Which lottery around the world is best? The definitive answer to which lotto to play…

MANCHESTER, U.K. - Sept. 2, 2016 - PRLog -- As the internet continues to make the world a smaller place, there are now plenty of sites which allow us to play on other lotteries around the world. But which one is best? Which offers the best value, has the highest jackpots or the best odds?

Following extensive research and analysis of 20+ world lotteries – their odds, payouts, jackpot sizes, player value, ticket sales and prices, a new site www.lottorate.com answers these questions and more.

Predictably, the largest jackpots are offered by the multistate or multi-country lottos such as the US Powerball and Megamillions, the Euromillions and Eurojackpot. The US Powerball dominates many statistics here with an average jackpot size of £180m and the largest ever jackpot of £1bn! The largest single country jackpots are found in Italy and Canada.

But big jackpots do not necessarily equate to good value. Some jackpots, for example, are much harder to hit than others. The jackpot with the longest odds, or hardest to hit, is Italy's Superenalotto with odds of over 600m to 1! Much 'easier' is the Hoosier Lotto in Nebraska, where the odds of hitting the jackpot are a mere 1 in 9 million.

This analysis of jackpot sizes and odds though, only tells part of the picture. Player value and enjoyment is also determined by your chances of getting any win (win frequency) and also the percentage of ticket receipts that are returned to players as prizes (return to player or RTP). The meanest at doling out regular cash per ticket are the Australian Powerball and Florida Lotto, where you are likely to win something for only 1 in 70-80 tickets. Compare this with El Gordo in Spain or the two Canadian lottos where, on average, you get at least your stake back with every six or seven tickets you buy.

As for the amount of ticket revenues paid back in prizes, player value will depend on what size the jackpot is when you play, i.e. if you're playing after many rollovers you face a much better 'return' than when the jackpot has just been reset at its minimum. Luckily, at lottorate.com they've done all the maths here too. The average RTP or return to player (across all jackpot sizes) of the Hot Lotto and Ozlotto is less than 50% of sales, for example.  In contrast, the Megamillions and California's Superlotto Plus pay out on average more than 70% of ticket receipts to players.

So, which is the best lotto around the world? Well, a bit depends on what sort of lotto player you are. If you're an all-or-nothing mega-jackpot hunter then you'll probably favour the big multistate lottos. If you care more about regular payouts and are happy with a fighting chance at a modest $7m jackpot you'll probably go for something like the 649 in Canada. If you're a value seeker who only plays when a jackpot reaches real positive value (after taxes, annuity options and your chances of sharing a jackpot) then you'll be more promiscuous! And the overall pick of the bunch at www.lottorate.com?  The US Megamillions, but only just.