You can buy lottery tickets online in about 14 states plus Washington, D.C. through official state lottery websites and apps, and in roughly a dozen more states through licensed courier services that buy physical tickets on your behalf. Five states have no lottery at all, and the rest still require you to walk into a retailer. The list of states that allow you to buy lottery tickets online shifts as legislatures update their laws, so the two paths worth knowing are the direct state platforms and the courier apps that fill in the gaps.
States With Official Online Lottery Sites
These states run their own websites or apps where residents can buy tickets directly from the state lottery. Game availability differs: some offer the full menu of Powerball, Mega Millions, state draws, and digital scratch-offs, while others limit online play to one category.
- Connecticut: draw games
- Delaware: draw and instant games
- Georgia: draw and instant games
- Illinois: draw and instant games
- Kentucky: draw and instant games
- Michigan: draw and instant games
- New Hampshire: draw and instant games
- North Carolina: draw and instant games
- North Dakota: draw games
- Pennsylvania: draw and instant games
- Rhode Island: instant games
- Virginia: draw and instant games
- Washington, D.C.: draw and instant games
- West Virginia: draw and instant games
The trend is toward broader offerings. Several states that launched with just draw games have since added instant-win options.
States Where You Can Use a Courier Service
Lottery couriers like Jackpocket and Jackpot.com work differently from state-run platforms. Instead of issuing a digital ticket, the company sends someone to a licensed retailer to buy a paper ticket for you. You see a scanned image in the app, the original stays in secure storage, and the courier claims any winnings on your behalf and deposits them into your account.
Jackpocket currently operates in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Washington, D.C., West Virginia, and Puerto Rico. Jackpot.com has a smaller footprint: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Ohio. Both expand regularly as they secure state approval.
Couriers charge a convenience fee, typically a percentage of your deposit or ticket price that can run anywhere from about 7% to 30% depending on the service and transaction. They don’t take a cut of winnings. If your state already sells tickets online through its own platform, buying direct saves you the courier markup.
States Where You Can’t Buy Lottery Tickets Online At All
Five states have no state lottery: Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah. Residents there cannot buy lottery tickets online through any legal channel. Nevada’s casino industry has historically opposed a state lottery, and Utah’s constitution prohibits gambling entirely. Alabama has seen growing legislative interest in authorizing a lottery, but no law has passed as of early 2026.
Many states with a lottery also still require in-person purchases. If your state isn’t on either list above, your options are a retail counter or, if a courier launches in your state, an app.
How an Online Lottery Purchase Actually Works
Whether you use an official state platform or a courier, the flow is the same: create an account, verify your identity, deposit funds, then pick your game.
Identity verification is the step that trips people up. Platforms have to confirm your age and that you are who you say you are, so expect to provide your full legal name, date of birth, address, and often the last four digits of your Social Security number. Some platforms also ask for a photo of your government-issued ID. This happens once at registration, not every time you buy a ticket.
After verification, you fund the account with a debit card, bank transfer, or sometimes a digital wallet like PayPal. Credit cards generally aren’t accepted. Then you pick a game, choose your numbers or hit quick pick, and confirm. The platform stores your digital ticket, or in the case of a courier, the scanned image of your physical one.
Age Minimums and the Geolocation Check
The minimum age is 18 in most states. Nebraska sets it at 19, and Arizona and Louisiana require you to be at least 21.
You also have to be physically inside the state when you buy. Every online lottery platform uses geolocation (GPS and IP data) to confirm your location in real time. If you’re outside the state, the transaction is blocked. This is a hard technical barrier, not a formality, because federal law under 18 U.S.C. ยง 1301 prohibits procuring lottery tickets across state lines absent an agreement between the states involved.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 1301 – Importing or Transporting Lottery Tickets The geolocation check is how the platforms stay on the right side of that rule.
If You Win: Claiming and Taxes
Small prizes are credited to your online account automatically. You can withdraw to your bank or keep the balance for future tickets. Larger prizes usually require a claim form, with many states setting the threshold around $600. For jackpots and other very large prizes, you’ll typically need to appear in person at a lottery district office even if you bought the ticket online. Thresholds and procedures vary by state.
Winnings bought online are taxed the same as tickets bought at a gas station. The IRS treats all gambling winnings as taxable income. For lottery prizes over $5,000, the payer must withhold 24% for federal income tax before you see the money.2GovInfo. 26 U.S. Code 3402 – Income Tax Collected at Source That 24% is a prepayment, not a final bill. If your total income puts you in a higher bracket, you’ll owe more at filing; if lower, you may get some back.
Starting in 2026, the inflation-adjusted threshold for issuing a Form W-2G is $2,000 for lottery prizes that also equal at least 300 times the wager.3Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms W-2G and 5754 (Rev. January 2026) For a standard $2 ticket, the 300x condition works out to $600, so the $2,000 figure is the one that matters. Win $2,000 or more on a $2 ticket and expect a W-2G. Smaller prizes are still taxable; you just won’t get a form, so track them yourself.
State income taxes stack on top. Rates range from 0% in no-income-tax states to over 10% in the highest. A handful of states specifically exempt lottery winnings. Only two states withhold from nonresident winners, which matters if you buy a ticket while traveling.
Avoiding Online Lottery Scams
Searching for how to buy lottery tickets online puts you in front of scammers. Fake sites mimic official platforms, and bogus “you’ve won” messages flood inboxes. The Federal Trade Commission flags three reliable signs you’re dealing with a scam:4Federal Trade Commission. Fake Prize, Sweepstakes, and Lottery Scams
- They ask you to pay to collect a prize. Real winnings never require upfront fees for “taxes,” “processing,” or “shipping.”
- They ask you to pay to improve your odds. Legitimate lotteries are random, and asking for payment to boost your chances is illegal.
- They want your bank account or Social Security number to “verify” a prize. Real platforms already have your information from registration.
Buy only through your state lottery’s official site or through a courier you’ve independently confirmed is licensed in your state. Don’t click links in unsolicited emails or texts about a lottery you don’t remember entering. Scammers also invent official-sounding names like “National Sweepstakes Bureau.” No government agency will contact you demanding money to release a prize.