Glossary
Lottery games have their own lingo around play types, bets, and prizes. Here, you can expand your vocabulary. Check out Lottery USA’s comprehensive glossary t๊o find definitions for popular terms.
- 6/49
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A common type of lottery game. In this game, players choose six numbers 🦂out of a pool of 1 through 49. To win, the selection must match a certain number of balls from the draw.
- 1-Off
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A play♈ type available in some daᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚily draw games. If selected, you can win by matching the winning numbers in either exact order or be off by one (higher or lower), on one, two, three, four, or five numbers, depending on the game.
See: Box, Combo, Pairs, Straight, 加拿大28预测开奖:Straight/Box
- Add-on feature
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Many lottery games include add-on features that players can choose to include in addition to🍨 the main game when buying lottery tickets. Normally, there’s a spot ꦺon lottery play slips that players can mark in order to include an add-on feature.
Add-on features usually cost an 🌼extra fee and offer a chance to increase prize money or improve odds.
- Advanced draw
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A game feature that allows players to enter future draws ღof the game. Players can choose to enter their numbers in multiple consecutive draws from a range defined by the lottery. The ticket value will increase based on the total number of plays.
Also kn✨own as an "Advanced bet" or "Multiꦛ draw."
- Advertised jackpot
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The jackpot value that t♎he lottery advertises online and in the media. This is how mꩵuch money the lottery operator guarantees if the winner chooses the annuity payment option.
- Agent
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A lottery ticket retailer.
- Annuity
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A payout option available in some lottery games with large jackpots.💧 The winners collect their prize in recurring annual installments over a specific period of time, norma𒁏lly 20 or more years, instead of a one-time lump sum payment. The payments are set by the lottery rules and will add up to the advertised jackpot amount.
Also known as "Annuity payment."
- Ball
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The numbered object the lottery randomly selects during draws. Each game has a predefined amount of balls 🐎that will be drawn. To win, players must match the winning balls drawn.
Also known as "Numbe💞r" or "Digit."
- Ball set
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A group of numbered balls used in draw machines to choose the winning numbers of a lottery game. Each l🏅ottery has special rules and standards when it comes to the way the balls are built, drawn, and validated.
- Bearer instrument
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A document t﷽hat declares the ownership of a certain property oꦆr payment.
A lottery ticket acts as a bearer instrument, entitling its ho𒈔lder’s ownership to whatever prize it may have won. Ownership of your ticket is not officially recorded elsewhere, which is why signing the back of 𒐪it is recommended.
- Beneficiary
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The recipient of any relevant lottery winnings.
- Bet
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See: Wager.
- Bonus number
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A number (or numbers) that is drawn alongside a lottery’s main draw with the 🎀potential to influence prizes.
Bonus numbers are either draw🧜n from the main draw’s number pool or their own unique number pool.
Sometimes, bonus numbers are included in the cost of the ticket. Other times, they are an add-on that players must pay extra for. In some games, bonus num𒀰bers can be used to generate new winning combin♛ations (in daily draw games). They are sometimes also used to define prize categories.
Also known as a "Supplementary ဣnumber," "Extra number," or "Bonus ball."
- Book
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A collection of pla🔜yable instant-win lottery tickets/scratch cards.
- Box
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A type of wager, commonly re⛎ferred to as a "play type". To win, the player’s numbers can match the drawn number𓃲s in any order. This appears in daily draw games such as Pick 2, Pick 3, Pick 4, or Pick 5.
Also known as "Any order".
See: 1-Off, Combo, Pairs, Straight, 加拿大28预测开奖:Straight/Box
- Bundle
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An assortment of personal and syndicaꦰte entries availabl💃e to those playing online through a lottery messenger service.
- Cancelled ticket
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A ticket printed by the terminal that has been voided🀅.
- Capped jackpot
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A jackpot that stops growing once it has reached a certain predefined value. Often, when 🌌a jackpot reaches its cap, any money that would have been added to it goes to lower prize tiers instead.
- Cash option
- (Prize) Claim form
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A document that must be completed by winneꦦrs in order to receive a particularly lar♎ge prize.
- Claim center
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An official lottery office or a♚uthorized lottery location where players can validate tickets and claim prizes. The prize amounts payable by claim centers varies between states.
These are separate from lottery retailers, which are authorised and licensed loca✤tions that are allowed to sell lottery products and to payout prizes up to a predetermined amount.
- Claim period
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The time period during which a lottery winner must claim their prize. Claim periods vary between lotteries. Be꧒yond the claim period, a winner may no longer be able to 🅘claim their prize.
- Claim process
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The instructi🧔ons to redeem a lottery prize outlin𒐪ed by a lottery operator.
- Cold number
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A nu﷽mber that is, based on previous draw statistics, thought not due to make a draw appearance soon.
See: 加拿大28预测开奖:Hot number, Overdue
- Combo
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A wager in which a playe🙈r’s selection combines a Box play type and a Straight play type. This play type often appears in daily draw games.
Also known💜 as a "Combination," "🅰Super Straight," or "Wheel" bet.
See: 1-Off, Box, Pairs, Straight, 加拿大28预测开奖:Straight/Box
- Commission
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The sales figures of an official lottery ope🌳rator used when partnering🌃 with retailers.
Not to be confused wit🔯h the "Lo💜ttery commission."
- Concierge service
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A service that offers p🐼articipation worldwide lotteries regardless of a player’s physical location.
Also knoꦕwn as a "Lottery mess꧟enger service."
- Consecutive numbers
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Consecutive numbers are numbers that appear next to each other in numer♉ical order.
A consecutive number🎀 sequence is broken when a drawn number does not immediately follow the one before it.
Examples of consecutive numbers𝔍: 2, 3, 4, and 4💦3, 44, 45.
Example of a break in consecutive numbers: ꦕ16, 17, 22, 18. 22 broke the list.
- Daily game
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A lottery game that takes🍰൩ place at least once a day.
The term "Daily game" is also used when referring to a specific type of lottery game in which numbers from 0 to 9 are selected and can repeat. These games tend to have fixed prizes, and offer multiple wagers and play types that players can choose from. Also🅰 called "Pick" games, they can have two, three, four, or five digits.
Also kn🍌own as "Cash’" or "Number" gam🦩es.
- Date game
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A lottery game that takes place on certain days.
- Digit
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Any of the numbers from 0 to 9. It&rsq🔴uo;s commonly used in daily draw games and can be a synonym for "Number."
- Draw
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A draw, or drawing, is where the winning numbers are revealed, a♕nd "Draw results" refers to the outcome of a specific draw.
Draws are conducted by an official lottery operator and are of💎ten broadcast live on television or online.
- Draw machine
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The ma𝄹chine from which the winning lottery numbers are randomly chosen.
- Electronic funds transfer
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A transfer of funds directly to a bank account.
- Estate
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Often refers to a deceased person’s assets, including th🌊eir mon♔ey and property.
- Estimated jackpot
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🅺The approximate top prize amount for a lottery’s upcoming draw.
The amount can fluctuate d꧟epending on the number of tickets sold and the number of winning tickets.
- Extra game
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Also known as a "Supplementary game."
A game t🅠ha🧸t operates in conjunction with a lottery game.
These supplementary games often give players a chance to win an extra pr൩ize or increase prizes from꧙ the main draw. They are usually an added cost to tickets.
- Fixed prize
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A fixed prize does not change from one draw to the next. These ten𒉰d to be found in lower prize tiers and daily draw✅ games.
- Fixed payout
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A fixe🐲d payout is the cash amount that a player receives by matching a certain amount of numbers. Commonly found in daily draw games, instant win add-ons, or card games.
- Game matrix
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Refers to the a෴mount of numbers a player needs to choose and the total amount of numbers in the ball set. For example, a common game matrix is 6/49, which refers to picking six numbers from 1 through 69.
See: 6/49
- Going public
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Revealing your identity🍌 as a ja🔥ckpot winner to the press and general public.
For certain large jackpot lotteries,jackpot winners must reveal their identities, including their name, city of residence, an🅰dౠ the amount of money won.
- Good causes
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Certain non-profit organizations that receive a percentage of a lottery op🃏erator’s funds.
Recipients of such﷽ funds are usually organ꧙izations within the education, health, and charity sectors.
- High numbers
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Numbers that are in the top 🃏half of a number set. For example, the high numbers in a number set of 1 to 40 would be 20 to 40.
- Hit
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The appearance of a specific number in a draw.
Example: "Number 23 is quite a🌃 strong performer, having hit the last three out of𓄧 five draws."
- Hopper
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The🎃 cylindrical machine that used to draw the winning balls of a lottery game.
- Hot number
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A number that, ba🎶sed on previous draw statistics, appears overdue to make an appearance.
See: Overdue, 加拿大28预测开奖:Cold number
- Inheritance tax
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Tax that must be paid by someone inheriting an est⛎ate or money.
- Instant game
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A lotte꧃ry ticket with a coating that a player must scratch a♈way in order to reveal if they have won a prize.
Instant game tickets are sometimes referr𝄹ed to as ꦐ"Scratch Cards."
See: 加拿大28预测开奖:Scratcher
- Internet gaming
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Taking part in games that a🌊re available online, including games similar to those found in casinos or online lottery gamওes.
- Internet wager
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A wager made in online gambling, with the options ♎ranging from lottery games t꧃o sporting events.
- Jackpot
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The top prize offered by a lottery game.
Many lottery games have a progressive jackpot system. The jackpot amount will grow until it is either wo♑n or, in some cases, it hits an established limit (the jackpot cap).
See: Rollover
- Jackpot cap
- Jackpot fatigue
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The slump in lottery ticket sales when the game’s jackpot amount is relatively low. Jackpot fatigue is a lottery phenoꦑmenon that suggests players are waiting until the game’s jackpot amount rises.
- Keeper
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A lotter🍬y number that you frequently choose to play o𝓀n your ticket.
- Keep out
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A l👍ottery💯 number that you refrain from using, whether based on superstitions, its appearance history, or any other reason.
- Last drawn
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Used to refer to the last draw in which a number made ꦐan appearance in a lottery game.
- Lottery
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A luck-basꦬed game that involves matching certain numbers or symbols in order to win a prize.
- Lottery betting
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Placing a wager on the outcome of the numbers in a lottery draw rather than participating with an official lottery ticket. Not to be confused with a "Wager&qu♒ot; or "Bet."
- Lottery commission
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The governing body that ov🦩ersees and regulates a jurisdiction’s lottꦡery system.
Not to be confused with "Commission."
- Lottery retailer
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A store or company that sells lottery tickets.
- Lottery scam
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Unlawful attempts at gathering the personal information of lottery players. Scammers typically purport to༒ be acting on behalf of the official lottery operator or a governmental organization.
- Lottery tax
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The taxes a lott♉ery winner must pay depending on where they are located and how much they have won.
Someℱ states do not impo🍌se a lottery tax, and some only impose tax on winnings over a certain amount.
- Low numbers
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Numbers that are in the boꦿttom half of a number set. For example, the low numbers in a number set of 1 to 40 would usually be 1 to 19.
- Lump sum payment
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A one-time paymenꦛt of money for a jackpot win. It is typically lo🌺wer than the annuity amount.
Also known as the "Cash option."
See: Annuity
- Match
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When a drawn number is the same as a player&rsquﷺo;s chosen number.
- Messenger service
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A service that purchases lottery tickets on a player’s behalf, regardless of their ♏physical location. It offers people who do not live in a lottery’s host country the opportunity to play.
- Multi-draw
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An option in which players can pur⛦chase a certain number of tickets for future draws.
- Multi-jurisdiction lottery
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A lottery ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚthat takes place in multiple U.S. jurisdictions. The main examples are Powerball and Mega Millions, which can be 💞played in most states.
- Multiplier
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An ext🥀ra number assigned to tickets. Typically, any nꦜon-jackpot winnings are multiplied by this number. It is either included in games or can be added for a fee.
- National lottery
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The official lottery organization of a country.
- Number
- Number checker
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An online tool that lets players check their lottery nuဣmbers to see if they’ve won and, if so, how much they’ve won.
- Number generator
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An online tool that can create lines of numbers for players🥂.
- Number range
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The group of numbers from which a player s🥂elects their line from.
Also known as a "Number pool" or "Ba♋ll set."
- Numbers game
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See: 加拿大28预测开奖:Daily game
- Number trend
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A pa🍷ttern based on the lottery numbers that have appeared in recent previous draws.
- Numerology
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The belief in a s🐭upernatural r📖elationship between numbers and events.
- Odds
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The pro𝓰bability of a prize being won, based on al✅l the possible combinations that can be drawn.
Lottery games typically offer fixed odds🌌, meaning that the chance✨s of winning a specific prize remain the same for every draw.
- Offline game
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A game that does not use a computer terminal to validate an entry. Scratch cards are an example of an offline⭕ game.
- Online agent
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Similar to a lottery messenger service, an onlin🎃e agent ♊will purchase lottery tickets on your behalf.
- Online syndicate
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See: 加拿大28预测开奖:Syndicate
- Overdue
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If a number has 💯gone over its average draw appearance frequency, bಞased on previous draw statistics, it is referred to as "overdue."
- Pairs
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Play types often available in daily draw ga🔯𝓡mes such as Pick 3, Pick 4, or Pick 5.
Examples include:
- the first two numbers of a daily draw game (Front Pair)
- the last two numbers of a daily draw game (Back Pair)
- the first and last number of a daily draw game (Split Pair).
See: 1-Off, Box, Combo, Straight, 加拿大28预测开奖:Straight/Box
- Pari-mutuel
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A prize system in whi🦩ch⛄ the cash allocated toa prize tier is equally shared between the winners of that category. A fixed percentage of total prize pool money goes into pari-mutuel prize tiers.
- Payout
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A monetary payment made by a lotter♛y operator to ﷽a winner.
- Play slip
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The card that players use to mark their lottery choices. A retailer processes the 💃slip and then prints the player’s lottery ticket. Where online play is available, players use digital slips.
Also known as a "Betting slip."
- Play type
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An option for how to play chosen lottery numbers typical🎀ly useꦐd in daily draw games. Each play type represents different winning combinations available to the player.
- Prize percentage
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T🦩he percentage of a draw’s t💎otal payout amount that went into a given prize tier.
- Prize pool
-
The total amount of money from ticket sales that gets distributed across al🃏l priz෴e tiers.
Also known as a "Prize fund."
- Prize tier
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The prize levels in a lottery, normally defined by the amount of💝 numbers matched in any given draw.
Also known as a "Division" or col♋lo🌼quially as a "Div."
- Progressive jackpot
-
A jackpot that increases in value every time there are on winners in a draw. Depending on the game, this process will either continue until the prize reaches a li🌺mit, or indefinitely until the jackp⭕ot is won.
- Quick Pick
-
An option where a lottery ticket🌃’s numbers are randomly generated by a machine or computer, rather than picked by the ticket holder.
- Raffle
-
Similar to a lottery, people purchase raffle tickets for the chance to win prizes. Unlike major lotteries—where the odds of winning are 𝔉fixed—the odds of winning in a raffle can vary depending on how many players take part.
- Result history
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The history of lottery results, including information such as the w🌳inning numbers, number of winners, and prize amounts of past draws.
- Results
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The outcomes of a draw, including numbers drawn, prize amounts, and the number of winners for each prize ti🃏er.
- Rollover
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When a lottery🅠 jackpot is transferred into the next draw’s prize pool after there are no winners.
- Scanned copy
-
Lottery messenger services often scan a player꧟’s lottery ticke🌊ts to provide proof of purchase.
These lottery tickets are sometimes referred to as "scanned 🌟copies," and are usually stored in a player’s o♛nline account.
- Scratcher
-
Another term for a scratch card. A "scratcher" is an instant-w🐟in game that can be bought in store or online.
- Skip
-
Refers to the absence of a given number from a draw. Note that this phenomenon does not affect the odds of a number com🉐ing up in any individual draw.
Example: "Number 40 has skipped t♈he last three Powerball draws."
- Starting jackpot
-
The minimum default jackpot for a game. After the jackpot i🃏s won, it goes back to this value.
- Straight
-
A play type available in all daily draw games. When selected, a p♋layer wins if their numbers match the drawn numbers in the same orderဣ.
Also k🅰nown as an "Exa𝄹ct order" play type.
See: 1-Off, Box, Combo, Pairs, 加拿大28预测开奖:Straight/Box
- Straight/Box
-
A play type ꦺavailable in daily draw games. Players can win by matching the winning numbers in either exact or any order. Players pay extra for the added ways to win.
- Subscription
-
An optioꦦn for lottery players to set up a recurring payment for a number of tickets or draw entri🅠es over an agreed period of time.
- Sweepstakes
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A game in which prizes are awarded to a certain number of randomly selected🧸 entrants.
- Syndicate
-
A group of 🔥people who buy multiple lottery tickets by pooling funds together and share any proceeds proportionally to each member’s contribution.
Also known a♓s a "Lot♏tery pool" or "Pooling."
- Syndicate manager
-
The person in charge༒ of the administrative tasks of running a lottery syndicate. Such tasks often include purchasing lottery tickets, collecting participants’ payments, and ꦓreimbursing participants with any winnings.
- Terminal
-
An electronic device used by lottery retailers to enter, print, and pay out lo𒅌ttery tickets.
- Ticket
-
The printed document with your numbers. It also acts as youꦉr proof of purchase.
- Total sum
-
The va𝔉lue of a player’s lottery numbers when added together.
Example: "🃏;Adding my numbers 17, 🌼20, 03, 40, and 12 together, my total sum is 92."
Some games offꦿer add-on features where players can win a prize if their numbers add up to the same sum as the drawn numbers. In daily draw games they may be referred to as a "Sum it Up" or "Lucky ☂Sum" number.
- Triple
-
A three-digit numb🌠er made up of the same digit repeated three🉐 times.
Example: 555.
- Unclaimed prize
-
A lottery prize that has not been claimed by the winner. When a ticket that has won a large amount of money is nearing its expiration date, the lottery operator wi🧜ll often mak🥂e an effort to find the winner.
- Validation
-
The process every winning lottery ticket must undergo to confirm the following: it’s indeed a winner, it hasn&rs🥀quo;t been claimed before,💫 and the prize amount is correct.
Depending on the value of the prize, players can take their ticket to a lottery ret♛ailer or operator tಞo validate it.
- Vendor
-
A lottery ticket seller.
- Wager
-
A sum of money placed on the outcome of an unpredictable event, such as a lottery draw. At the time of purchasing a tickeꦿt (typically for daily draw games) the player selects the desired wager when filling out the play slip.
- Wheeling
-
A popular lottery system. A player selects a set of numbers, and then additional ticket lines a💟re made for every possible combination of that set of numbers.
Also known as a "Lottery wheel."
- Winner
-
What everyone playing the lottery hopes to be!
- Withholding
-
The amount of money to be deducted from a winne𒉰r’s prize in order to cover taxes.