Is It Legal to Buy Lottery Tickets Online?

If you’re considering trying your luck with the lottery, you might be wondering – Is it legal to buy lottery tickets online? There seems to be an infinite amount of online sites to choose from. With so many scams and cyber-criminal activities online, how safe is your money and your information? How will you know which sites are legit? What are the pros and cons of buying online lottery tickets?

We’ve done the research and compiled an informative article to answer all the questions you might have regarding online lotteries. Keep reading as we delve into the pointers that every punter should know about playing online lotteries!

Best Online Lotteries That Can Be Played Legally

With so many different online lotteries out there, it’s quite challenging to find the best lottery options to play. Fortunately, we’ve done the legwork and narrowed down the best online lotteries for you to consider. See the list below!

Is It Legal to Play the Lottery Online?

Currently, there are about 42 states in the U.S. that allow online lottery games. This includes US state lotteries as well as bigger games such as Powerball and Mega Millions. Many other countries that offer lottery games also allow them to be purchased online

Is It Safe & Secure to Buy Lottery Tickets Online?

Gaming sites in conjunction with the U.S. government go to extensive lengths to ensure online lottery games are protected from hackers and scammers. Encryption software is used by all lottery sites to ensure players’ information is secure.

How Do You Know if an Online Lottery Site is Legal?

With the increasing number of online lottery scams, it’s become very common for bettors to wonder if the online lottery sites they’re considering are legal. Fortunately, there are a few simple ways to verify the legitimacy of your preferred online lottery site.

1. Gaming License

The laws surrounding gaming and lottery sites dictate that all legitimate sites operate under a certified gaming license. The information regarding these licenses should be placed on websites where customers can easily read them. Many companies add this information in the terms and conditions section or in one of the page footers.

When checking a license, it’s important to compare the company name on the license to the actual name on the site. Be wary of spelling or grammatical errors. The most common licenses found on popular sites include the following:

• MGA: The Malta Gaming Authority
• NELO: The Irish National Excise License Office
• UKGC: The United Kingdom Gambling Commission
• SGA: The Swedish Gambling Authority
• Cyprus: The Cyprus Gaming Commission
• Gibraltar: The Gibraltar Gambling License
• Curacao: The Curacao e-Gambling License Authority

2. SSL Certificate

Every betting or lottery site must have a Secure Sockets Layer Certificate (SSL). This connection between the site and your device is encrypted. To confirm this, check for a padlock icon in your browser address bar. Depending on the type of browser you’re using, the icon may differ. A sure sign of a secure connection is a URL starting with HTTPS.

3. Company Details

Details of the company should always be at the beginning of the list of terms and conditions. If you’re unsure of the company or site you’re dealing with, use Google to search the company name. This should show you any disputes, unresolved customer queries or bad reviews.

The age of the company is also worth checking into. A company with longer, more easily accessible historical records is likely to be more credible. Scam and “fly-by-night” companies very seldom have historical records.

4. Customer Reviews & Complaints

Approach online lottery or betting practices the same way you would if you were purchasing an actual product. Check customer reviews on the site as well as on independent review sites.

Since a majority of these could be fake in order to generate more business, it’s important to check for customer complaints. A credible company won’t only list positive reviews but complaints as well. How they respond to these queries in their comments section will tell you if the company is credible and easy to work with.

5. Customer Support

Another tell-tale sign of a credible site is extensive contact details to reach customer support. In the event of a query, you need to be able to reach the customer support team. There should be telephone numbers, email addresses, links to social media pages and even toll-free numbers. Be wary of a site with only one point of contact. And the live chat is a major bonus!

Test customer support by sending an email with a simple question about one of their products or functions. The type of response as well as the time it takes to reply will tell you if you’re dealing with a genuine company.

Can You Buy Lottery Tickets Online from Other Countries Legally?

The question “Is it legal to buy lottery tickets online?” also involves lotteries from around the world. Countries with lotteries open to foreign players make it easy for these punters to have access to their tickets. The websites these tickets are sold on will always clearly specify which countries may partake in the lottery.

Legit Lotteries that You Can Play Online from Any Country

Just as there is a multitude of betting sites, there are an equal number of lottery adverts doing the rounds. Some are legit and regrettably, some are scams. We’ve compiled a list of the more popular and legit lotteries that you can easily play from any country.

This is the list you’ve been searching for:

1. Powerball, USA
2. Mega Millions, USA
3. Euromillions, EU
4. EuroJackpot, EU
5. Mega Sena, BR
6. Superenalotto, IT
7. Canada Lotto, CA
8. La Primitiva, ES
9. France Loto, FR
10. Lotto 6 aus 49, DE

Legal Online Lottery Sites by Country

Our research has uncovered the most legal online lottery sites per country. Some of the most popular options include the following:

Canada

• LottoKings
• Jackpot.com

Mexico

• TheLotter
• Trillonario (Wintrillions)

Indonesia

• Jackpot.com
• TheLotter

Colombia

• Jackpot.com
• TheLotter
• Trillonario (Wintrillions)

Brazil

• Lottoland
• TheLotter

South Africa

• Lottoland
• Jackpot.com
• TheLotter

How Can You Be Sure that You Will Get Paid if You Win?

Wondering if you’ll actually get paid if you play the lottery online is a legitimate concern when you’re considering playing for the first time. Fortunately, if you play lotteries through credited and legitimately licensed companies, jackpots and winnings are covered by insurance. Smaller winnings are generally covered by the betting company.

Should a company fail to pay out any players, they’d be exposing themselves to the threat of bad publicity. More importantly, the company could lose its licence. This would result in the closure of the company.

Do You Have to Pay Taxes if You Win an Online Lottery?

Whether or not you need to pay lottery tax depends largely on where you live and the type of lottery you’re playing. Each country has its own laws regarding taxable winnings. Countries with separate states might also have different laws for each state.

While it’s true that most countries do take tax, the good news is, there are a few tax-free countries as well. Essentially, a tax-free country means lottery winnings aren’t taxed irrespective of where the winner originates from. In this case, you’ll only pay tax in your country if necessary. There are two instances that you need to be aware of here – home country lottery winnings and lottery winnings in other countries.

Home Country Taxes on Lottery Winnings

Most lottery winnings in your home country will most likely be subjected to local taxes. If you’re from a tax-free country, you won’t have to be bothered by this. Some of the more prominent tax-free countries include the following:

• Austria
• Australia
• Canada
• France
• Germany
• Ireland
• Japan
• The United Kingdom

Lottery Winnings Taxes in Other Countries

When you win a lottery in another country, you become subject to the tax laws of that country as well as those in your own country.

For instance, the U.S. has a 24% federal tax that’s added to the Mega Millions and the US Powerball. Depending on which state the tickets were purchased, there could be an additional state tax. It’s worth checking into these laws before you buy your tickets!

Some additional information about lottery winnings in a few other countries you’ll find useful include the following:

• UK: In the UK, the top site is theLotter and it’s completely legal for UK citizens to play lotteries. On theLotter site, you’ll have access to over 40 international and local lotteries.
• India: The lottery site that tops in India is LottoSmile and it’s fully legal. Since it supports 11 languages and over 40 local and international lotteries, it’s a firm favorite!
• Australia: Good news for Australians is that the lottery is legal and fun down under! Multilotto is the site of choice and is licenced and regulated by Spelinspektionenin Sweden and Malta Gaming Authority.

Pros and Cons to Buy Lottery Tickets Online

Any type of online activity comes with its own pros and cons. Buying lottery tickets online is no different. Let’s delve into a few of these.

Pros

• Online lotteries allow players from around the world to enter
• You can purchase tickets via your device without leaving your home
• There’s no standing in queues
• Lotteries are backed by the government of the country in question
• Betting sites are easy to navigate
• You can follow the actual drawing yourself online

Cons

• Bigger prizes might need to be claimed in person
• Experts agree that the chances of winning are less
• The potential threat of exposure to cyber-crime

FAQs