U.S Lotteries Cleared to Offer Super Jackpots

In a landmark deal for U.S lotteries, the Mega Millions consortium and the Multi-State Lottery Association which is responsible for Powerball have reached an agreement in principle to cross-sell the popular jackpot games to all U.S lottery jurisdictions, allowing state lotteries to offer customers both of the hugely popular Mega Millions and Powerball games via their respective retailers.

The cross-selling could begin as early as 2010, however the agreement is so far only in principle with a number of details needed to be worked out to ensure the final agreement works for both Powerball and Mega Millions.

Mega Millions is currently played in 12 states with a target population of 160 million, while Powerball is currently available in 33 jurisdictions (31 states plus the District of Columbia and Virgin Islands) with a target population of 125 million.

As a result of this agreement, states that currently sell Powerball and other lottery products will have the opportunity to begin offering Mega Millions tickets to their players via authorised lottery retailers. In return, Mega Millions states will also be able to offer the Powerball game to complement their own existing game mix.

U.S states in search of additional revenues to combat budget deficits have reacted favourably to the news. New Jersey State Treasurer R. David Rousseau said he was pleased that a majority vote among Mega Millions and Powerball states had been reached.

"The addition of Powerball to the roster of games currently offered by the New Jersey Lottery marks a milestone not just within our State, but within the Lottery industry as a whole, and it's a milestone Lottery players in New Jersey have looked forward to for some time," said Rousseau.

Until now, U.S state lotteries have been prohibited from offering both Mega Millions and Powerball games, the two most popular jackpot games in the United States.