Is It Better To Play Lottery Online or In-Store?

There’s more than one way to buy a lottery ticket these days.

But is it safe to play online or are you better off playing in-store?

Let’s find out.

Wait – Can You Play the Lottery Online?

Yes, you can play the lottery online.

But let’s back up the truck a second. Because some ways are far better than others.

So how do you play online then?

If you live in a state (or country) where the official lottery company provide a way to buy online, then that is going to be the best way to play. Because it’s the cheapest and safest option.

The US in particular however has been very slow to adopt online play. So many states still don’t offer a way to play online.

So there are also 3rd party services you can use to buy tickets on your behalf. These cover all sorts of lottery games from countries all over the world.

Should you use them? Generally, no.

Because you will pay more than the normal ticket price for this additional service.

There is of course nothing wrong with these services charging for what they do. But if you want the best chance of winning then you want as much of your playing budget as possible to be buying entries. Not paying admin fees.

There are good reasons to use these services, such as playing in syndicates which tend to be much better value. But otherwise, in most cases, buying locally from the official source is the best way to play lottery online.

Is It Safe To Buy Lottery Tickets Online?

Yes, it is safe to buy lottery tickets online. If you are playing on the official lottery website.

All the usual sensible precautions for doing anything online still apply – use strong passwords, don’t re-use the same password, don’t provide more personal information than you need to etc.

But playing the lottery online is safe. 🙂

If you’re choosing a 3rd party service to use then you need to choose very carefully. As a lot of these sites have popped up in recent years. There are a few well established companies that have been around for 10+ years. You can find the best of these (that I have personally used) listed under the lottery syndicate options here.

NOTE: Be Aware of What You Are Buying

These 3rd party services come in 2 types.

1. Those that buy real tickets on your behalf
2. Those where you ‘bet on the results’ of the lottery

Those that buy real tickets have agents in the countries where the games are located. They buy physical tickets for the company from official lottery retailers.

The ‘bet on results’ services do not buy any real tickets. Instead you still choose numbers as you normally would. And the official lottery results still determine if you win and the prize amount. The difference is that the winnings are all covered by insurance policies and not paid out by the lottery company. These ‘bet on lottery’ type sites tend to be cheaper to play, but a lot of people don’t like the idea of not really playing the real game.

So Is It Better To Play Lottery Online vs In-Store?

It depends on what we consider ‘better’.

Are you more likely to win if you buy tickets online vs in-store? No. It makes no difference at all. It’s what you buy that makes a big difference (which is the first step in creating the best lottery strategy). Not where you buy it from.

Occasionally you will see some statistics that say online (or in-store) players ‘win more’. But when you look closer at the data it’s either because more players were buying tickets in that way. Or they were buying more combinations (online players tend to play bigger entries). And when you average things out the difference is not significant. Which makes sense. When you think about it – there’s no good reason for it to make any difference where you buy a ticket. (And that includes the whole idea of ‘lucky stores’ – see best place to buy winning lottery tickets).

Is it easier or more convenient to buy online? It can be. It depends a lot on how well designed the website is. If you’re buying more combinations or large wheeling system plays then it can be much easier online. But if you play the same numbers all the time and already have your playslips filled out then it can be just as easy in-store.

One benefit of buying tickets online is that your ticket is then held by the lottery company. So you can’t lose it. A lot of prizes do go unclaimed every week due to lost or damaged tickets.One disadvantage with online tickets is in states that only allow claiming anonymously using a trust or company. Because your name is already connected as the winner of any prize, so you would no longer be able to claim as another entity. This doesn’t matter elsewhere of course.

Do Online Lottery Tickets Ever Win?

Yes, online lottery tickets do win the lottery. Smaller prizes are paid out all the time to online players. And there have been plenty of cases of jackpot winners who played online using the official website or apps.

So there is no reason to mistrust this new fangled internet thing. 😉

There are well documented cases of big winners who have used the 3rd party ticket buying services too. But again, use reliable sites not just any old site you Google’d. 🙂

What Happens If You Win the Lottery Online?

If you win the lottery online the lottery company will either just pay the prize straight to your online wallet or start the claims process.

For prizes under $600 these are usually just paid to your online wallet. For larger prizes they will usually get in touch, or ask you to get in touch to make a claim.

This is the same for playing on the official lottery companies website or when playing via their app.

So How Do You Choose to Play?

Do you prefer online, with an app or in-store? What makes the difference for you?