Tips & Strategies
MEGA Millions, Powerball, SuperLotto Plus: which lottery is better?
By Thea Shay
When we talk about the best American lotteries, we mean MEGA Millions, Powerball and SuperLotto Plus. These are real American bestsellers, which are similar in many respects, but each of them has its own unique features. Let's see which lottery is best of the best. At the end of the article you will find useful links to the sections where you can see the most recent lotto numbers of MEGA Millions, Powerball and SuperLotto Plus, as well as links to the articles with a more detailed description of these games.
Which lottery is the best choice?
Lottery Operator
| MEGA Millions | Powerball | SuperLotto Plus |
|---|---|---|
| The non-profit state organization Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL) acts as the operator of these games. | ||
The best choice: no winner. Whichever game you choose, you are guaranteed to receive your prize.
Schedule of draws
| MEGA Millions | Powerball | SuperLotto Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday and Friday | Wednesday and Saturday | Wednesday and Saturday |
The best choice: no winner.
Lottery rules
| MEGA Millions | Powerball | SuperLotto Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Choose a combination of 5 regular numbers from 1 to 70 and 1 Megaball from 1 to 25. | Choose 5 regular numbers from 1 to 69 and 1 Powerball from 1 to 26. | Choose 5 regular numbers from 1 to 47 and 1 special number from 1 to 27 |
The best choice: SuperLotto Plus has the easiest game scheme.
Minimal lottery Jackpot
| MEGA Millions | Powerball | SuperLotto Plus |
|---|---|---|
| $ 40.000.000 | $ 40.000.000 | $ 7.000.000 |
The best choice: MEGA Millions and Powerball.
Rollover amount
| MEGA Millions | Powerball | SuperLotto Plus |
|---|---|---|
| $ 5,000,000+ | $ 10,000,000+ | $ 1,000,000+ |
The best choice: Powerball.
Number of prize divisions
| MEGA Millions | Powerball | SuperLotto Plus |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | 9 | 9 |
The best choice: no winner.
Odds to win any prize
| MEGA Millions | Powerball | SuperLotto Plus |
|---|---|---|
| 1 in 24 | 1 in 24 | 1 in 23 |
The best choice: SuperLotto Plus.
Odds to win the Jackpot
| MEGA Millions | Powerball | SuperLotto Plus |
|---|---|---|
| 1 in 302,375,350 | 1 in 292,201,338 | 1 in 42 million |
The best choice: SuperLotto Plus.
Secondary prizes
| MEGA Millions | Powerball | SuperLotto Plus |
|---|---|---|
| $ 2-1.000.000 (10-5.000.000 if you play with the Multiplier) The prize amounts are fixed and repeat from draw to draw. | $ 4-1.000.000 (40-10.000.000 if you play with the Multiplier) The prize amounts are fixed and repeat from draw to draw. | From $ 1 up to ~60.000 The prize amounts are partially fixed and repeat from draw to draw; other depends on the number of tickets sold. |
The best choice: Powerball.
The minimal prize
| MEGA Millions | Powerball | SuperLotto Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Just match Megaball and win $ 2. | Just match Powerball and win $ 4. | Just match Superball and win $ 1. |
The best choice: Powerball.
Multiplier
| MEGA Millions | Powerball | SuperLotto Plus |
|---|---|---|
| The Megaplier is guaranteed to increase your secondary prizes from 2 to 5 times. | The Powerplay will increase your secondary prizes from 2 to 5 times if the Jackpot is bigger than 150.000.000 and from 2 to 10 times if the Jackpot is smaller than 150.000.000. | No |
The best choice: Powerball.
Which lottery is the best choice if you play online?
You can play MEGA Millions, Powerball and SuperLotto Plus even if you’re not a US-rezisent. You can buy the tickets with the help of your computer or smartphone.
Price
| MEGA Millions | Powerball | SuperLotto Plus |
|---|---|---|
| $ 5,29 per line | $ 5,29 per line | $ 2,99 per line |
The best choice: SuperLotto Plus.
The number of lines
| MEGA Millions | Powerball | SuperLotto Plus |
|---|---|---|
| From 1 to 20 | From 1 to 20 | From 1 to 20 |
The best choice: no winner.
Discounts
| MEGA Millions | Powerball | SuperLotto Plus |
|---|---|---|
| 12% take-off if you include 20 lines in the ticket | 12% take-off if you include 20 lines in the ticket | 15% take-off if you include 20 lines in the ticket |
The best choice: SuperLotto Plus.
Taxes
| MEGA Millions | Powerball | SuperLotto Plus |
|---|---|---|
| It depends on the state where your ticket is purchased. | It depends on the state where your ticket is purchased. | All prizes over $599 are subject to taxes and other offsets required by law. However, there are no California state/local taxes. |
The best choice: SuperLotto Plus. If you playMEGA Millions and Powerball online, your tickets will be purchased in New Jersey. That’s what the official NJ Lottery site says:
You can file a claim form to collect your winnings. If you do not have a Social Security Number, you must provide the following information to claim your prize. When filling in the claim form, you must list your passport number and the name of the country from where you come. (This information can be put in boxes 11 and 12 on the Lottery Claim Form.) We would issue a check, less 30 percent federal withholding, which we are required by law to deduct if the person is an alien.
Time given to collect the prize
| MEGA Millions | Powerball | SuperLotto Plus |
|---|---|---|
| It depends on the state where you bought your tickets. The time period for claiming a prize ranges from 180 days to 1 year from the draw date. | It depends on the state where you bought your tickets. The time period for claiming a prize ranges from 180 days to 1 year from the draw date. | 180 days |
The best choice: MEGA Millions and Powerball
Additional options
| MEGA Millions | Powerball | SuperLotto Plus |
|---|---|---|
| · If you don’t want to miss a single draw, use the “Subscription” and “Multiple Draw” options. · If you wish to significantly increase your winning odds, use the “System” option. | ||
How to start playing American lotteries? Just decide on the parameters that are important to you (use our tips for this!) and then read our ultimate guide.
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