Buy them online, of course!
Or at least that’s what my plan was until I actually tried. After a quick Google search, I got to read up on how to buy lottery tickets online. I thought to myself, in this day and age where you can get almost everything online, surely a $1 lottery wouldn’t be that hard to find! Turns out, it’s much more complicated than one would think.
What I found out is that being able to buy lottery tickets over the internet mostly depends on where you live. Let me break it down for you below.
Online Lotteries in the USA
In the US, the laws for buying lottery tickets online differ from state to state. Most lotteries don’t have an official channel for internet sales, so if you’re not in the handful of states that do allow it, your only option would be to go directly to a retailer.
There is some good news, however. In recent years, the legality of online lotteries is slowly changing, and more and more states are pushing for it to be implemented in their jurisdiction. That means that even if your state doesn’t allow it now, things might be different in the future.
Which States Allow Online Lottery Sales?
Currently, only the following US state lotteries let you buy lottery tickets online. These are Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine*, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York*, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, and Virginia*.
- Only lottery subscriptions are available for purchase online in Maine, New York, and Virginia.
However, there is a new trend that’s emerging. Third-party lottery apps and services are sprouting up everywhere. One of my favorite lottery sites, theLotter, recently started launching courier services in some states like Texas and Oregon. They’re perfectly safe and legal to use within state lines. I expect it’ll only be a matter of time until their services are available in more states.
Where You Can Buy Lottery Tickets Online
While there are many sites out there that let you buy lotto tickets online, I found theLotter and Lotto Agent to be consistently rated among the best. But don’t take my word for it. You can peruse through these reviews of the best online lottery sites and decide for yourself.
In any case, the ability to skip the lines and buy lottery tickets over the internet is a definite game changer. So while my desire to buy lottery online remains unfulfilled given I’m in California, next time I’m on one of the legal states, I’m definitely playing online!
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