It’s been a sort of tradition on American televisions for the last 30 years or so at least. The family gathers around the TV in the living room and anxiously awaits as the ping-pong lottery balls bounce around until they eventually pop up the tube and are called out by the local hostess. Dad yells about how he’s going to quit his job if he wins, even though 48% of winners remain at their current place of employment anyway.
More often than not the dreams of wealth and annual lottery payments fade with each passing number missed. Alas, that experience will no longer be available to residents of Illinois as the state is moving to an all-digital format this week, according to local fox affiliate fox32chicago.com.
“The new digital draw system will allow us to open an exciting new chapter in Illinois Lottery history, on behalf of our players,” said B.R. Lane, acting director of the Illinois Lottery. He went on to say that it was a move that showed the states “commitment to the latest technology” along with “increased operating costs, aging drawing equipment, and growth in the number of games.”
The daily drawings will no longer be posted on televisions and hopeful individuals trying for lottery payments will have to go online to illinoislottery.com to check results. WGN-TV was the affiliate that has broadcast lottery annuity drawings for the last 25 years in the state.
Instead of ping-pong balls the new system will utilize a random number generator (RNG) to pick the winners. Right ow about 50% of all state lotto’s use a digital platform. The system will be under 24-hour surveillance and not connected to the internet in any way to avoid hacker attempts.
Multi-state lotteries like the Mega Millions, which is paid out in 29 annual lottery payments that increase by 5% after the first immediate check, will still be featured on TV.
It’s important to come up with a solid plan if you do win the lottery to avoid the potential pitfalls and wind up broke. Remember, you never win as much as you first think. The government will take about 25% of lump sum lottery payouts off the top in taxes. It won’t make much difference if you take the lump sum versus annuity, the government will take their share one way or another.