MegaMillions and Powerball ticket sales suspended in Illinois

Related Articles

• Missing ingredient helped a man to win $5 million 0 28.Aug
• Monday’s Japan Lotto 6 Jackpot sits at ¥ 200,000,000 0 17.Sep
• ‘Cruise to Alaska,’ on the bucket list for this $1 m winner 0 02.Sep

According to a press release, the Illinois Lottery has halted all in-state sales of Mega Millions and Powerball tickets since three days. The press release described this suspension as an unprecedented step. And, the good thing is that there hasn’t been any issue regarding this. No one is asking out why you cannot buy MegaMillions or Powerball tickets in Illinois.

Customers know that Powerball and MegaMillions tickets are not allowed to sell, said Sandy Grotti, a worker at the Beck’s gas station in La Salle.

The Illinois General Assembly has yet not approved lottery funding for the next fiscal year. As Illinois Lottery cannot pay prizes above $25,000, this has become the main reason behind this significant move. A notice was already released to include lottery funding for the next fiscal year. But, the Illinois General Assembly didn’t approve it yet. “The Illinois Lottery must have an appropriation from the legislature to fund the prize payments which has yet not happened,” Illinois Lottery posted on their website.

However, Illinois can still sell in-state tickets for other games such as Lotto, Lucky Day Lotto, Pick 3 and Pick 4 games. This suspension of sales in Powerball and MegaMillions ticket hasn’t factored much on other lottery sales. “Our Lottery sales are still good,” said Jackie Curran, La Salle Casey’s General Store Manager. “People just buy more regular Lotto tickets and scratch-off tickets.”

According to Illinois website post, players will be paid in full if they win. But, there is no specified time from when they will get those winnings. Now, everything depends on The Illinois General Assembly. You can win above $25,000 and receive your prize only when Illinois General Assembly passes a budget. If you still wish to play Powerball and MegaMillions game, then you can play it out-of–state. But, you will need to claim the winning prize in the state that sold the winning ticket.