Anyone born in another country can tell you that almost everything is bigger in America. Cars, houses, and food portions are all much larger than in other countries.
Aspiring to be the biggest and the best are American hallmarks. We try to make everything as big as possible, including state lotteries and prize money.
The top 10 lottery jackpots in the world’s history were all won through American lotteries. The Mega Millions and Powerball jackpot prizes have awarded over one hundred million dollars.
There have even been a few to surpass the billion-dollar mark. These massive jackpots might explain why many non-Americans purchase tickets to play American lotteries.
For example, it’s relatively common for Canadians to cross the border and participate in the occasional drawing. This isn’t surprising, as roughly 90% of Canadians live within 150 miles of the U.S. border.
However, some jackpots have been known to draw international attention from more than fellow North Americans. People as far as Australia have tried to join in on American lotteries. It’s not rare for people from all around the world to play American lotteries.
Winning the lottery can be a very overwhelming experience, even as an American. You must take care of several critical issues as soon as possible. But what happens if someone wins the lottery and isn’t an American citizen?
There is a lot of red tape involved when this happens, and it can quickly turn the dream of winning the lottery into a legal nightmare.
Who Can Play the Lottery in the U.S.?
The only requirement necessary for playing lottery games in the United States is being of legal age.
Multiple activities are reserved for people over a certain age. You have to be at least 18 years old to be eligible to vote and 21 years old to buy alcohol. The lottery is another example; you must be at least 18 years old to legally purchase a ticket.
Anyone that meets this individual criterion is eligible to play the lottery. There are laws or legal requirements stating that you have to be a United States citizen.
Anyone can legally purchase a lottery ticket in any of the 45 states and three territories that sell them. Nothing says you have to live in that state or even the country.
For example, a 37-year-old Iraqi father living in Baghdad discovered he was a lottery winner in August 2015. The man had been playing the Oregon Megabucks lottery and matched enough numbers to win a $6.4 million prize. He showed up in Salem, Oregon, to claim his prize, opened a local bank account to deposit the annuity payments, and returned to Iraq.
This story is just one example of several where a foreign citizen has won big money in the American lottery:
- In January 2016, a 73-year-old grandfather in El Salvador won a $1 million Powerball prize after matching five numbers.
- In October 2016, an Australian man did the same thing and won $1 million after he also matched five numbers while playing Powerball.
- In July 2017, a woman from Panama hit the Florida Lotto and won a $30 million jackpot after playing for only two months.
Where Can You Buy Lottery Tickets Outside of the U.S.?
You probably have a few questions after reading about these foreign-born lottery winners. The first one is “where did they buy their tickets?”
After all, the idea of a 73-year-old man with great-grandchildren traveling several thousand miles just to play the lottery is hard to believe.
Usually, foreigners pick up tickets from lottery retailers whenever they visit the United States or on a temporary visa. The novelty is typically worth the money, and there’s always a chance of winning a massive jackpot.
They would simply return to the U.S. and claim their prize if they won. However, some lottery winners have never even stepped foot in the United States.
It’s illegal to buy or sell lottery tickets online as the lottery isn’t legal everywhere. You must physically be present in the United States to purchase a ticket legally.
The state where you purchase your ticket is also crucial as that’s where you’ll need to claim the prize. The loophole to these rules is that the person buying the ticket doesn’t have to be the person that claims the prize.
You don’t have to give your personal information when buying a lottery ticket. All the retailer needs to know is whether or not you’re 18. The ticket isn’t tied to the buyer, which led to the creation of lottery ticket messenger services.
Someone in another country pays the service to purchase lottery tickets for them. A courier will legally buy a ticket, scan it, and upload it to the customer's encrypted online account. The physical ticket will be safely stored if it’s needed to claim the prize.
How Do Foreigners Claim Their Prize?
The most challenging part about winning the lottery as a non-U.S. citizen is claiming the prize. Each state has its own set of rules for claiming lottery winnings.
Some states, such as California, require winners to step forward publicly to claim their prize. Other states don’t have such requirements and allow lottery winners to remain anonymous.
Even if the state keeps the winner's information confidential, they would still need to claim the prize physically. There are too many opportunities for online fraud, so lottery commissions are very strict about this particular guideline.
The winner will need to show up in person, sign the winning ticket, fill out any personal information required, and provide two forms of authentic identification.
Performing these tasks won’t be much of an issue for Americans or U.S. residents. Even if they bought the ticket in another state, claiming the prize would require a few hours of travel. It’s not so simple for foreigners.
Traveling to the United States can take time to arrange, and lottery tickets do have an expiration date. A foreign citizen also needs an active passport to enter the United States. The time it takes to get or renew an old one might exceed the expiration window.
The last major issue with a foreigner claiming a lottery prize is the tax implications of the payout. Lottery winners are subjected to many taxes, including local taxes, state taxes, and even taxes from the U.S. government.
Lottery agencies must adhere to federal withholding tax on any prize amount at a tax rate of 24%.
The IRS will demand an income tax of the highest bracket (37%), so an additional 13% would need to be paid. There is also a matter of state income taxes ranging from 0% to 13.3% (California).
These taxes are only the tip of the iceberg for foreign-born winners. Depending on the laws of their home country, they could wind up paying way more in taxes. Most countries have tax treaties and provisions with the United States regarding taxes.
Paying taxes in the United States can be credited toward the tax obligations of their home country. However, it’s not guaranteed and is only accurate case-by-case.
Can Undocumented Immigrants Play the Lottery?
Anyone that’s over the age of 18 has eligibility to play the lottery regardless of their residency status. Nonresident aliens can go to the lottery office, grab scratch-offs, and play the lottery like anyone else. The only potential issue can arise when they have to step forward to claim the prize.
It can be challenging for undocumented immigrants to provide proof of their identification. You must have at least two authentic forms of identification when claiming lottery winnings. Being undocumented, it’s improbable they even have one form of identification.
Another grave dilemma is that it can be perilous for undocumented immigrants to enter public light. It wouldn’t take long for law enforcement to figure out they’re stateside illegally, and they could be deported.
There was one such case that caught national attention a few years ago. In 2011, a 27-year-old man from Guatemala named Jose Antonio Cua-Toc won a $750,000 lottery.
Cua-Toc was afraid to claim the prize as he didn’t have a legal residency status or a green card at the time. So he asked his then-boss, Erick Cervantes, to claim the prize.
His former boss was happy to oblige and agreed to the plan. The problem is that he claimed the prize for himself instead.
A multi-year legal battle ensued, and Cua-Toc was eventually awarded his winnings. But there’s no telling how many times something like this has happened where the scam was successful.
Can Convicted Felons Play the Lottery?
Convicted felons can lose several privileges depending on the nature of their crime and state of residence. Traveling abroad, parental benefits, and employment in specific fields can all be lost or restricted.
In some cases, these privileges can include Constitutional rights such as voting and the right to bear arms.
In terms of playing the lottery, no state laws say felons can’t legally purchase tickets.
However, there can be consequences for felons that win the lottery. It’s possible for the victims of their crime to file civil suits. The lottery winnings could then be disputed in a court of law. It would be up to a judge to determine whether the funds should be seized as restitution and compensation for damages.
In December 2014, there was a case of a Florida felon winning the lottery that made national headlines. Timothy Poole was arrested, charged, and convicted of sexually battering a nine-year-old boy in 1999.
He was sentenced to time served in jail and placed on probation. In 2003, he was given a sentence of three years for violating his parole. Eight years after his release, he would win a lump sum of $2.2 million from a scratch-off ticket.
The winning sparked a national debate about whether or not registered sex offenders should be allowed to keep lottery winnings. The topic was discussed, and bills were introduced, but ultimately, no legal changes were made.
The only thing that will disqualify a lottery winner is if they are under 18 or conspired in fraud to win.
The Bottom Line
No lotteries in the world feature jackpots as big as the ones in the United States. People from all over the world try to test their luck by playing American lotteries.
From a legal perspective, the only requirement for playing the lottery is that you must be at least 18 years old. Other than that, anyone can play regardless of their country, current legal residency status, or criminal record.
The only potential problems will arise whenever trying to claim the prize. It can be difficult for someone from another country to travel to America physically and risky for an undocumented immigrant to step forward.
However, as the legal owners of winning tickets, they would receive their prizes the same as anyone else. There can be problematic tax implications and legal issues, but they’ll be much easier to handle with the lottery money.
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