Best Online Lottery Sites (USA) June 2023

✍️ Written by : 

Frank Weber

✅ Fact checked by : 

Darena Rodrigues

🗓 Updated : 

Jan 26th 2023

Online Lottery in the US

Prior to December 2011, there was no legal opinion that was made on the Federal Wire Act. However, the Department of Justice decided to make a statement, in December 2011, that it will apply only to sports betting. Because of this, eight states started online lottery sales programs. These states include: 

1. Michigan

2. Pennsylvania

3. Georgia

4. Illinois

5. Virginia

6. New Hampshire

7. Kentucky

8. Minnesota

Besides these states, others have also started to consider taking their lotteries online.

You might wonder why take a phenomenon like the state lotteries and put them online? Especially in Covid times, it is a needed change to still have the opportunity to play lotteries but safely, within the comfort of your own home. There are over 44 states that have started to promote some kind of lottery. Every state has its own kind of lottery, a good mix, that caters to everyone’s preferences. You will be able to find traditional drawing styles, scratch tickets, and even large jackpots. It is a good change that states have begun to move this process online, giving their members a chance to win cash instantly as well as some significant prizes. 

New Jersey online casinos were legalized back in 2013, and the state recently legalized online lottery sales in 2023. 

Where to buy a Mega Millions ticket or a Powerball ticket Online 

To buy a mega millions ticket means that you will have to live in one of the following states:

• Georgia

• Illinois

• Kentucky

• Michigan

• Minnesota

• New Hampshire

• Texas

Which States Offer Online Lottery Games?

Pennsylvania

In October 2017, an expansive law was passed legalizing Pennsylvania online casinos. This included them having an online lottery. Because of that, the live lottery games went live in May 2018, giving hope to lawmakers that it will generate over $250 million within the next five years. Even though the Penn State Lottery allows participation from the Powerball as well as the Mega Millions, they are currently not available online. If you are looking for online lottery options, then in addition to Keno and Virtual Sports Monitor games, you will have options like instant win games and scratch-off games like: 

• Volcano Eruption

• Monster Wins

• Cash Buster Towers

• Big Eats Little

• Foxin’ Wins

• Bigfoot Reveal

• Super Cash Buster

• Big Money Slingo

• Crossword Cash

• Cash in the Lamp

• Super Gems

• Robin Hood: Prince of Tweets

With just a few swipes, players have the opportunity to potentially win thousands of dollars. New players always have the advantage of winning extra money. How? ..with the new player bonus choice options.

Michigan

Michigan online casinos were legalized in 2019. Launched in 2014, the games that were first available by the Michigan Lottery were Electronic Scratch-offs and Instant Keno. However, since then, the Michigan Lottery has widened exponentially. 

Wondering when Michigan started its online lottery? In January 2016. There were three types that were included initially, they were:

• Draw Games

  • Powerball

  • Mega Millions

  • Fantasy 5

  • Loto 47

• Instants Online

  • Home Run Riches

  • Queen Diamonds

  • Instant Football Payout

  • Triple 7s

  • Cashword

  • Pot O’Gold

• Keno

  • Instant Keno

  • Instant Keno Multiplier

  • Quick 6

  • Fuzzball Keno

A report by the Lottery Consultant Digital Group was released in December 2016. It stated that the Michigan online lottery sales program was a success. The sales moved to over $8 million a week as of March 2016. Even the brick and mortar retail lottery operations were at an all-time high.

Mass Lottery Keno

Mass Lottery Keno is a fun and exciting game that is offered by the Massachusetts State Lottery. It's a game of chance that is played by selecting numbers and then watching as the numbers are drawn.

To play Keno, players first need to select a retailer that offers the Mass Lottery Keno game. Then, players can select how many numbers they want to play, usually up to 10 numbers, and mark them on a play slip. The cost of the game will depend on the number of spots chosen and the wager amount.

Once the player has selected their numbers, they can then proceed to pay for the game and receive a ticket that shows the numbers that the player has chosen. Players can also choose to play the same numbers for multiple consecutive draws by using the "multi-draw" option on the play slip.

After that, the game is played by drawing 20 numbers, and the player will win if enough of the numbers that they have selected match the numbers that were drawn. The amount of the prize will depend on how many numbers match and how much was wagered.

It's important to note that the odds of winning vary depending on the number of spots played and the wager amount, and also the number of players. The odds of winning can be found on the Mass lottery website, and it's always recommended to check them before playing.

And the best part is that you can check the winning numbers on the Mass lottery website or by scanning the barcode on your ticket at any lottery retailer.

So, what are you waiting for? Head to your nearest Mass Lottery retailer and try your luck with Mass Lottery Keno!

Georgia

Launched in November 2012, Georgia was the second state to have an online lottery. Georgia ranks in the top when it comes to sales earned per capita lottery. The games that are offered are:

• Fantasy 5

• Mega Millions

• Powerball

• Keno Games

• Diggi Games: a combination between social games and electronic scratch-offs.

  • Crosswords

  • Bingo 

Who Oversees The GA Online Lottery?

The Georgia state government oversees The Georgia Lottery or The Georgia Lottery Corporation. There are seven board members that are part of the Corporation. They are appointed by the governor. Annually, the lottery accounts for more than $1 billion. Of this, per Georgia law, half is allocated to prizes, one-third is allocated to education and the remaining is allocated between operating/marketing efforts. The education allocation helps fund Georgia’s HOPE Scholarship and Pre-K Program.

Illinois

Launched in March 2012, Illinois was the first state to launch online ticket sales. By the end of the year, they added online tickets to the Powerball lottery. The online lottery included:

• Daily Lottery Games

• Instant Games

This was the launch of their pilot program and within the first two years, the online lottery totaled to $36.9 million. 

Virginia

Operating in Old Dominion, the Virginia Lottery operated since 1987. This resulted in a $12.4 billion payout. However, since then, Virginia’s lottery has seen an online expansion.

Virginia was recently tasked with legalizing online casinos and sports betting. In addition to that, in July 2020, they introduced online instant games. This allowed players to get onto the Virginia lottery website and play and purchase lottery games. They will be able to use the lottery’s app as well in the near future. Games that you can expect to play are:

• Simple reveal

• Crosswords

• Symbol-matching

• Blackjack

• Keno

• Lottery Draw

New Hampshire

Launched in Sept 2017, the fifth state to offer online lottery sales was New Hampshire. NeoPollard Interactive is the main operator for NH’s online lottery. The main games it features are:

• Instant Win

• Draw Games

  • Powerball

• Mega Millions

Kentucky

Kentucky was officially approved by lawmakers to allow online lottery sales in 2013. However, they had to wait three years for their online ticketing system to develop. That brings them to live status as of April 2016. The games that are featured at the Kentucky online lottery are:

• Draw games

  • Powerball

  • Mega Millions

  • Lucky for Life

  • Kentucky Cash Ball 225

• Instants online (34 available)

  • Electronic scratch-off games

Minnesota

Launched in 2014, Minnesota was the first state to offer online instant-win games without any legislative approval. This led to the approval of online sales in May 2015. However, there are more changes that occurred. In June 2018, the residents were able to use their cell phones to purchase lottery tickets for the Powerballs and are drawing number games. Jackpocket is the main operator for the Minnesota online lottery. The games that are offered are:

• Powerball

• Mega Millions

• Lucky for Life

• Lotto America

• Gopher 5

• Northstar Cash

• Daily 3

• Millionaire Raffle

About the author

Frank Weber

Sports Journalist & Betting Analyst

Frank Weber is a sports & gaming writer with a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism and years of experience in the gambling world. He loves baseball, football, basketball, soccer, and the UFC - he even collects sports cards and memorabilia! In his free time, you could find Frank either out at a concert with friends, or at home sweating out all his (soon to be won) bets!