Lottery: Not Just An American Pastime

You know it’s summer in the U.S. when the schools are out, the temperatures are in the 80s and 90s for weeks on end, and the lead stories on local news broadcasts warn of either droughts or floods and nothing in between.

July puts us smack dab in the middle of peak travel season. Many Americans are traveling to distant locations seeking rejuvenation, peace, and a break from all the things that drive them crazy at home. (They’ll find none of those things while away, just new aggravations in an unfamiliar place, but let’s keep that our little secret.)   

Some of those travelers are regular lottery players, the ones who religiously play their numbers every week — and then tune at the same time every week for the drawing to see their hopes dashed.  

And some of those travelers will be the true die-hards, the ones who track and catalogue winning numbers in hopes of detecting patterns, follow lottery news, and know the names of all the biggest jackpot winners and the biggest payoffs. 

For those who want to keep their lottery-playing streak alive regardless of location or just want to experience crushed hopes on a different continent, we present this handy guide to lotteries in some of American travelers’ favorite vacation destinations. If this is you, read on and choose your vacation spot accordingly.

Lottery hot spots around the globe

Barcelona, Spain: Buckle up, Americano. This is going to hit you right in the capitalism. Spanish culture is so dedicated to the spirit of sharing and community that the annual Spanish Christmas lottery marks the beginning of the holiday season and is one of the most watched TV events in the country. Its slogan is, “El mayor premio es compartirlo,” which translates to “The greatest prize is sharing.” Tickets are €200 (about $234 these days) but are broken into tenths to encourage families and friends to go in on tickets together. It’s not unusual for hundreds of players to hit it big at the same time. Compare this to America, where sharing a prize with even one person can lead to a lawsuit.

United Kingdom: If you’re into simplicity when it comes to playing the lottery, this is the vacation destination for you. America has so many lotteries and different types of games that you need a flowchart to figure out what and how to play. The U.K.? One national lottery system. That’s it. And get this: When you hit it big, you get all the money, all at once, and the government does not tax your winnings. Why again did we fight the Revolutionary War?  

Cancun, Mexico: One of the most popular lottery games in Mexico is Lotería, which is more or less American bingo but played with a deck of cards. The best reason to play the lottery in Mexico? The federal government takes only 7% of your winnings! As a reminder, our IRS takes 25% before you’ve even told your boss to pound sand. Then there’s local taxes and maybe more later if you land in the highest tax bracket. 

Paris, France: We’ve all heard horror stories about lottery winners in the U.S. whose lives fall apart after they become millionaires,. Even if the risk is overblown, our friends in France aren’t taking any chances. There’s actually an arm of the national lottery system that’s dedicated to helping the newly rich transition from “pleasure to happiness” via workshops designed to “help express feelings about life after winning, share experiences, emotions, and questions” and “share quality time with other big jackpot winners in a relaxed environment.” Talk about a nanny state!

Rome, Italy: The legal age requirement to participate in the national lottery is 18, which is consistent with most countries and in U.S. states other than Louisiana, Nebraska, and Arizona, where it is higher. But in 2005, someone described by lottery officials as a “schoolboy” walked into a shop, bought an Italian national Superenalotto ticket on his lunch break, and won £27,6 million. Raffaele Umbriano, spokesperson for the lottery competition, said simply, “It seems that a child has won the lottery.” If you’re forced to take your kid on vacation and he’s the lucky type, Italy is your place.

Tokyo, Japan: If the spotless subways and streets, unfailingly polite people, or strikingly low crime rate don’t do it for you, roll the lottery dice in Tokyo for the zero percent rate at which the Japanese government taxes lottery winnings. (The only exception is when winners gift a relative or friend over 1.1 million yen in winnings over 12 months, in which case a gift tax is applied.) More incentive: You’re all but guaranteed the clerk who sells you the ticket won’t try to rip you off the way they do in the States.    

Toronto, Canada: One of Canada’s top tourist destinations features all the culture and excitement of an American metropolis with less crime and a federal government that, like others on this list, does not tax lottery winnings. In Canada, if the advertised jackpot is $70 million, the winner pretty much gets a check for $70 million. However, any interest or investment income earned on the winnings is taxable. Also, all Canadian lottery winners have up to a year to claim their jackpot, while in the U.S. the time frame varies from 90 days to a year.

San José, Costa Rica: We’ve been hearing for years that Costa Rica is the place to be for retired Americans, but it’s good for lottery-playing tourists, too. There’s a single national administrator, the Junta de Protección Social (JPS), as opposed to multiple commissions with various rules and oversight responsibilities, as in the U.S. Lottery winnings are not taxed (sensing a pattern here?), and a large percentage of lottery proceeds fund social welfare initiatives, hospitals, retirement homes, and public health initiatives.