US Lottery Statistics, History and Facts (2022)
Last Updated on: July 19th, 2021
Here are a few of the most interesting US Lottery statistics and facts I was able to dig up in my internet travels. As always, be sure to check back in the future as I will be updating this post as new and updated stats become available.
Number of possible US Powerball ticket combinations:
Last updated 1/18/19
Odds of winning Powerball jackpot:
1 in slightly over 292 million
Last updated 1/18/19
Odds of winning Mega Millions jackpot:
1 in slightly over 302 million
Last updated 1/18/19
Amount you’d have to spend (at $2/ticket) to buy every possible Powerball ticket combination:
Last updated 1/10/16
Percentage of lottery winners that go broke within 7 years:
Last updated 1/12/16
Date of Powerball launch:
1988 as Lotto America and April 1992 as Powerball
Biggest world lottery prize ever offered:
$1.58 billion (Powerball 1/13/16)
Last updated 4/3/19
Odds of winning the Mega Ball Mega Millions Jackpot:
Last updated 4/3/19
Largest Mega Millions prize ever offered:
Last updated 4/3/19
Date of Mega Millions launch:
Size of the North American lottery industry:
Last updated 1/31/11
State that introduced the first modern state lottery:
Number of US states that run lotteries:
Last updated 1/31/11
Percentage of the American population that purchases a majority of lottery tickets:
Last updated 1/31/11
Year scratch tickets were introduced in the US:
Please note that some of these numbers are easier to find than others. A few of these US Lottery stats come from their own reports, but some are based on news reports and not official company tallies. No information contained on DMR should be relied upon to make investment decisions. Basically, this is the best I can find and I don’t guarantee anything to be 100%.