Contributions from the Today youโre going to learn which are the best online lottery sites, so you donโt waste massive amounts of time and money on the crappy ones. These recommendations are based on the 70+ hours Iโve spent researching and testing online lottery sites, including buying tickets myself ๐ค
Hereโs the top four:
๐ Best Online Lottery Sites ๐
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Gambling problem? See our guide about how to stop gambling.
I’m on a mission to test, rate and review all the best online lottery sites.
Here’s my progress so far:
| Lottery Site | Rating | Review |
|---|---|---|
| TheLotter | 4.6/5 | TheLotter review |
| Lotto Agent | 4.5/5 | Lotto Agent review |
| LottoSmile 1 | 4.2/5 | LottoSmile review |
| Jackpot.com | 3.3/5 | Jackpot.com review |
| LottoKings | 2.7/5 | LottoKings review |
| WinTrillions | 1.7/5 | WinTrillions review |
| BuyLottoOnline | 1.4/5 | BuyLottoOnline review |
| Multilotto | tbd | Multilotto review |
If you want to knowโฆ
- Why theLotter is our #1 pick
- Which online lottery sites we DON’T recommend
- Where to get the cheapest lottery tickets
- And much more
Then definitely keep reading.
๐ Best Online Lottery Sites
TheLotter
TheLotter โ Key Points
TheLotter takes the top spot as the best lottery site we’ve found to date.
As a lottery agent, they go and buy an official lottery ticket on your behalf, then send you a scanned copy. You pay a bit extra for this service, but there’s no additional fee taken out of your winnings.
TheLotter is my preferred lottery agent site, and I happily recommend it to friends and family.
๐ฅณ TheLotter Special Offers
Lotto Agent
Lotto Agent โ Key Points
There’s very little difference between Lotto Agent and theLotter. They both offer essentially the same lottery agent service, they both have overwhelmingly positive reviews, and I had no issues buying tickets via each site.
I give theLotter a slight edge in the rankings because their service works out a little cheaper on average.
๐ฅณ Lotto Agent Special Offers
LottoSmile
LottoSmile โ Key Points
LottoSmile is a sister site of theLotter. It’s almost the exact same as theLotter.com, but intended for lottery players in India.
๐ฎ๐ณ If you are in India, use LottoSmile.
๐ If you’re outside of India, use theLotter.
(Note that the links to LottoSmile and theLotter on this page will direct you based on your location. If you are in India, you’ll be taken to LottoSmile. If you are outside of India, you’ll be taken to theLotter.)
Jackpot.com
Jackpot.com โ Key Points
Another lottery betting site which is quite decent, but it pales in comparison to the alternatives listed above.
I’d only recommend giving this one a try if you can’t use any of the other sites for some reason.
๐ค Online Lottery FAQs
Jump toโฆ
- Can you buy lottery tickets online?
- Is it legal to buy lottery tickets online?
- Can I play online lottery from my country?
- Where can I find cheap lottery tickets?
- Free Online Lottery Sites?
- How can I tell if an online lottery site is legit or a scam?
- How to check lottery results?
- What are the odds of winning the lottery?
- What is the easiest lottery to win?
- What happens when you win the lottery?
- Biggest lottery winner ever?
- Are there taxes on lottery winnings?
- How to play lottery online?
- What is the best online lottery site?
Can you buy lottery tickets online?
You can buy lottery tickets online in many states and countries, but the lotteries you can play may be limited due to your location. There are three ways to buy lottery tickets via the internet.
Online lottery sites come in three flavors:
- Official Lottery Sites
Some lotteries allow you to play online via their official websites. Usually you have to be in the same state or country where the lottery operates. EuroJackpot.com is one such example. - Lottery Agents
These sites have someone go into a store and buy physical lottery tickets on your behalf. Lotto Agent and theLotter work this way. - Lottery Betting Sites
These sites act as bookmakers and take your bets on the outcomes of popular lotteries around the world.
Where possible, you should always try to play an online lottery via that lottery’s official website. Doing it this way saves you money, cuts out the middleman, and generally feels more secure.
If you want to buy an official ticket for a lottery in a different state or country, lottery agents are the easiest way to do this. The best agents are properly licensed and regulated and send you a scan of your ticket. The downside is that these sites charge a premium for buying a ticket on your behalf (though you get to keep all your winnings).
- The best lottery agent we’ve reviewed is theLotter (full review here)
If you’re in the USA, however, lottery agents won’t be much use to you, as explained below.
Finally, there are lottery betting sites.
When you play the lottery with these sites, it’s like you’re betting on sports. But instead of betting on which football team wins a big game, you’re betting that certain numbers will come up in your chosen lottery.
You don’t get an official lottery ticket when you play the lottery this way, but the best betting sites offer the same odds and prizes as the official lotteries and are fully licensed and regulated. Jackpot winnings are usually paid from insurance policies.
The big advantage of using lottery betting sites is that they’re usually much cheaper than lottery agent sites, while giving you a chance to play and win the same prizes.
Is it legal to buy lottery tickets online?
Whether or not it’s legal to buy lottery tickets online depends on your location and what lottery you want to play. In some states and countries it is perfectly legal to play some lotteries but not others.
For example, in the USA, you can buy lottery tickets online from a handful of states, but only for locally available lotteries.
Last I checked, only these US states allow you to play available local lotteries via their official websites:
Meanwhile, the FTC is clear that US residents are not legally allowed to play foreign lotteries, stating:
If you play a foreign lottery โ through the mail or over the telephone โ youโre violating federal law.
Accordingly, legit online lottery sites like theLotter are NOT accessible in the United States.
(One exception here seems to be Oregon. I haven’t been able to verify the laws there myself, but theLotter told me that their website and service is legal and accessible in that state.)
For more information on the legalities of using online lottery sites in different countries, see the next section.
Can I play online lottery from my country?
You can usually play some lotteries online regardless of what country you’re in. But it is best to check the laws for your state and/or country before you play. Otherwise, you might have trouble collecting your winnings.
Here are some countries we’ve researched…
๐ฎ๐ณ Legal Online Lottery in India
Depending on what part of India you are in, there may be laws restricting you from playing the lottery online.
Per ICLG:
The Gaming Enactments in India are State-specific. Most Gaming Enactments prohibit gambling activities in physical premises termed ‘common gaming houses’. Some States specifically prohibit/regulate such games in online form. Whether online games are prohibited/regulated within the State would need to be tested under the Gaming Enactment of each specific State.
So it would be best to check the laws in your state before playing any lottery online.
That said, while I haven’t seen any India lotteries selling tickets directly to players via official websites, there are many lottery agents that offer to buy tickets on behalf of Indian players.
Many of the lottery agents we’ve reviewed seem properly licensed to offer their services in India. Perhaps the most famous of these is LottoSmile, owned and operated by theLotter.
๐ฌ๐ง Play Lottery Online UK
The best and easiest way to play the lottery online in the UK is via the National Lottery website.
There you can play lotteries such as:
- Lotto
- EuroMillions
- Set For Life
- Thunderball
Many lottery agents and betting sites are also licensed to offer their services to residents of the UK, so you can play foreign lotteries that way.
For example, via theLotter you can buy official tickets for USA Powerball, Mega Millions and Italy’s SuperEnlotto.
๐ฎ๐ช Lottery Online Ireland
Playing the lotto online from Ireland is similar to the UK.
The best and easiest way is via the official lotto.ie website.
There you can play lotteries such as:
- Lotto
- EuroMillions
- Daily Million
If you’re in Ireland and would like to play foreign lotteries, check out:
- theLotter โ the best lottery agent we’ve reviewed
๐ฆ๐บ Online Lottery Australia
Australia is a bit of a special case.
None of the global lottery sites we’ve reviewed seem to operate in Australia, but there are several Aussie-only sites you can play through:
- The Lott โ Official home of Australia’s lotteries
- The Lottery Office โ Play foreign lotteries from Australia
- Oz Lotteries โ Buy Australian lotto tickets online
๐บ๐ธ USA lottery online
I’ve already covered this topic above.
Short version: in the USA, you can buy lottery tickets online from a handful of states, but only for locally available lotteries.
The FTC states that US residents are not legally allowed to play foreign lotteries.
Where can I find cheap lottery tickets?
If youโre looking for cheap lottery tickets, these are the best places to get them:
- At your local store that sells official lottery tickets
- At the official website of your local lottery (if available)
- At 3rd-party online lottery sites
As you go through that list, the tickets tend to get more expensive.
To find out which 3rd party sites offer the cheapest tickets, I calculated how much it costs to buy one ticket for 5 popular lotteries on each site…
Price of Tickets for 5 Popular Lotteries
| 5-Ticket Total | Mark-up Multiple | Mark-up Percentage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Official Price | 9.50 | 1.00 | 0% |
| Multilotto | 15.15 | 1.59 | 59% |
| Jackpot.com | 16.74 | 1.76 | 76% |
| theLotter | 23.10 | 2.43 | 143% |
| Lotto Smile | 23.10 | 2.43 | 143% |
| Lotto Agent | 23.28 | 2.45 | 145% |
| LottoKings | 27.29 | 2.87 | 187% |
| BuyLottoOnline | 32.11 | 3.38 | 238% |
| WinTrillions | 32.61 | 3.43 | 243% |
Free Online Lottery Sites?
Yes, free online lottery sites do exist. The playing experience can be a bit annoying as these sites are usually covered in ads. But if you’re happy to put up with that you have the chance to win some decent prizes.
Here are some free lottery sites to check out:
- BoxLotto โ Available in most English-speaking countries
- Free-Lottery.net โ Available worldwide (check local laws)
- Freemoji Lottery โ Available worldwide (check local laws)
- PCHlotto โ USA and Canada only
- Pick My Postcode โ UK only
How can I tell if an online lottery site is legit or a scam?
Having spent 70+ hours researching and testing online lottery sites, I can show you how to tell the difference between a real online lottery and a lottery scam.
There are 8 important things to checkโฆ
- Type of lottery site
- Reputation
- Fees
- Licensing
- Years in operation
- Payment options
- Personal experience
- Verified winners
You’ll find more info on each of this in this article:
How to check lottery results?
Many websites publish lottery results, but your best option is to always check results on the official website of the lottery you’ve played.
If you use a lottery agent or betting site, they will usually email you the results of each lottery you play through them. You may need to adjust your notification settings on your account for this to work.
What are the odds of winning the lottery?
The odds of winning a lottery depends on the lottery itself. Some lotteries simply have better odds than others. But your odds of winning a jackpot of $1 million or more in any lottery are pretty slim, even if you buy several tickets.
theLotter has a good breakdown here of which lottery has the best odds.
The lottery with the best jackpot odds is listed as Mexico Chispazo, where you have a 1 in 98,280 chance to win the main prize.
Your odds of winning other jackpots:
- EuroJackpot โ 1 in 95 million
- Powerball โ 1 in 292 million
- Mega Millions โ 1 in 302 million
Also from that page at theLotter:
the overall best lottery odds of winning the jackpot, or any other prize in the lottery draw, depend on how many numbers are to be chosen on a ticket and the guess range of the numbers available in the draw. If an additional number, such as a powerball, is also drawn, it is even harder to win prizes.
What is the easiest lottery to win?
Your odds of winning a big lottery jackpot are always going to be quite slim, but many lotteries offer quite good odds that you’ll win at least something.
For example, multiple sources report that your odds of winning any prize on The French Lotto are an impressive 1 in 6.
TheLotter lists the odds of winning any prize for some popular lotteries:
- EuroMillions โ 1 in 13
- Mega Millions โ 1 in 24
- USA Powerball โ 1 in 25
- EuroJackpot โ 1 in 26
If you ask me, the best way to win a lottery is to pick one with good odds and buy multiple tickets.
It’s still unlikely you’ll hit the jackpot, but there’s a better chance you’ll at least win something.
What happens when you win the lottery?
You might have heard that most lottery winners go broke within a few years, but this seems to be largely a myth.
Time reports on a study of 3,362 Swedish lottery players who won at least $100,000. They were all surveyed 5 to 22 years after they won the jackpot…
Cesarini says he and his fellow researchers found that lottery winners who won larger sums of up to $2 million actually retained their wealth well over a decade after the jackpot.
Cesarini says people expect that a lot of winners immediately squander their wealth, but that is rare.
Related to that, Zack Friedman has some good advice for lotto winners over at Forbes.
His top five things to do when you win the lottery:
- Stay anonymous
- Sign the winning lottery ticket
- Choose an upfront, lump-sum cash payment or the annuity payments
- Assemble a stellar team of financial, legal and tax advisors
- Pay off your existing debt
Biggest lottery winner ever?
According to my research, the biggest lottery winner ever was an anonymous person from South Carolina who claimed a record $877 million cash prize in October 2018.
From the full story on Reuters:
The buyer of the winning ticket beat the odds of 1 in 303 million to win the drawing for a grand prize of $1.537 billion, just short of a word record Powerball jackpot of $1.586 billion in January 2016.
But the cash option payment chosen by the South Carolina Mega Millions winner amounts to a lump-sum total of $877,784,124 – the largest jackpot payout to a single winner in U.S. history, the state lottery commission said.
Wikipedia has a list of lottery jackpot records here.
According to that list, the largest cash value jackpot ever won was $983.5 million via the US Powerball back in 2016. However, there were three winning tickets, so the jackpot was split three ways ($327.8 million each).
Are there taxes on lottery winnings?
Whether or not you have to pay taxes on your lottery winnings depends on where you pay taxes.
For example, in the USA “the IRS considers net lottery winnings ordinary taxable income” (source).
Whereas in the UK lottery winnings are typically not regarded as taxable income (source).
A quick google search for your country + lottery tax should help you figure out if you’re obliged to pay taxes on your winnings.
How to play lottery online?
There are 3 ways you can play your favorite lotteries online:
- Official Lottery Sites
- Lottery Agent Sites
- Lottery Betting Sites
For more info on all those, see this article:
What is the best online lottery site?
Based on 70+ hours of research and testing, our preferred choice for playing many lotteries online is theLotter.
Here’s how theLotter compares to other lottery sites we’ve reviewed…
| Lottery Site | Rating | Review |
|---|---|---|
| TheLotter | 4.6/5 | TheLotter review |
| Lotto Agent | 4.5/5 | Lotto Agent review |
| LottoSmile 34 | 4.2/5 | LottoSmile review |
| Jackpot.com | 3.3/5 | Jackpot.com review |
| LottoKings | 2.7/5 | LottoKings review |
| WinTrillions | 1.7/5 | WinTrillions review |
| BuyLottoOnline | 1.4/5 | BuyLottoOnline review |
| Multilotto | tbd | Multilotto review |
Do you play the lottery online?
If so, tells us in the comments below:
- Which online lottery site is your favorite, and why?
- Have you ever won the lottery?
- Your #1 tip for online lottery success.
Improve Your Odds
Read our full series to get the facts about online lottery and improve your chances of winning.
I have been using lottery24.com for some years but now realise it’s a scam. No replies to emails or their helpline, and their London office telephone line is disconnected. Their Berlin office takes calls but no one ever calls back. You cannot withdraw funds as the facility is blocked. Winnings are limited to a maximum of EUR75,000 no matter how much you win, and, as above, you cannot withdraw anything. Other lottery review sites suggest that it’s “probably legit”. My recent interactions would contradict this completely.
Hi Niall great article I have been using lotter for a while now but I am confused about two things 1. How come they leave out the bar codes for powerball and megamillions and 2. At least within those scanned to my account if you zoom in to the font they all have the same outline markings which usually should be different with every print similar to a receipt you get at a grocery store. Let me know your thoughts
Hi AJ,
Thanks for the comment. Unfortunately I don’t know the answers to your questions. You’d have to contact theLotter and ask them directly. If you do that, I’d be interested to know what you hear back.