New Delhi, Dec. 12 -- Powerball soars to $1 billion for Saturday's drawing as lottery fever grips America, marking an unprecedented era of mega-jackpots that were once unthinkable.

The landscape of American lottery has undergone a seismic transformation, with billion-dollar jackpots becoming almost routine rather than once-in-a-lifetime phenomena. As Powerball's latest prize climbs to $1 billion for Saturday's drawing after Wednesday night produced no winner, the nation finds itself in the midst of an unprecedented lottery boom that has seen jackpots cross the ten-figure threshold an astonishing 12 times in just five years.

This explosion of mega-jackpots represents a stark departure from lottery history. Before 2016, not a single lotte...