Australians allowed to buy tickets in bln-dollar U.S. lottery

For the first time ever, Australians will have a chance at winning the record Powerball lottery in the United States which this week is worth 1.3 billion U.S. dollars.

Tickets can be bought for as little as 14 U.S. dollars.

It was announced on Wednesday that global lottery company, Lottoland, had been awarded a five-year online sports betting licence by the Northern Territory Racing Commission which meant Australians were currently able to buy a ticket into the most lucrative lottery jackpot in the world.

The licencing change means Australians are among the few nationalities who can buy tickets in the Powerball lottery outside of the U.S.

The astonishing amount of prizemoney on offer will land the winner on Forbes magazine's famous rich list, alongside the likes of Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, who invented Facebook.

The U.S. Powerball draw will take place in Australia on Thursday.

To win, a player must select five white balls numbered 1 to 69, plus a red Powerball numbered between 1 and 26, with the odds of winning the jackpot being one in 292 million.

According to the New York Times, the odds of being struck by lightning this year are about one in 1.19 million, making it about 246 times as likely as winning the Powerball jackpot.

"It's quite incredible now to think Australian citizens through Lottoland can join in on the race to win a mega international lottery without having to leave the comfort of their own lounge room or office," Lottoland spokesman, Luke Brill, said in The Age newspaper on Wednesday.

Before the licencing changes, players were required to travel to the country of the lottery's origin to purchase a ticket. If an Australian does secure the winning ticket this week, he or she will be subject to the same taxes as an American citizen. Endit