Millions of Americans take part in bi-weekly Powerball drawings across the country. The Powerball lottery is administered by the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL), which is a non-profit, government-benefit organization owned and operated by its 31 member lotteries. All profits made through the lottery stay in the individual states and are used to support causes approved by the state legislatures. Twenty-nine of the fifty United States take part in the Powerball lottery. The Powerball participating states are:

Arizona Connecticut Colorado Delaware Idaho Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Minnesota Missouri Montana Nebraska New Hampshire New Mexico North Carolina North Dakota Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Vermont West Virginia Wisconsin

Powerball is also available in Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Powerball winners who are residents of Delaware, North Dakota, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, or Tennessee are exempt from paying state income taxes on their winnings, and since South Dakota has no state income tax its residents also forgo paying state taxes on their winnings. The state of Georgia left Powerball in 1996 in order to participate in Mega Millions, another multi-state lottery system.

The state of Pennsylvania reports the breakdown of each dollar spent on a Powerball ticket. Fifty-eight cents of each dollar is used to pay Powerball prizes. Thirty-one cents of each dollar goes directly to fund state programs. Nine cents are vendor and retailer commissions, and the remaining two cents are used for operating expenses.

You do not need to be a resident of one of the participating states or provinces in order to take part in a Powerball lottery. Powerball tickets can only legally be bought through a state lottery computer system in Powerball participating states. A state can sell Powerball lottery tickets via the Internet only to people within its state. Lottery tickets cannot be bought or sold through the mail or over the Internet across state lines or the U.S. national border. Similarly, state and federal aws prohibit the purchase of another states’ lottery tickets across state lines. You can, however, travel into another state, purchase a lottery ticket, and then bring it back into your state.

State legislatures use lottery earnings for a variety of purposes. The state of Arizona reports that a grand total of $1,957,835,100 has made its way back into state coffers from lottery proceeds. These proceeds are used throughout communities to fund mass transit, economic development programs, and county assistance funds, among other uses. The state of Maine has collected $50,879,647 in 2006 from Powerball participation. Powerball earnings in the state go to fund over 250 programs. The state of Pennsylvania’s Powerball lottery system was created and continues to generate funds for programs for its older residents. Since its inception in 1972, the state’s lottery program has contributed more than $16.5 billion to these funds.

Powerball is a lotto game that rewards both jackpot and cash prizes. Every Wednesday and Saturday, the MUSL draws five white balls out of a barrel of 55 white balls and one red ball out of a barrel of 42 red balls. By matching chosen numbers, winners have nine opportunities to win. The jackpot is won by matching all five of the white balls and the red Powerball. A Powerball ticket costs players $1 a piece. Players can also pay an extra $1 for the PowerPlay, in which any prize winnings are multiplied by up to five times the normal prize (not including the jackpot amount). The multiplier is chosen randomly at the same time the Powerball numbers are drawn.