Cash4life – Online Lottery Review

New Jersey Cash4Life History Review

The Cash4Life lottery, with its format of gameplay, is quite similar to the other lotteries. However, there is one thing that this lotto differs from the rest – the payout options. Namely, if a winner gets the jackpot, they have the chance of getting $1,000 a day for life. This, of course, depends on the prize they win, but these types of daily payouts are available and are what makes this game different and very popular.

Instead of waiting for annuity payments like with the other lotteries, the players can choose to receive the cash daily. We will talk about this later on in detail.

The Cash4Life lottery comes from New Jersey and was officially established in the summer of 2014. Apart from the online play, the game in the United States is present in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Tennessee, New Jersey, and Maryland.

Cash4Life Lottery

This lottery doesn’t have a progressive jackpot. This means that if the jackpot isn’t’ won during a particular draw, it will not increase for the next, as is the case with almost all other lotteries. However, this doesn’t make this lotto less lucrative because it has a unique form of payment that draws many people to play. Namely, if you win the jackpot, you win $1,000 a day for life. Indeed that sounds rewarding enough to justify its popularity across the world.

How to Play Cash4Life?

For a winner to get the jackpot and get $1,000 a day for life, they will need to match five winning numbers from the pool of 1 to 60. Additionally, they have to choose a Cash Ball number in the range of 1 to 4. With all six numbers matched correctly, a winner is eligible for the top tier prize or the Cash4Life jackpot. The Cash Ball numbers also increase the chances of winning the second-tier prize.

Random Cash Ball Number Selection

Players have the chance to either select their own winning numbers randomly when buying a bet or opt for the quick pick random generating system that will select the numbers for them.

Buying the Cash4Life Bet

It costs $2 to buy a Cash4Life bet. When buying one, the player has to immediately decide how they would like to get paid in case they win the jackpot or the second-tier prize. As with most lottery games in the world, there are two payout options for Cash4Life lotto as well – the annuity payments or the lump sum payout. If the player doesn’t decide on the spot regarding the payment, the bet, even if drawn, is considered to be invalid, and it’s taken into account if the player won.

Cash4Life Draw Time

The Cash4Life draws take place on Mondays and Thursdays at 9 pm EST. All events are hosted at the New Jersey Lottery Headquarters studio, also known as Studio B or the Cash4Life Studio. Each drawing is televised live and hosted by Lauren Berman. The draws are also monitored by an independent public accounting company in order to ensure that everything is fair and transparent and that all numbers and bets are legit.

Bet Buying Limit

On the day of the drawing, all bet sales are stopped 15 minutes before the draw begins. If someone buys a Cash4Life bet after those 15 minutes, their bet is considered for the next draw instead.

Cash4Life Prize Distributions and Odds of Winning

As we said before, the top tier prize or the jackpot is $1,000 per day for the rest of the winner’s life. This amount can be awarded to the player in a lump sum or in annuity payments, whatever the player chooses when they buy their bet. The same goes for the second-tier prize. A form of payment has to be chosen upfront.

Changing the Method of Payment

If the player has selected a lump sum payout, they cannot change their mind later on and switch to annuity payments. However, if they had selected the annuity payout, they are able to change the method of payment and select the cash payment once they win the jackpot or the second-tier prize.

Jackpot Payout Period

Once the jackpot is won, the player gets the money based on their Measuring Life or for a period of twenty years. Whatever is longer is selected as the duration of paying out the prize.

The Odds of Winning

The overall odds of winning the Cash4Life jackpot are 1 in 21,846,048, and the player has to match all five numbers plus the Cash Ball. The jackpot is $7,000,000 and is paid daily in the amount of $1,000. The winner can choose a lump sum payment as well.

The second-tier prize is $1,000,000 and can also be paid by $1,000 but per week for life instead of daily. For this prize, the odds are 1 in 7,282,016, and the player has to match five numbers. The second tier prize can be paid in a lump sum too.

The third tier prize is $2,500, and the player has to match four numbers from the first pool along with the Cash Ball. The odds of winning this are 1 in 79,440.

The fourth tier prize is $500, and to win it, a player needs to have four numbers matched correctly. The chances of winning this prize are 1 in 26,480.

The fifth prize tier is $100, and it can be won by matching three numbers of the pool plus the Cash Ball. The odds of doing so are 1 in 1,471.

The rest of the prizes are significantly smaller, and they are won by matching the Cash Ball with three or fewer numbers, all the way down to matching one number plus the Cash Ball.

Multiple Winning Numbers

Because the odds are pretty favorable when compared to some of the other lottery games anywhere in the world, it can happen that there is more than one winner for any of the prize tiers. If there are between 2 and 14 winners, the weekly or daily amount of the first or second-tier prizes will be split among them and can still be paid out in the form of annuity payments, while the other tiers will be split and paid out in a lump sum.

If there are more than 15 winners for the second prize tier, then the amount will be split between them and paid out in the form of a lump sum.

The players have one year from the date of the draw to claim their prize.

Paying Taxes

Just like with the rest of the US lotteries, all players that win a Cash4Life prize that is higher than $5,000 will have to pay the special lottery tax plus the federal withholding tax. Namely, the state tax or the special lottery tax will depend on where they bought their bet from.

The federal withholding tax is 24%, and it applies to all winners. Players in New York State have to pay the 8.82% state tax, and players in New York City have to pay 3.876% municipal tax additionally. Just as a comparison, players in Florida only pay the federal withholding tax and no other taxes.

Note that there is also a gross income tax for those that won a prize above $10,000.

International Cash4Life Winners

While the above taxes only applied to US nationals, international players are subject to only one tax, and that is the federal tax rate. For non-residents, this is higher, 30%, but they are not paying any other taxes like state or municipal. However, it is always recommended to check with the laws and regulations of your country for lottery taxes because you might have to pay something additional there as well.

Can You Play Cash4Life Online?

While Cash4Life bets are sold in New Jersey in stores as well as in the other states, international players cannot buy physical bets. Luckily, they can play online with lottery agents buying their bets on their behalf.

There are a few big licensed websites online that provide Cash4Life bet purchasing services. Once you make a purchase online, a lottery agent buys the ticket for you with the numbers you have selected and scans it into your account. This way, you have an overview of the bet with the numbers and should check the results after each draw to see if you got any matching.

Is Cash4Life a Scam?

The Cash4Life lottery is a well-regulated and legitimate lotto game to play. It is organized and operated by the official New Jersey lottery. This organization runs multiple other lotteries like the Pick3, Pick4, New Jersey Powerball, the New Jersey Mega Millions, and many other instant games.

The draws are transparent too, and winning is easy, so we believe there is no reason not to trust this lottery game. However, always check the website you are buying your bets through to see if they are legitimate. There are many scamming websites that try to get the personal and bank details of their players, so make sure the website is legit and licensed.

Would We Recommend NJ Cash4Life?

All in all, NJ Cash4Life is an excellent lottery game with very awesome prizes and favorable odds of winning. The payment form of daily or per week for life $1,000 is very lucrative and popular and means you never have to worry about money again for the rest of your life. If you are feeling particularly lucky, you can even go for the quick pick. Give this game a go and try your luck!