Fascinating study reveals states where lottery players are most likely to win  Mega Millions or Powerball jackpots

Ardent lottery players may wish to consider a move to Delaware if they want to be in with a chance of hitting the jackpot.

A new study by Lottery Geeks found the First State has the highest proportion of lottery winners of any US state. 

The findings come as Wednesday's Powerball Jackpot drawing ballooned to $865 million while a $1.1. billion Mega Millions prize drawing will happen tonight - the eighth largest prize in US history.

Lottery Geeks analyzed the number of Powerball and Mega Millions winners in every state across the US and compared it with their overall population. The study did not assess whether those states happened to have a higher number of lottery players as that data is not available.

Delaware has been home to 10 Powerball winners out of a population of 989,948. It means the state counts 10.10 winners per every 1 million residents.

However it has had no Mega Millions winners - bringing its overall proportion of lottery winners down to 5.05 in every million. 

It was followed by New Hampshire which counts 11 Powerball winners against a population of 1,377,529 - or eight winners per million residents. In third place was Rhode Island which boasts a winning rate of 7.29 winners per million people. 

Indiana came in fourth and has the highest number of champions overall, counting 39. It means residents in the state - which has a population of 1,097,379 - have a 5.75 in one million chance of hitting the jackpot.

The top ten was rounded out by: Missouri, Nebraska, West Virginia, Kansas, Minnesota and Kentucky.

The study also looked at which states had been home to any Mega Millions winners. 

Its results showed Indiana and Missouri counted two each while Kansas, Minnesota, Rhode Island and New Hampshire had one. 

The data was sourced from lottery data while population numbers were tracked from the US Census.

Both the Mega Millions and Powerball games have both endured a long drought of jackpots - allowing the overall winnings to snowball.

Nobody has won the Mega Millions prize since December 8, 2023 - meaning there have been 30 consecutive drawings without a winner.

Meanwhile the Powerball prize has not been scooped up since New Year's Day despite 36 drawings taking place since.

For both games, the long drought of jackpots is no accident. The games have long odds specifically to create large jackpots that will generate lots of interest and sales.

For Mega Millions, the odds are 1 in 302.6 million, and for Powerball they are 1 in 292.2 million.

The $1.1 billion Mega Millions prize is for a sole winner who chooses to be paid through an annuity over 30 years. A winner who opts for a cash payout would get $525.8 million.

Those winnings would be subject to federal taxes, and some states also tax lottery winnings.

Mega Millions is played in 45 states plus Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Powerball also is played in those states as well as Washington, D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.