The lottery is a world of luck and chances. Yet, behind the glittering allure of jackpots lies a world filled with its terminology, rules, and customs. Novices and experienced players struggle to remember the terminologies at some point. So, it is essential to have a handy reference with you always. Welcome to our Lottery Glossary – a comprehensive guide formulated by Jackpotresults to demystify the language of lotteries and shed light on the inner workings of this captivating game.
A
- Activated Pack: This refers to the status of a set of instant lottery tickets when either the first winning ticket in the pack has been confirmed as a winner or when the pack has been allocated to a retailer for a specific duration.
- Advance Bet: This feature enables players to purchase bets for upcoming draws that will occur later. The number of future draws and the time frame for this option can vary from one lottery to another.
- Advertised Jackpot: The advertised jackpot is the minimum prize amount a lottery estimates it will pay to the winner of a particular drawing over a specified annuity period.
- Add On Game: An optional supplementary wager available in certain lotteries. Add On Games often have distinct rules and prizes, separate from the Primary Game, but they use the same drawing results as the Primary Game. Also referred to as Secondary Game.
- Aged Pack: This term describes a pack of instant lottery tickets found at a retail location that either has not been made available for sale or has been in the retailer’s possession for a specified duration.
- Agent: Within the lottery domain, a lottery agent is an individual or entity duly authorised and licensed by the lottery organisation to distribute lottery products to the general public.
- Annuity: An annuity signifies periodic payments disbursed to a lottery prize recipient over an extended duration rather than receiving a one-time lump-sum sum.
B
- Back Pair: In some number games, you can pick two digits. To win with the “Back Pair,” you need the last two digits of the drawn numbers to match the ones you chose in the same order. Similar to “Front Pair” and “Split Pair.”
- Ball Set: This group of balls is carefully checked and used during lottery drawings. Each game has its specific set of balls; you can find more details about it in its official rules.
- Bearer Instrument: This is like a ticket in the lottery world. It’s the proof that you own something, in this case, the right to a prize. You need to sign it and hand it in to claim your prize. When you play online, you don’t risk losing it because it’s all digital.
- Beneficiary: This person gets the prize from a lottery, like the lucky winner!
- Bet: Think of a bet as the money you put down to play the lottery or make a wager.
- Betting Site: It’s an online website where you can take part in a lottery and get the same prize you would if you bought a physical ticket.
- Bonus Ball/Number: Sometimes, an extra number on a ball is drawn, either with the main numbers or separately. This extra number can bring you an extra prize.
- Book: A “book” is a collection of instant-win games. It can include lotteries and scratchcards, like a little bundle of chances to win.
- Box: When playing certain games, the order of the drawn numbers matters. With a “Box” play, you can win regardless of the order of those numbers.
- Bundle: A bundle is a special package that includes multiple entries. It might also include participation in a lottery syndicate, where people pool their money for more chances to win. Buying a bundle gets you a discount.
C
- Capped Jackpot: Some jackpots can only grow up to a certain amount. If no one wins, the prize doesn’t keep increasing, and it’s often shared with those who got some of the numbers right.
- Cash Option: This is the most common way to get your jackpot winnings. You receive all the money simultaneously, usually less than the total prize.
- Combination Bet: A Combination Bet is when you pick a set of numbers for a lottery game. With this bet, you cover all possible ways those numbers could appear in the winning results.
- Claim: You must ask for your prize when you have a winning ticket. That’s called making a claim.
- Claim Form: For bigger prizes, you must fill out a special form to claim your winnings.
- Claim Period: You can’t claim your prize whenever you want. There’s a specific time window, which varies from one lottery to another, usually between 30 days and a whole year.
- Claim Process: The steps to follow to get your prize. It’s often easier to claim lottery winnings online.
- Combo: When you make several Straight bets together or combine Straight and Box bets, depending on the game’s rules, it’s called a Combo.
- Commission: Retailers are rewarded for selling winning tickets; sometimes, agents take a percentage of the money you win. Most reputed websites don’t charge these fees.
- Consecutive Numbers: These numbers follow each other in order, like 5, 6, 7, and 8.
D
- Daily Game: This is a lottery game that occurs every day.
- Digit: A digit is simply a number from 0 to 9, like what you use in a lottery game.
- Discount: A discount is a special deal that lets you pay less for your tickets while still having the same chances of winning.
- Draw: The word “draw” refers to when the winning numbers for a lottery game are selected. It can be done either by drawing numbers manually or by using a machine, and it’s always done openly, often shown on TV or through a live broadcast.
- Draw Game: Any lottery that involves picking numbers through a draw is called a “draw game.”
- Draw Machine: The draw machine randomly selects the numbers during the lottery.
E
- Electronic Funds Transfer: This is a direct way of moving money from one place to another, often used for transferring smaller lottery prizes to your bank account.
- Estimated Jackpot: Predicting the precise size of a jackpot can be challenging. The ultimate amount is contingent upon the volume of tickets sold.
- Extra Game: An extra game is an additional game you can play alongside the regular lottery game. It usually costs more to play and might have its drawing or offer instant prizes.
F
- Fixed Jackpot: This is a jackpot in a lottery that doesn’t get bigger if no one wins it. It stays the same.
- Fixed Prize: In some lotteries, the prizes you can win have a set, unchanging value. They don’t vary based on ticket sales or other factors.
- Free Lottery: These are lotteries where you don’t have to pay to play. But be cautious. Many free lotteries can be scams, so it’s not often recommended to participate in them.
- Fixed Payouts: Some lotteries decide the number of prizes and the amounts they pay out in advance. It is typical for daily number games like Pick 3 and Pick 4.
- Frequency Analysis: It’s a tool that looks at past lottery results, checks how often specific numbers have appeared, and helps you make more informed choices about which numbers to play.
- Front Pair: You can choose two digits in some number games. To win with the “Front Pair,” the first two digits of the drawn numbers must match the ones you picked in the same order.
G
- Game Closed: This is the point in time when you can’t buy any more tickets for a specific lottery game. The lottery or the retailer determines it.
- Game End: This is the official date. The lottery decides when an instant lottery game is finished. After this date, you can’t claim any prizes from that game.
- Game Expiration: It is considered expired after a game has been closed and the deadline to claim prizes has passed. You can’t redeem tickets from an expired game.
- Gaming System: This refers to all the equipment and technology used to run a lottery, including the main computer, backup systems, lottery terminals, and the communication network. It’s sometimes called the central computer.
- Gray Machines: These illegal gaming devices, such as unauthorised video lottery terminals, are not allowed by the jurisdiction where they are operated.
H
- High Number: These are the numbers on the upper end of the range for a particular game. For instance, in Mega Millions, where the range is 1 to 70, numbers from 35 to 70 are considered high.
- Hit: When a number you’ve chosen matches one of the numbers drawn in the lottery, it’s called a “hit.”
- Hopper: In the past, a hopper was a cylinder-shaped machine used to draw numbers for lotteries.
- Hot Number: Unlike a “cold number,” a hot number has been frequently drawn in recent lottery drawings. Lottery software and prediction tools use statistics to identify hot numbers.
I
- International Lottery: These are lotteries held in other countries that you can participate in through recommended lottery websites.
J
- Jackpot: The jackpot is the biggest prize in a lottery game.
- Jackpot Cap: Some jackpots have a maximum limit. If they reach that limit and nobody wins, the jackpot doesn’t increase further.
- Jackpot Fatigue: When lottery sales drop, it might suggest that players are waiting for the jackpot to roll over and grow bigger.
K
- Keeper: This is the special number you always include in your lottery tickets.
- Keep-Out: These are numbers you don’t want on your ticket, often based on lottery numerology beliefs.
L
- Last Drawn: It refers to the most recent drawing selected by a particular number.
- Lottery: A game of chance based on luck, where you pick numbers and hope they match the numbers drawn.
- Lottery Betting: Instead of buying real tickets, you place bets on the numbers you think will be drawn.
- Lottery Commission: A government authority that oversees and regulates lotteries within a specific jurisdiction.
- Lottery Prediction: The attempt to predict lottery results using tools, strategies, or other methods.
- Lottery Results: The numbers drawn in a lottery drawing.
- Lottery Retailer: An authorised seller of lottery tickets in a local area.
- Lottery Scam: A fraudulent scheme pretending to be a lottery to steal personal information or money.
- Lottery Tax: Taxes withheld by the lottery organisation or your government on your lottery winnings.
- Lump-Sum Payment: Receiving the entire jackpot in a single payment instead of in instalments.
M
- Match: When the numbers on your ticket are the same as those in the lottery.
- Maximum Liability: The maximum amount a lottery will pay for a prize tier, split among the winners if necessary.
- Multi-Draw: A play option that buys tickets for future drawings.
- Multi-state/Multi-jurisdiction: Games offered in more than one state or country, like Euromillions across Europe.
- Multiplier: A feature that increases the total prize; for example, Powerball’s “Power Play.”
N
- National Lottery: The official lottery of a country.
- Number: The value displayed on a drawn ball in the lottery.
- Number Checker: A tool to help you check if your numbers match the drawn ones.
- Number Generator: A tool that generates random numbers for lottery play.
- Number Range/Number Pool: The range of numbers you can choose from for your ticket.
- Numbers Game: Games typically involve digits from 0 to 9, with totals ranging from 3 to 6 numbers.
- Number Trend: Patterns noticed when analysing past drawing statistics.
- Numerology: The study of numbers and their influence on various aspects, including luck in lottery games.
O
- Odds: The likelihood of winning a prize, often expressed as chances or probability.
- Offline Lottery: Lotteries played without an internet connection, typically using physical paper tickets.
- Online Agent: A website where you can purchase lottery tickets online.
- Online Syndicate: An online group of players who pool their money to buy lottery tickets together.
- Overdue Number: Numbers that haven’t been drawn in a while beyond what’s considered “cold numbers.”
P
- Pair: A bet where you win a prize if you match a specific pair of numbers.
- Pari-mutuel: Prizes based on ticket sales, not fixed amounts, with winners sharing a portion of the total sales allocated to their tier.
- Payout: The prize payment made to a winner by a retailer, operator, or the lottery organisation.
- Pick Game: A game where you choose numbers, usually between 0 and 9, and decide how you want to play them.
- Play Slip: A physical or digital card where you select your numbers for lottery play.
- Play Type: How you choose to play your selected numbers on a play slip.
- Prize Percentage: The portion of total prize money allocated to a specific prize tier.
- Prize Pool: The total amount of money available for prizes in a lottery game.
- Prize Tier: One of the levels of prizes in a lottery game, with the jackpot being the top tier.
- Progressive Jackpot: A jackpot growing until it’s won or reaches a maximum limit.
Q
- Quick Pick: Also known as “Easy Pick,” it’s when the lottery system selects numbers for you.
R
- Raffle: A game where you can win a prize based on participation rather than drawn numbers.
- Result History: A summary of past lottery drawings that helps you check tickets and can guide your future number choices based on your lottery strategy.
- Rollover: When no one wins a progressive jackpot, the prize money goes to the next drawing. It keeps growing, often based on ticket sales or a predetermined ratio.
S
- Scratchcard: It’s an instant game where you scratch off areas to reveal symbols. If you match certain symbols, you win prizes. You can also find these games online.
- Skip: When a number hasn’t appeared in recent drawings, it’s called a “skip.” It’s determined by randomness.
- Starting Jackpot: This is the initial value of a jackpot before it starts growing through rollovers if no one wins it.
- Straight: In this play type, you must match the digits and their order exactly as drawn.
- Subscription: A recurring payment automatically enters you into all drawings of a specific lottery game.
- Sweepstakes: This game draws participants to win prizes, but it doesn’t involve selecting numbers like in regular lotteries.
- Syndicate: A group of players who pool their money to buy lottery tickets together. It can increase the number of entries at a lower cost.
T
- Terminal: It’s the electronic equipment used to enter and print lottery tickets.
- Ticket: Your entry into a lottery game. It can be physical or digital, but you need it to claim any prize.
- Total Sum: The sum of the numbers you chose for your lottery entry. It can be used in additional games or for planning strategies.
- Triple: A three-digit number comprising three consecutive digits, such as 222.
U
- Unclaimed Prize: When the time to claim a prize has passed, it becomes unclaimed, and the winner loses the right to it.
V
- Validation: Confirming a ticket is a winner, the holder can claim the prize. For larger prizes, validation often occurs at the lottery organisation’s headquarters.
- Vendor: The distributor of lottery tickets, often referred to as a “Retailer.”
W
- Wager: This is similar to a bet. It’s the amount you pay to predict the lottery drawing results. The game usually sets the total amount you can wager.
- Winner: The person with the winning ticket matches the drawn numbers.
- Withholding: It involves deducting a portion of the prize to cover taxes. The winner receives the remaining prize after this withholding.
Conclusion
The lottery glossary is necessary for novices and experienced players. To avoid confusion, you must know several intricate terms used in lotteries. So, read this easily understandable lottery glossary curated by JackpotResults and stay unbeatable in the world of lotteries. Refer to JackpotResults for the best online lottery platforms and other details about them.
