Last-minute Mega Millions wannabe billionaires are buying tickets online through the lottery ticket app Jackpocket.
Here’s the scenario: It’s right before the Mega Millions jackpot drawing for $1.1 billion. The wannabe lottery winner clicks through to the Mega Millions site, selects the “where to play” tab, and picks her part of the US map.
Now on her state lottery site, she tries to buy a ticket online for the first time.
In the case of a Bonus.com journalist living in Philadelphia, she goes through the whole process of buying a ticket online through the Pennsylvania Lottery.
She even selects the Megaplier.
She reaches the payment portion and boom, she’s denied.
The “wah, wah, wah, waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah” sound plays as she reads this today:
Thank you for your patience as our withdrawal process will take 3-5 days to complete, plus up to an additional 5 business days from your payment provider may be required to complete the process.
That won’t work for a last-minute purchase.
Enter Jackpocket.
A spokeswoman for the lottery tells Bonus.com today:
As long as the app is available in their state, all they need to do is download the app and buy a ticket. It’s simple, secure, and quick.
So that’s exactly what residents of Arkansas, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Ohio, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Minnesota, Montana, Oregon, and Texas are doing.
Jackpocket Flooded With Mega Millions Hopefuls
Jackpocket Founder and CEO Pete Sullivan tells that Bonus.com reporter today:
Jackpocket has processed more Mega Millions tickets and signed up more new players in the last 7 days than in all of Q2.
He adds that as of Wednesday, Jackpocket’s become the No. 1 app in the entertainment category on the App Store. It, therefore, outranks Netflix.
Sullivan continues:
During this latest Mega Millions run, which started on April 19, Jackpocket accounted for more than 7% of all Mega Millions tickets sold.
[The figure is] even higher in the following states:
10% – Arkansas
9% – New York
8.6% – Colorado
8.5% – New Jersey
8.27% – Washington, DC
7.9% – Texas
Third $1 Billion or Higher Jackpot
Tomorrow’s Mega Millions jackpot should maybe be renamed “Mega Billions.” As Americans clamor to buy tickets for the $1.1 billion drawing at the last minute, they may know that this is the third jackpot to reach or exceed the $1 billion threshold.
The $1.5 billion jackpot awarded in October 2018 to a South Carolinian holds the record, but a winner from Michigan got a more than $1 billion prize in January 2021.
Google Trends shows “mega millions” searches are eight times higher this week than they were at the same time last month.
However, four times that amount of searches happened in October 2018.
As interest in the jackpot grows and ticket sales climb, so does the jackpot. On Monday, it was a mere $810 million.
Magic Numbers
Conversations abound this week about the lottery:
- Will you quit your job if you win?
- Do you have lucky numbers?
- Are you picking sentimental, magic, or auto-generated numbers?
The Bonus.com Mega Millions Generator page partly answers that last question. Thousands of people a day are clicking on it this week.
Those visitors are among millions looking for a last-minute solution like Jackpocket.
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