USA Mega unveils new and improved website

Dec 18, 2020, 8:06 am (29 comments)

Mega Millions / Powerball

By Kate Northrop

MARTINSVILLE, N.J. — Speednet Group, a leading lottery technology company, announced today that it has re-launched the USA Mega website with an updated, modern look that works equally well on mobile devices, computers, and tablets.

USA Mega offers players and industry professionals a myriad of tools and resources for playing Powerball and Mega Millions, including the latest lottery results, jackpot analysis, news updates, statistics, official drawing videos, and the entire historical record of both games. Now, players can expect a smoother, more efficient experience while browsing the site on a mobile device in addition to using it on a desktop computer or tablet.

"The most compelling aspect of the new USA Mega [website] is its ability to reconfigure itself when viewed on a phone versus viewing on a computer," USA Mega creator Todd Northrop said. "Design goals were a simpler, more modern design that retains familiarity with the old site."

USA Mega was originally launched as BigGameLottery.com in May 2000 in response to lack of information available over the Internet on The Big Game, the multi-state lottery game that eventually became the Mega Millions game we know today. Four years after its launch, the website added Powerball to its repertoire, which in turn led to the rebranding of the site to USAMega.com.

The website remained virtually untouched since 2004. The cleaner, more contemporary redesign that is truly compatible across mobile devices and desktop computers and tablets is the first prominent change made to USA Mega in 16 years and was carefully constructed to reduce visual distractions so the important content can be more easily discovered.

"With the shift in web browsing from desktop computers to mobile phones, we wanted to make smartphones a first-class citizen of USA Mega, so that our visitors can equally enjoy our website on whichever device they want to use," Northrop explained.  "We have eliminated former desktop-only functionality, such as needing to hover a mouse over content in order to see additional details.  We have also been careful with the sizes of text and buttons so that they can be read and used with ease both with a mouse and a touch screen."

A revamped aesthetic and mobile functionality are not the only thing players can expect. According to Northrop, visitors will notice other improvements made to the site's content as they start to dig deeper.

"One of the most popular features we offer is the Jackpot Analysis, which displays the after-tax amounts a player would be awarded if they won," Northrop said. "We have now expanded that feature to show the complete tax burden a player would face, including the amounts initially withheld by the lottery, as well as the final tax bill for both federal and state taxes."

First pioneered by USA Mega in 2002, the Jackpot Analysis feature is particularly useful for providing an in-depth, comprehensive look at the tax burden a winner would face if they won the Mega Millions or Powerball jackpot. Following the updates to the tool, visitors can now simulate after-tax amounts with an increased level of detail, right down to the federal filing status (Single, Married Filing Jointly, etc.) with the latest marginal tax rates.

Another frequently used resource on the USA Mega website is the drawing information page, which condenses all the important information about any drawing on one page, including winning numbers, jackpot amounts, official drawing video, the locations of winners, and complete prize breakdown.

While page formats are among the most obvious changes on the site, long-time visitors to USA Mega may notice more subtle improvements, such as the additions made to the Quick Picks page. The Quick Picks tool now uses an advanced cryptographic library to generate truly random numbers, and the generated numbers can now be instantly copied with the click of a button.

One more example is the PowerSearch page, a powerful and flexible search engine for past winning numbers, which now offers a greater range of search conditions made possible by additional improvements.

The process for the redesign began over a year ago, but the pandemic put a strain on development. In addition, any full-featured website must consider propagating changes to other areas, such as social media, the YouTube channel, and jackpot alert emails, which further adds on to the complexity of the redesign. Despite the delay, Northrop is optimistic about the website's progress and completion.

"From a technology standpoint, we have made a huge leap forward," Northrop remarked. "For the first time in the 20-year history of USA Mega, it was rebuilt from the ground-up using the latest web technologies. This results in a faster, more reliable website that we can update much more quickly and easily."

Users who use older Internet browser versions will still be able to continue using USA Mega without a hitch. Although the number of people using outdated browsers has dwindled, the website is able to detect when a person is using one and will redirect them to a "legacy" website that will still support them. Now, USA Mega is fully equipped to reformat itself to work best for any device and screen size to accommodate a growing number of mobile users.

Northrop concluded: "Because the majority of our visitors use a phone to browse the website, we anticipate a very positive reaction, since all the content will be properly sized for the device screen and the modern aesthetic will fit right in with other apps and websites they use."

Lottery Post Staff

Comments

konane's avatarkonane

Epic job Todd. I love the improvements.

MADDOG10's avatarMADDOG10

Doesn't surprise me at all, the job that Todd has done on this site.

This site is the most informative, and essential tool for Lottery players everywhere ! 

GiveFive's avatarGiveFive

Nice new look and feel on my laptop.  I'll have to check it out on my phone too.

Especially liked that pic of a good lookin' young woman in a swimsuit too!  LOL  G5

dpoly1's avatardpoly1

I should follow this site!

Dance

sully16's avatarsully16

Thanks for all you do Todd, and congrats .

noise-gate

The USA mega site was good, these improvements have made it better. Knowing the additional taxes feature on your jackpot win is essential. You as a winner will know how much to set aside instead of assuming you off the hook with Uncle Sam. Appreciate the hard work, well done!

Cheers

Bleudog101

Quote: Originally posted by noise-gate on Dec 18, 2020

The USA mega site was good, these improvements have made it better. Knowing the additional taxes feature on your jackpot win is essential. You as a winner will know how much to set aside instead of assuming you off the hook with Uncle Sam. Appreciate the hard work, well done!

Cheers

I Agree!   

Thank you Todd and like noise-gate mentioned the additional tax information is just icing on the cake for a well done job!

Todd's avatarTodd

Thanks all for the kind words.  The new USA Mega is a complete re-build from top-to-bottom in a much better, brand new web technology, and was quite a huge project!

It did provide the opportunity to scrutinize each page to look for improvements and updated content, so it was a great process to ensure the website was up-to-date.

The Jackpot Analysis certainly is one of the most popular features, and the new, improved version is already generating lots of feedback — and support requests wondering why taxes have suddenly gone up! 🙂

Of course, federal taxes have not gone up, but because the feature now shows the complete tax picture, it can be an eye-opener for many people.

Additionally, all the state taxes are more accurate now — all the state tax rates have been updated to the new 2021 rates, and the Jackpot Analysis now shows any additional state taxes that will be due beyond the initial withholding.

Finally, the new ability to specify your filing status can finely project the amount of federal taxes that will be due.  The feature uses the latest 2021 tax rates, and it performs a real marginal tax rate calculation.

nikao88

Good job on the upgrade Todd.

When you look at the total Federal taxes that you will pay which is around 37% we need to find a way to

bring it down to 0% or at the most just a one time 24% deduction and your done.

Some states do not deduct state income taxes and they do okay so I think the Federal gov. can do the same.

I don't belong to either political party but, I'm hearing that President elect Biden is proposing to raise

tax rates and the top rate will go from 37% to 39% ......isn't that enough?

I would like all of you guys to pay as less income tax as possible especially win it comes to lottery prizes.

 

How could we propose this to the IRS or the Senate or Congress to make lottery prizes Tax Free?

All lottery prizes in Canada are lump sum and tax free and I think the United States should do the same.

Todd's avatarTodd

I agree that taxes are too high and that taking nearly 40% of anyone's money is ridiculous and wrong!  Because gambling winnings are always taxed at regular income rates, lottery jackpot millionaires are taxed the same as millionaires who earn their living in any other occupation.

NY10

Just curious what's the market cap/revenue/profits of speednet 

Todd's avatarTodd

If I ever take the company public, I'll let you know!

GiveFive's avatarGiveFive

Quote: Originally posted by Todd on Dec 18, 2020

If I ever take the company public, I'll let you know!

I'm willing to underwrite your IPO.  Whadda ya think we should set the opening share price at?   And let's list on The Big Board too.. I kinda like the prestige associated with that.  I'd also recommend a Ticker Symbol of "LOTTO".  That oughtta attract lots of attention...

I can see it now:

"Hey Rocky!  Buy 10,000 shares of LOTTO at the market!" 

Meanwhile down at Merrill Lynch, analysts are initiating coverage of the stock, and CNBC has Jim Cramer on The exchange floor covering the excitement while waiting for the stock to open.  CEO Todd Northrop was on The Balcony this morning ringing the opening bell.   G5

four4me

Great job Todd you never fail to impress our community with your skills.  Group Hug

BBLL's avatarBBLL

Amazing job Todd🤘🙌😉

LottoFanBoy

Looks great!

Rman313's avatarRman313

I have been following this site for many years! Great stats on Megamillions and Powerball Lottery! Looks great!! 👍🏾😊

nikao88

Since you live in New Jersey Todd you get to pay 10.75% state on top of the 37% Federal or 47.75% in taxes but, it's all for a good cause.

That is so wrong.

Vickey

Illinois Lottery is cheating again they still haven't posted in the numbers from last night yet

Todd's avatarTodd

Quote: Originally posted by Vickey on Dec 19, 2020

Illinois Lottery is cheating again they still haven't posted in the numbers from last night yet

My guess is that whatever problem is holding up the Illinois drawing numbers is also holding up the release of the Mega Millions prize and jackpot info.  It sounds to me like some kind of major problem like a corrupted database or something, because a technical problem like a drawing machine issue would be handled by whatever backup drawing machines they might have.  A database problem would require restoring from backups or maybe even more extreme measures, which take a long time.

Whatever the problem is, the Illinois Lottery should be a lot more communicative and inform people of what the actual problem is.  Their only message on their website is, "Results Delayed: Last evening's draw results for Pick 3, Pick 4, Lucky Day Lotto®, and Mega Millions® are delayed. We are diligently working to resolve this issue. Please check back later for updates."  I don't understand the need to put out generic messages like that — it only causes more distrust to be so vague.

vholling's avatarvholling

Quote: Originally posted by Todd on Dec 19, 2020

My guess is that whatever problem is holding up the Illinois drawing numbers is also holding up the release of the Mega Millions prize and jackpot info.  It sounds to me like some kind of major problem like a corrupted database or something, because a technical problem like a drawing machine issue would be handled by whatever backup drawing machines they might have.  A database problem would require restoring from backups or maybe even more extreme measures, which take a long time.

Whatever the problem is, the Illinois Lottery should be a lot more communicative and inform people of what the actual problem is.  Their only message on their website is, "Results Delayed: Last evening's draw results for Pick 3, Pick 4, Lucky Day Lotto®, and Mega Millions® are delayed. We are diligently working to resolve this issue. Please check back later for updates."  I don't understand the need to put out generic messages like that — it only causes more distrust to be so vague.

So true Todd

KY Floyd's avatarKY Floyd

"Whatever the problem is, the Illinois Lottery should be a lot more communicative and inform people of what the actual problem is."

It would be nice if all of the lotteries would tell their players what's going on, but all I've seen is vague notices that there's a problem. Reading between the lines it sounds like the problem is that the drawing went off without a hitch but Illinois doesn't know if they sold a jackpot winner, or what their own state results were, which is really baffling. It's really easy to understand who a computer issue could prevent them from knowing  about the tickets they sold, but how is it possible to not know the results of the Illinois games from Friday night? Even if all those games are RNG, I can't imagine a problem that would affect both the results of multiple drawings and  databases of ticket sales.

What really puzzles me is how an Illinois problem causes problems in other states beyond knowing if the jackpot was won or if it rolls to $330 million. The Megamillions site shows winning numbers for Friday night, and also has a short blurb that says "The results for the Dec. 18 drawing have not been finalized. Hold on to your tickets."  So what isn't finalized? Are they going to come back and tell us they posted winning numbers when they knew they might change them, or is it just that one state can't tell them if they sold a jackpot winning ticket? Posting numbers that aren't finalized would be  incredibly stupid, so I have to figure it's just the jackpot  question, but NY has a notice saying that you can't claim any MM prizes.s.

Todd's avatarTodd

Reading between the lines it sounds like the problem is that the drawing went off without a hitch but Illinois doesn't know if they sold a jackpot winner, or what their own state results were, which is really baffling.

That's why I think it's something along the lines of a database issue.

MzDuffleBaglady's avatarMzDuffleBaglady

JanieF$

Does anyone know what the evening results for 3 and 4 digit Illinois was last night as well as midday today ?

For some reason its not showing...  Thanks

Todd's avatarTodd

Update: All Mega Millions info from last night's drawing is now published at USA Mega.

The Illinois Lottery results from last night's drawings are now published on the Illinois Lottery Results page.

BillionaireBabe

This makes my life so much easier.💯

GiveFive's avatarGiveFive

Quote: Originally posted by Todd on Dec 19, 2020

My guess is that whatever problem is holding up the Illinois drawing numbers is also holding up the release of the Mega Millions prize and jackpot info.  It sounds to me like some kind of major problem like a corrupted database or something, because a technical problem like a drawing machine issue would be handled by whatever backup drawing machines they might have.  A database problem would require restoring from backups or maybe even more extreme measures, which take a long time.

Whatever the problem is, the Illinois Lottery should be a lot more communicative and inform people of what the actual problem is.  Their only message on their website is, "Results Delayed: Last evening's draw results for Pick 3, Pick 4, Lucky Day Lotto®, and Mega Millions® are delayed. We are diligently working to resolve this issue. Please check back later for updates."  I don't understand the need to put out generic messages like that — it only causes more distrust to be so vague.

I don't understand the need to put out generic messages like that either, but the other side of the coin is if they put out a message full of techno-speak, that wouldn't help either.  I don't live in Illinois so it's of no consequence to me, but there's gotta be a middle-ground somewhere between generic and techno-babble. G5 

black$wan's avatarblack$wan

Nice job!  Congrats!

End of comments
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