The rules for different lottery games vary depending on the country. For instance, the rules for Powerball and Mega Millions usually require a combination of five numbers to win the jackpot. To win the jackpot, all the numbers in both pools must match. Prizes are normally paid from the ticket sales. Some jackpots are so big that they even make headlines in the US. Smaller prizes are fixed values. For this reason, lottery games often use multiple pools for the same prize.

Mega Millions is one of the most popular lottery games, offered in twelve states. Players must match five numbers from a pool of 70 and one number from a second pool of 25. Mega Millions jackpots are huge, and the odds of winning are nearly one hundred and seventy million to one. Mega Millions was originally known as the “Big Game” and soon began offering jackpots of over $50 million. A lucky winner in a single drawing split the $363 million jackpot.

The lottery fever spread west and south during the 1980s. More than 17 states and the District of Columbia began operating lottery games. In the early 1990s, six more states joined the fray. These included North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and North Dakota. In the 2000s, the lottery industry in these states grew significantly. But the public’s attitudes toward lottery games were not completely shifted. In some places, people were even encouraged to gamble for charity. However, these days, most people don’t gamble because of the fear of fraud.