It’s every lottery player’s dream to win the jackpot and get that money all for themselves. But sometimes, more than one person wins the jackpot, and that means you will have to split the winnings with the other winners and receive less money than you would have had you won the jackpot on your own.
There are two ways in which players might have to split lottery winnings: more than one player on one single ticket and multiple winning tickets.
More Than One Player for a Purchased Ticket
When more than one player is involved with a winning ticket, it usually means that more than one person is involved in the purchase and possession of the winning ticket. This involves family, friends, co-workers, and groups who have pooled together their money and, usually, have each contributed the same amount of the fund that gets put toward the purchase of tickets.
In such a case as this, depending on the jurisdiction, each person involved in the purchase of the ticket is entitled to an equal split of the jackpot amount. So, if the jackpot is $10 million and 10 people are involved in the ticket purchase, then each person will get $1 million. If 20 people are involved in the ticket purchase, each would receive $500,000, and so on.
Buying tickets in a group means that more lottery tickets can be purchased, while remaining cost-effective for all involved, and the reason for doing this stems from the belief that the more lottery tickets a group possesses, the more likely winning the jackpot will be.
There have been many instances of groups and lottery pools winning a lottery’s jackpot. And, although the shared winnings are less than a single winner’s amount, the money won by each person in the group is still significant and can be put toward reducing personal debt, paying off a mortgage, buying a new car, etc.
More Than One Winning Ticket for the Numbers Drawn
In this case, more than one ticket has the winning number combination and, regardless of whether each winning ticket was purchased by a single player or by a group, each ticket wins an equal portion of the jackpot. So, if three tickets win $9 million, then each ticket holder wins $3 million.
If two of the tickets are held by single purchasers and one ticket is held by a group of 10 players, then the two single-purchase tickets win $3 million each, whereas those in the group of 10 will divide their $3-million prize between them.
Again, splitting the jackpot may not be the ideal for certain players, but there is always the chance of more than one ticket having the same numbers picked, either done by a player or done via computer Quick Pick. And this likelihood typically grows with the jackpot amount, as more people take part but the odds stay the same.
Regardless of the way the winnings are split, even if you don’t win the jackpot all on your own, winning a portion of it usually increases your bank account by at least a few hundred thousand dollars, and that's nothing to sneeze at. That money is still jackpot money you’ve, and it’s still a significant amount that can, if properly used and managed, improve your life somewhat.