With Friday’s Mega Millions jackpot at $1.02 billion, Americans won’t be the only ones who can enter the drawing.
Mega Millions lottery tickets are sold in 45 states in addition to the District of Columbia and the US Virgin Islands, but you do not need to be a resident of those locations to buy a ticket.
Anyone visiting these states and territories, including Canadians and other foreign tourists, is free to purchase a lottery ticket in person. Sales are usually cut off about an hour before the numbers are drawn, but cutoff times for purchases can vary by country.
Mega Millions sells lottery tickets online only to residents of certain states, such as Georgia and Kentucky.
There are third-party services, such as The Lotter, that will buy lottery tickets on your behalf for a fee. However, Mega Millions says it does not endorse these companies and warns “if you choose to do business with one of these companies, you do so at your own risk.”
If you win anything, you’ll need to claim your winnings from the state where you bought your ticket, although Mega Millions says lotteries usually have an option to claim most prize levels by mail.
Lottery winnings are subject to a 30 percent withholding tax by the US federal government. There may also be an additional state tax, depending on which state you purchased your ticket from.
However, Canadian players won’t have to worry about being taxed by the Canadian government, as foreign lottery winnings are tax-free.
The drawing for the $1 billion prize will take place on Friday, July 29 at 11:00 PM EDT. The odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 302.5 million.
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