Lottery tickets can be confusing to you when you are a beginner. This means that there is so much involved with lottery tickets other than buying. For some people, even buying can be a problem. For others, you just hear so much about lottery tickets but do not know how they work and how to use them. And you definitely want to be one lucky winner of a big prize in the lottery draw.
A lottery is a gambling game that involves awarding prizes out of random selecting of numbers. The prizes are awarded when the draw for the entire lottery is done. Lottery tickets, on the other hand, are tickets that you buy with your selected numbers to help you win during the draw. All you need to do is buy your ticket with selected numbers of your choice.
But the biggest question is, what do you do with lottery tickets?
You may have friends who have advised you to buy your first ever lottery tickets. Or you have decided on your own you want to participate in a lottery and you end up buying lottery tickets. What do you do with the ticket?
Keep Your Ticket Safe
This is something very important. Once you have bought your ticket with the numbers you have selected you to have to keep it safe for as long as possible. Your lottery ticket acts as proof that indeed you predicted those numbers when the official draw is done. Once the draw is done, and you win, you will be required to submit your ticket as proof that you really played the game.
There have been very many cases where people end up losing their tickets. Many of them start complaining and claiming to have won. But the problem there is no way the company can really verify that you won.
Do not damage it
One of the worst things to do with the ticket once you have bought it is not just losing it. When you damage the ticket it means that you are equally in the same trouble. You have to make sure that your ticket remains in its right original condition until the draw is done. This is to make sure that it is presenting the clearest and accurate information to the company.
You have to wait
Once you buy your ticket with all your numbers the next thing is to wait for the draw. You have to wait until the next official draw is done by the lottery company. It is also important to note that different companies have different times and dates for their next official draw. When you are waiting it is also important to know when the next draw will be done.
There are two main ways of knowing this. One of them is by visiting retailer stores. Clerks selling tickets will always have information on when the next lottery draw will be taking place. You can also visit the company website to find out about the next official draw since many companies display this information.
You will find that many players are very keen on the dates of the official draw. Many will regularly check the company website and get hooked especially when the final draw is being done. This is important as you need to know whether you have won or not. In some cases, you may find companies that are doing their draw through television.
Here are some examples of lottery official draws that you will find on public television.
Powerball always have their draw on every Saturday and Wednesday at 7.59 pm Pacific Time. It is mostly like on public television. For this draw, the tickets counting go up to 7 pm of that day. Once you buy a ticket past 7 pm of the draw day then you will have to wait until the next draw.
It is not a must to be on the television to know about the results of the lottery. You can also visit the company’s website to find the results.
Knowing a winning ticket
Waiting is one thing, but the wait comes to an end and the draw is done. But you have to be keen to know whether you have won or not. Once the draw is done the winning numbers are provided. All you have to do is confirm your numbers match the winning numbers by the company to know whether you have won on your ticket or not.
What to do with a winning ticket?
Once you have checked your ticket numbers with those offered by the company during the draw the next step is claiming your prize. It is important to make sure that you confirm that you have really won the lottery.
Once you have won the lottery, visit the nearest retail store to claim your winnings. However, this is not the case for all the prizes. Different companies have rules governing how you can claim your prize based on the number of winnings.
Companies give players between 60days and 1yr to claim their winnings. This means that you have enough time depending on the amount you have won to make the claim. However, it is important to note there are winnings that you have to collect directly from the company’s headquarters. This is mostly for people who win the jackpot prizes.
One thing to note is that you have to make sure that your ticket does not expire before you can claim your prize.
