You can buy lottery tickets any time an authorized retailer is open, up until that drawing’s sales cut-off, as long as you meet your state’s minimum age and are physically inside a state that runs a lottery. Forty-four states plus Washington, D.C. sell tickets. The minimum age is 18 in most of them, 19 in a few, and 21 in a handful more. Each drawing has its own hard deadline, usually one to two hours before the draw time, after which the terminal will not sell you a ticket for that game.
How Old You Have To Be
Most lottery states set the minimum purchase age at 18. A small number require buyers to be 19, and a few raise it to 21. Six states do not run a lottery at all, so no legal purchase age exists there. Retailers are expected to verify age and will ask for a government-issued photo ID if there is any doubt.
Adults can generally buy a ticket and give it to someone under the legal age as a gift, but that does not mean the minor can cash it in. Most states restrict prize claims to people who meet the minimum purchase age, so a winning ticket gifted to a 16-year-old may need to be claimed by the adult who bought it. A few states go further and prohibit buying tickets with the intent to hand them to a minor at all. If you are buying for a young relative, check your state lottery’s rules first.
When Sales Close Before a Drawing
Even a 24-hour store cannot sell you a ticket for a specific drawing after that drawing’s cut-off. Powerball drawings happen every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. Eastern. Mega Millions drawings fall on Tuesdays and Fridays. Each state sets its own cut-off, but ticket sales for a given drawing typically stop one to two hours before the scheduled draw time. A retailer in California may cut off at a different local time than one in Georgia, so buy earlier in the day rather than racing to the counter an hour before the drawing.
Outside of these draw-specific deadlines, the only limit on when you can buy is the retailer’s own hours. The lottery terminal in the store also has to be active, which occasionally matters during system maintenance windows or after a large jackpot is won and systems reset.
Where You Have To Be
Each state runs its own lottery under its own laws, and a ticket must be bought within the borders of the state that issues it. You do not need to live there. Anyone passing through can walk into a retailer and buy a ticket, and non-citizens visiting the United States can legally purchase lottery tickets as well. If the ticket wins, you claim the prize through the lottery commission of the state where you bought it, not the state where you live.
Buying Tickets Online or Through an App
Roughly 18 states now let you buy lottery tickets through official state lottery websites or mobile apps. If your state offers it, the platform will verify your identity and use geolocation to confirm you are physically within the state’s borders at the time of purchase. You typically have to create an account, provide personal information, and fund a digital wallet before buying.
Third-party courier services also exist. These companies have an employee physically buy a ticket at a retail location on your behalf, then scan and store it for you. Their legal status varies sharply. A small number of states have formally licensed them, others consider them illegal, and most state laws are silent on the topic. The practical risk is real: if your state’s lottery commission considers a courier-purchased ticket illegitimate, you could be ineligible to collect a prize on a winning ticket you paid for. Check whether your state lottery has issued guidance on couriers before using one.
How You Can Pay
Cash and debit cards are accepted virtually everywhere lottery tickets are sold. Credit cards are a different story. About half of all lottery states prohibit credit card purchases outright, and in states that technically allow it, individual retailers often decline credit for lottery transactions anyway. The restrictions exist partly to discourage people from going into debt to gamble and partly because card fees eat into lottery revenue. If you plan to pay with plastic, assume you will need a debit card unless you have confirmed otherwise with the retailer.
People Who Cannot Buy at All
State lottery laws universally prohibit lottery commission employees from playing their own state’s games. In most states, that ban extends to immediate family members living in the same household. Lottery vendors and contractors who work closely with the commission face similar restrictions in many states.
Retailers who sell lottery tickets can usually buy them for personal use, but not during working hours and not at the terminal they operate. The concern there is less about rigged drawings and more about theft prevention and the appearance of impropriety. These rules vary by state, but the general principle is consistent: anyone with a professional role in the lottery system faces tighter restrictions than the general public.
One Habit Worth Starting at the Counter
Sign the back of every ticket immediately after you buy it. An unsigned winning ticket is a bearer instrument, and anyone who finds it can attempt to claim it. The time to sign is before the ticket leaves the store, not after you check the numbers.