250,000 Aussies chase US Powerball pot

More than 250,000 Aussies placed half a million bets on the giant $US1.6 billion Powerball draw in the nation's first taste of offshore lottery gambling.

More than a quarter of a million Australians tried their luck in this week's record-breaking $US1.6 billion United States Powerball draw, and all of them are back at work.

The huge US jackpot - which was shared by three US winners - caused a gambling frenzy on Thursday in Australia, with more than 250,000 people registering on, and crashing, the website that allowed them to buy tickets in the draw.

It was the first time Australian players have been able to take part in an offshore lottery after online lottery business Lottoland was granted an Australian licence just before Christmas.

Lottoland said none of its players won the jackpot but 14,000 Australians won prizes - worth a total of $352,436.

"Our new Australian customers placed over half a million bets on Powerball US," company spokesman Luke Brill said.

Lottoland apologised to customers who had problems after the huge demand caused the Australian website to crash and run slowly in the lead-up to the draw.

A Lottoland customer in Europe won $A2.9 million, the company said.

Lottoland did not sell tickets in the actual draw but uses insurance to cover possible payouts to customers who chose winning number combinations.

The three winning tickets in the draw, made on Wednesday night in the US, were sold in California, Florida and Tennessee, while lottery authorities said more winners may yet emerge.


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Source: AAP


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