Includes video report
With Canadians in a frenzy to get a piece of the U.S. Powerball draw, consumer advocates say people should exercise caution before forking out cash for tickets.
No one matched the Powerball numbers this weekend, meaning the already-record setting prize is now at an estimated $1.3 billion US — almost $2 billion Canadian.
The next draw is Wednesday, and the odds to win are close to one in 300 million, according to the Multi-State Lottery Association.
It's expected that thousands of Canadians will cross the border to buy hard-copy tickets in advance of the draw, and many more will purchase tickets online using reselling agents.
While people in Canada can use third-party concierge sites to buy the tickets, what the resellers are doing is actually illegal in Washington State and federally.
For the most part, some states are turning a blind eye to the online sellers, but the Better Business Bureau warns that people should be careful using these agencies.
There are no current rules and regulations around these, says spokesperson Evan Kelly, adding that you have to trust the company is actually buying the ticket for you.
The BBB advises online buyers to take time and seek out legitimate ticket sale sites, and read user reviews before making a purchase. Look for https:// in the web address and a lock icon in the website URL.
"It's very easy to quickly set up a fake Powerball ticket website," Kelly warned.
He says to be wary of sites that ask for information beyond a home address and credit card information.
"I'd be concerned if they're asking for a Social Insurance Number. That's a red flag," said Kelly.
One online website that has proved to be reliable and successful in providing 'butler' services for lottery tickets is thelotter. In December, an Iraqi man made national news when he claimed a $6.4 million Oregon Lottery jackpot on a ticket purchased through thelotter website. Everything went perfectly for the winner — the ticket was purchased as promised, it was handed to him in person when he came to the US to claim the prize, and the prize was paid to him by the Oregon Lottery.
The safest way to buy tickets is actually driving to the U.S. and buying them in person, the agency says.
But even that could pose a problem for Canadians, thanks to a little-known border law that prohibits people from importing any lottery ticket into the U.S.
One man who tried crossing the border with nine B.C. lottery tickets on Christmas Eve had all of them seized by U.S. customs.
Washington lottery officials say the safest strategy for Canadian players could be to keep any tickets they purchase south of the border under the actual draw takes place.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection didn't return CTV News's calls on Monday.
Given the astronomical odds of winning the lottery, Kelly said people should think twice before "betting the farm" on tickets, no matter how they're purchased.
"Statistics say you have a 25 times better chance of becoming President of the United States," he said.
Canadians are eligible to win the grand prize, but will have to give up one-third to U.S. taxes before that cash is brought north of the border.
VIDEO: Watch the news report
Thanks to joshuacloak for the tip.
A couple of dollars and some exotic fantasies. After Uncle Sam takes his share, those Canadians will still be singing Yankee Doodle Dandy.
All these archaic stupid laws need to be wiped off the books. The border patrol should concentrate on terrorists and leave the darn lottery tickets alone.
The very last sentence of this article says, "Canadians are eligible to win the grand prize, but will have to give up one-third to U.S. taxes before that cash is brought north of the border."
Man that hurts! So first you pay Uncle Sam his 39.6% then you pay any state taxes if applicable. THEN you give one third of the original amount to Uncle Sam. So we thought that living in New York was bad (8.82% state tax) living in Canada is much more of a nightmare. The biggest nightmare is how do you take your tickets back across the border when trying to return to the U.S. to claim. It's illegal to transport those tickets back across the border. The only solution I can think of is to cross the border south, buy your tickets, check into a motel, check your tickets, if you win then you won't be sleeping anyways so get ready for a longer stay, if you lose then go to bed then wake up and drive yourself home after collecting your small prizes if any.
I believe they are referring to the 1/3 tax anyone would have to pay on the winnings. In other words, they can't get around the 1/3 tax rate because they don't live in the U.S.. They aren't being double taxed.
The mere thought of paying taxes on lottery winnings must be a big shock to the system for those Canadians.
For me not a problem, pay 35% tax but then convert the US into Canadian you get 40% more
Yep, everyone is required to pay the tax and it is about 1/3. I don't know the percentage that the states take off the total amount but on Saturday when the total was 1.2 billion, what you would have got would've been 800 million, THEN unkle Sam takes his 25% right off the top. That is NOT all the tax you'll pay. When you do your taxes for 2015, You'll finish paying what you owe plus the interest you've made for that year. I think for a guy like me, my total tax would be another 7% on top of the 25% them rat bas*ards will be getting from me in about two days. Oh, I forgot to say I bought the winning ticket yesterday, but that's ok if you all want keep pumping more money into it. The total come Wednesday night will be over 1.5 billion.
What I did yesterday was I bought $6 QP and then I doubled back those same numbers. So I spent 12 bucks for 6 buck$ worth of tickets. Not only do I have the winning numbers, I have 2 winning tickets...
Canadians will have to pay a 30% withholding tax up front. And I believe that's it for them since lottery winnings aren't taxed in Canada, just the income from it. Americans pay 25% withholding tax up front but the rest of the 39.5% tax will be due come tax time.
Yes. That's what this site says. Foreigners get 30% taken out as opposed to 25% for nationals. And they may not have to lay the extra 9.6% since they don't live here, but I'm not 100% sure about that. Hopefully Todd or any tax expert could shine some light on this issue.
I'm pretty sure they won't have to pay the extra 9.6% but would have to pay any State income tax depending on where they bought the ticket.
Canadians and foreigners should not be able to cash out US lottery winnings that are worth more than $600.
Only US residents and/or citizens.
Right. they should also be banned from paying in in the first place than.
BTW, you are from Canada, are you telling me you wouldn't cash winnings above 600$? L M A O!
After Canadians cash the jack pot and pay all the tax on it in the states, they can go back to Canada and file a form there that gets all the tax money back!