Powerball $100million: Why winners of huge lottery prizes have to wait two weeks for their money

Release time：2024-05-17 00:56:20 Source：Starry Scope news portal

Aussies buying a ticket in Thursday's $100million Powerball jackpot have been urged to get financial advice if they end up winning the massive prize. 

The eye-watering figure is expected to lure in around half of all Australian adults chasing the rarely seen nine-figure prize, after Powerball jackpotted four times. 

The winner will have to wait two weeks before collecting the windfall - for one very good reason.

Aussies have been urged to seek advice from financial planners if they manage to win the massive $100million Powerball jackpot

The delay is imposed to ensure winners have time to consider how to use the money rather than splurge on everything.

They are advised to consult a financial planner about how to manage the funds in the best way and avoid the fate of some lottery winners who burn through all the money and end up with little to show for it. 

'We strongly suggest seeking professional financial advice for major lottery wins to ensure you receive the maximum benefit from your good fortune,' The Lott advises. 

Players who take out division one prizes or Lucky Lotteries Jackpot will then have the prize money deposited into their online lottery account after two weeks. 

With another big jackpot on offer, some previous winners shared their experiences and advice. 

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How an elderly man's $1million lotto win tragically tore his family apart: 'Wish he'd never won it'

'Won the money when I was [in my] late 30s. Had a person I hadn't seen since the last day of high school (like 20 f****en years ago) messaging me telling me she was about to lose the house and [a] hundred acre property she inherited because she couldn't work,' another wrote. 

One winner urged others who strike it lucky to stay on top of how much they spend and what on. 

'We won the lotto. We are a smart and well-educated couple and we determined it wouldn't change us. It was an Oz Lotto between $1-10million,' they said. 

'I was able to afford nice clothes, nice outfits. Louis Vuitton hand bags, Burberry coats, new car. We could eat at nice restaurants. 

'We strongly suggest seeking professional financial advice for major lottery wins to ensure you receive the maximum benefit from your good fortune,' The Lott advises (stock image)

'But then that became our new normal. Until we couldn't afford our new normal anymore. It hit us one day how much of our savings we'd gone through.'

Another Aussie recalled how a friend who won $1million quickly consulted a financial adviser 'when people started lining up at her door'. 

In January 2023 an American man who won $1.35billion was accused in a lawsuit of lying about sharing his winnings with his family after he won a massive lottery prize.  

The bombshell accusation came after he sued his ex-partner for breaking a non-disclosure agreement by telling his family about his big win. 

Research has found around 70 per cent of lottery winners end up broke, with a third declaring bankruptcy.

Some reddit threads have described how lottery wins went horribly wrong.

'My uncle won in 2014, and he left the country because my aunt started telling everyone. It ruined my family,' one commenter said.

Daily Mail Australia covered the story of William Bampton, who won $986,212.30 on the Tattslotto Golden Casket in 2018.

His son Larry revealed the terrible toll the win took on his family after the 92-year-old man shared the winnings with his son but left his daughter out. 

The elderly man put a $50,000 deposit on a new home for his son less than two weeks after snaring the massive prize. 

However he refused to share the money with his daughter because he did not want her husband to get a share of the winnings. Larry revealed their father no longer speaks with him or his sister. 

Half of all Australian adults (pictured) are expected to take part in the $100million Powerball draw

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