
Member #380
June 5, 2002
3,576 Posts
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First of all you need to get over the idea holding a lottery ticket in your hand means anything. Knowing the numbers you played is enough if there is a safe way to collect your winnings.
Trying to sell a "winning lottery ticket" is nearly impossible as it is the most widely warned against scam in the U.S. because nearly every week some idiot buys one and loses their retirement money to criminals. Even then the con artists get only five or ten grand, not the millions you'd want to share in.
I'd more expect the mail to be peeked into in China then the U.S. end of the transaction. Texas is infamous for not paying a lottery jackpot purchased through a ticket buying service, but the customer or service (I forget which) was foolish enough to tell the truth. There are lots of lottery laws in the U.S. that can affect collecting the prize, back taxes, child support, judgements, etc. so they take a hard look at winners in some states.
There are not only odds of winning, there are odds of winning per dollar played. When you pay more then the price of a ticket you are playing at higher cost vs your fellow players who paid the normal rate. On the other hand if you can play in a lottery with two tickets for a dollar you cut the per dollar odds in half.
The other thing is play a game you can win. Better to win a couple of million from a game with reasonable odds then go up against impossible odds.
Still, if you have a favorite game and numbers you need to play in every draw, use the service on the left side of the screen as that's the only way to play those games where you don't live.
If you want to play online at state rates, the only games I know are the Australian games available online through a Au state licensed agency not some third world crazy place, like where you are now. Last year there was a news story right here on LotteryPost about some poor bastard who won one of the Chinese lotteries and was arrested because they already knew who they'd fixed the winner to be and this poor guy it turns out won it legit and paid the price.
PA United States
Member #22,982
October 6, 2005
2,229 Posts
Offline
Or you could simply pool up with someone here if you could find someone trustworthy enough. Simply send your part of the money each month, and if the ticket is a winner they could simply send you your share.
Charlotte NC United States
Member #17,405
June 18, 2005
4,074 Posts
Offline
so you think that i cannot find a trustworthy person that i can send 20-30dollars to play the lottery for me and send me the ticket?! wooaaahhhh now i understand you r meaning when you write "I only trust myself - and that's a questionable choice"
Why don't you use Betslips.com. You will not get a physical ticket but it is just as good. Beside it's illegal what you are suggesting.