Powerball $100m draw: What really happens when you score the Division One jackpot
If you are lucky enough to win Powerball, there are actually a few hoops you'll need to jump through before you start spending your cash.
Thousands of tickets are being sold "every single minute" ahead of tonight's incredible Powerball $100m draw, with just hours until showtime. Officials say they expect a massive "rush" from now until the 8.30pm AEST deadline, with up to half of Australian adults expected to hold a ticket.
The Lott on Thursday said "this is the time" when "office chatter turns into work syndicates, and everyone becomes a dreamer" — plotting how they'd spend their winnings should they pocket the jaw-dropping $100 million jackpot. The last time Australia saw a prize of this size was in May.
Back then, sales peaked at 6.44pm on the day of the draw with a mind-blowing 8,000 tickets sold in a single minute. It's expected similar figures will emerge tonight, with people all over the country flocking to outlets to get involved.
Feeling lucky? Here's what happens right after you win
While you're far more likely to die from being struck by an asteroid (in fact even on the way to buy a ticket), many Australians are overlooking the massive odds against them and taking their chance to scoop the enormous jackpot.
But, if you are lucky enough to win Powerball, there are actually a few hoops you'll need to jump through before you start spending your cash. The first one being patience.
Powerball $100m jackpot: Recurring theme among previous winners revealed
Lifelong friends win $1.25 million Lotto jackpot after two decades of playing
Speaking to Yahoo News, a spokeswoman for the Lott said that those who bag the top prize will need to wait two weeks before they're distributed their winnings — a safeguard put in place to ensure people don't "rush their decisions".
"Division one top prize and first prize lottery winners receive their prize two weeks after the initial draw date," the spokeswoman earlier told Yahoo News Australia.
She explained a two-week provisional period is created to ensure winners don’t rush through their decisions and have enough time to complete their prize claim process. If a player wins a major prize on a ticket purchased in-store, they’ll have to either visit a prize payments office or mail the prize claim in.
If the player is registered to an online account or players card, the spokeswoman continued, and they win a major lottery prize, the lucky recipient will receive "a phone call from our dream delivery team" and written correspondence to confirm the win.
When you'll get a call to advise of your big win
Winning Aussies will also be given information to help them contact a financial planner to receive "professional advice from relevant stakeholders" in an attempt to ensure they don't blow the money.
"We always encourage our division one winners to reach out to professional associations such as the Financial Advice Association (FAAA) for financial advice," the spokeswoman said. "All major lottery winners receive a booklet within their congratulatory kit with information to point them in the right direction."
Meanwhile, if you think you've won big tonight you'll find out pretty soon, with registered winners earning over $60 million guaranteed a call within 20 to 30 minutes. Any less than that however, and you'll have to wait.
"Other winners would expect to receive a winning phone call from us in the morning the next business day," she said. In the worst case scenario, that you win but lose your ticket, things will be slightly harder.
"There is a lost and found ticket process where basically they need to provide significant details about the ticket – where they bought it, how they bought it, how they paid for it – only details a ticket holder would know," The Lott's Matt Hart told Yahoo. "Then we will have to launch an investigation and that could take weeks to confirm they really are the ticket holder. It’s best just to hold on to your ticket."
Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
