Contributions from the If you’re wondering how to play the lottery online, here are three ways you can do it…
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.
Examples:
You can often tell if you’re dealing with one of these sites by checking the small print at the bottom of the homepage.
Lottery Agent Sites 👨💼
These sites have someone go into a store, buy a physical lottery ticket on your behalf, then send you a scan of your ticket.
You pay them a fee for buying the ticket, and you don’t owe them anything extra if you win.
This is usually the best option if you want to buy an official ticket for a lottery in a foreign state or country.
Examples:
Lottery Betting Sites 🤑
These sites act as bookmakers and take your bets on the outcomes of popular lotteries around the world.
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.
If you’re unsure what kind of lottery site you’re dealing with, look for an About or FAQ page. They should tell you there how the site operates.
🤔 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 — through the mail or over the telephone — you’re violating federal law.
Accordingly, legit online lottery sites like theLotter are NOT accessible in the United States.
(One exception here seems to be Oregon. theLotter told me via email 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 here.
🥳 Best Online Lottery Sites
Here are all the lottery sites I’ve reviewed in-depth 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 |
| Full list of best online lottery sites » | ||
Improve Your Odds
Read our full series to get the facts about online lottery and improve your chances of winning.
