Guide To Online Lotteries
It’s All About Numbers – Playing The Lottery
Playing online lotteries to win money has to be one of the least entertaining ways to win extra cash. Although it’s simple and straightforward it offers probably the least overall value – in terms of entertainment – than other ways of gaming to win money.
Unlike sports betting, poker, or casino games where you can either watch or actively play for a reasonable period of time to get the most out of your bets, lotteries involve only a few seconds of actual time when a draw is taking place. Yes, there are build ups sometimes with TV programmes designed to drum up anticipation with inane activities and ways to draw the numbers but many lottery players don’t watch those which boils playing the lottery down to choosing a few numbers and buying a ticket…and looking up results….then probably throwing the ticket away.
Not my idea of fun, and for me they certainly don’t offer the opportunities to profit from forms of real money Tournament play or other types of cash games that require skill. In fact, I’d rather take my chances playing free social poker at Pureplay than trying to guess a line of numbers.
That said, there are some good points. There’s no question that lotteries are popular, and have been for many years. Who hasn’t dreamed of that $60 million win?
Lotteries do offer the chance to win those types of life changing sums of money for a reasonably low outlay. Plus they work well in a syndicate environment where chances can be increased by buying larger numbers of tickets and splitting the winnings. The ease of playing should also come into consideration. Pretty much anyone over the legal age can play, and there are plenty of operators now like Playhugelottos where you can buy tickets online for many of the international draws.
It’s also worth remembering that lotteries are also often run in support of good causes, with percentages of the money wagered going towards financing initiatives in those causes.
But the realism is that winning huge amounts of money playing the lottery is (almost) certainly never going to result in a win of that magnitude. Smaller winning amounts are possible though, and for many lottery fans playing the numbers has become a part of the weekly ritual. The dream of winning big is always alive.
If you do want to have a go at picking up a win, you’ll need to know which lottery options are open to you. Much will depend on which country you live in. You may need to consider whether to try playing online or in an offline contest. Operators such as Lottosend can help with this.
Either way you decide, lotteries will most likely never quite match the excitement and interest of a poker game or some spins on a slot. For a low outlay though (if you keep it sensible) you can keep alive that dream of a big pile of lottery cash…….
How To Win
Forgive a little smile here…because you probably know that no one can tell you how to win a lottery!
All you can do is understand precisely how they work and what you can do to slighly skew the odds in your favour.
So for anyone wondering how to win money playing the lottery, a few facts about the types of games and the probability of winning will be helpful. For example, the number of possible winning digit combinations, the number of total winning numbers drawn and the number of players are all factors that affect your odds of winning.
But because the lottery is a game of chance, meaning the outcome is based on random events rather than skill, your lottery number picking strategy is not considered to have much influence over your chances of winning. Even so, there are a few things you can do to improve your chances of winning lottery money.
Strategies
Picking numbers is the only area of control people have in playing lotteries, since the winning numbers are drawn at random. Statistically, the odds of winning do not change based on what numbers people pick, but since some numbers appear more frequently than others it’s easy for people to convince themselves that those numbers have a higher probability of appearing again.
Choosing the frequent numbers is one strategy that people use. Another strategy is to use favorite numbers, like birthdays or dates of lucky events. Other people use software that generates random numbers, whether online or on their hard drives. As long as it remains true that it only takes one ticket to win, the promise of one ticket delivering millions or tens of thousands of dollars will keep people coming back for new lottery draws.
Who Can Play
As long as you’re of the specified legal age, and living in a country or region where online gaming is allowed, then you’re legally able to play lotteries to try and win money.
You will need enough money as a starting deposit, and be able to use a deposit method that allows you to transfer money to the site you want to play at. This should never be a problem unless you are in a jurisdiction where online betting is frowned upon or illegal, and there are plenty of different deposit options.
Lotteries Around The World
Even with the heavy odds against winning big, millions of people around the world try their luck every day buying tickets. There are many different draws held in various countries throughout the world and many people try their luck chasing the big prizes. But luck is often an elusive thing, and lottery money that is not won generally reverts back into funding for good works in the country of its origin.
Some of the many major lotteries from around the world include the Euro Millions, the El Gordo Spanish Lottery, the Australian Lottery, the Powerball, Mega Millions, The Health Lottery, Super Enalotto in Italy , the UK National Lottery, The South African Lottery, The Mega Sena, the Lotto Max, the Super Lotto Plus, the Lotto 6/49 Canada and the Irish Lottery.
All of these feature significant pay outs for single grand prize winners and lesser amounts for shared winners. Many people have become overnight millionaires as a result of these draws, so the urge to play is strong with those hopeful people who feel that they stand a good chance of winning.
If you are planning to buy tickets from a country outside your own, there are a few things you might want to consider.
Some countries, such as the United States, have laws prohibiting buying tickets from foreign countries. The European countries tend to be more lax in their laws. Also, although there are many websites that are available to buy tickets from different countries, you might have to follow a link to the official site for that country. Usually official lottery sites are conducted in the native language of that country.
You need to be sure that you understand that language well enough to be sure of what you are buying and any rules regulating the draws for that country. There are also many countries that require you to be a resident of that country in order to win any prizes in that country.
The wisest thing to do is to do your research on the lottery laws in the country you wish to purchase tickets in and if you are able to buy tickets by purchasing them from clubs or from organized syndicates formed for that purpose, then do so, after making sure that your ticket purchases are confidential and secure.
You will also want to monitor the newspapers and websites that publish the winners, and double checking the information is not a bad idea either.
Your chance of winning a huge cash prize may be small, but remember, somebody always wins them…it may be you!
Where To Play
Clearly you can play lotteries in ‘real life’ or online. For the last-named here there are plenty of websites where you can play a whole range of lottery games from around the world.
Playing online certainly has its plus points:
An advertisement running in the UK at the moment shows a close up of a middle-aged man’s smiling from ear to ear. The narrator says something along the lines of, “this man’s lottery came up on Saturday but he did not go to the shop to buy his ticket.” The camera then pans out to reveal the man, still smiling and being massaged by two women, on a million-pound yacht in the Caribbean with the narrator completing his lines, “so it was a good job he played online.”
Playing online is definitely easier than the long trudge down to the supermarket or the newsagents to line-up and then wait around for the cashier to run your ticket through. You also don’t have the worry about losing your ticket should you become a winner.
How often have we heard the lottery winners say they slept all night on Saturday night with the winning ticket held firmly in their hands so as not to lose it? Playing online you would not need to even worry about losing your ticket, in fact you could even lose your internet connection, it still would not matter one bit. Your numbers are safe online. And any winnings can be happily transferred to your bank account straight away rather than a cheque or cash.
In The US
The focus of this small section is on the big US contests, and the ways for you to enter US lotteries. If you’re a resident of the US then read on below for info. For those of you who live outside of the US, maybe in the UK, Australia, Canada, or even India, there is one place you can check out which gives you the chance to enter – Lottosend.
According to USA.gov, there are 43 states in the U.S. that have lotteries. Also included are the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Now while specific games will certainly vary from state to state, this state form of gambling is sure to include Lotto and scratch-offs.
So whether you are playing a Pick 3 or 4 game, which are highly popular in most states, or taking your chances with a scratch off, or just looking for a thrill with one of many Lotto and daily games, lotteries are a way for states to generate revenue for various state projects and budgets. Some of the most popular ones being school scholarship funds.
Here is a list of the states and territories that offer lottery services:
US States and Territories With Lotteries
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Puerto Rico
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
U.S. Virgin Islands
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Now while most people that partake in their states’ respective lottery services do so by frequenting establishments that offer services such as scratch-offs, lotto tickets, and Pick 3, there is good news for those of you that prefer to enjoy the comfort of playing various lottery games from the comfort of your own homes, via the internet, or even on their smartphones.
You see, right now there are four jurisdictions that allow for legal online gaming in the US. The U.S. Virgin Islands, Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware. With more states jumping on board for the same rights, such as New York, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, and California, the pressure is sure to mount on lawmakers as legislation for these rights continue to pour in.
Also in 2012, Illinois became the first state to sell individual lottery tickets online. Even at that time at least 21 states and the District of Columbia were looking at allowing online lottery sales.
While states such as Minnesota and Florida have both introduced legislation recently to permit playing the lottery online, both have failed. But Michigan just may be the state to set the bar for an online lottery trend.
The Michigan State Lottery released a statement this year in which it voiced its intentions, to allow online tickets sales for its lottery to begin in the last quarter of 2014. Michigan sees the potential for online state lottery revenues, and estimates that it can generate up to $480 USD over the next eight years through smartphones and the internet.
While the Federal Government and individual states have various laws, that at times cross each other regarding online betting, in 2011, the Justice Department issued the opinion that the Wire Act of 1961, that bars wagering over telecommunication systems across state or national boundaries, only applied to sports betting.
With all of these things taken into consideration, look for more states to see the value of online lottery options. Also, if in doubt, check with your local lottery commission on the status of online lottery options in your state.
LottoAgent
For chances of winning a great prize in various lotteries around the world you’ll need to be using what’s known as a lottery concierge service. There are plenty of them, but one worth keeping an eye on is LottoAgent. Read the LottoAgent review to find out more.
Lottosend
Lotteries are all about dreams. Dreams of winning the big one, and what you could do with the cash. There are so many to choose from that selecting the right one, getting your entries in, and then tracking the results can be difficult. That’s where the new service from Lottosend kicks in.
With Lottosend you get the chance to ”play the biggest official lotteries from around the world”. At no extra cost than if you’d made your lottery entry on your own. And they’ll track your ticket, check it, and tell you when you’ve won.
If you haven’t heard of Lottosend before now, that may be because they’re a new operator in the lottery field. If you’re a very busy and active person, and like to participate in the many weekly lotteries, it might be that you’re often short of time to get those entries in.
With Lottosend, all you need to do is pick the lottos you want to participate in, pick your numbers (or do a quick-pick for when there is a lot to gain!) and from that point on Lottosend do all the work for you.
They not only have the major lotto games such as MegaMillions and Powerball, but also cover entries into EuroMillions, SuperEnalotto, and EuroJackpot! All adding up to a valuable website for any proficient lotto player.
In addition to getting your entries in plus tracking and checking them, one extra benefit is their discounted price for large purchases. If you tend towards the thrill of a risk when the prize is high and want to make a larger number of entries than usual, or maybe you’re part of a lottery syndicate, then Lottosend can actually give you more ‘bang for your buck,’ so to speak.
Pick 5 draws, get 10% off. Pick 10 draws, get 15% off. It all adds up to a great deal that you’d have a hard time turning down. Be careful though, with such a great deal at your fingertips you might be enticed into taking more risks with your cash. Don’t let gambling become a problem for you. The converse side to this is that – provided you can afford it – for just a few more dollars, you could be increasing your chances of becoming a millionaire at least ten-fold.
And what about the trust aspect? How do you now your entries have been made?
Well, there’s a visual solution to that. Lottosend always scan the ticket to prove that they have it, and for an extra buck will send you the hardcopy.
Will Lottosend Work For You?
It’s difficult to see what the downside of the Lottosend service is. To me it all looks positive, and might just change the way you play lotto forever.
No more longer stress about getting your lotto ticket, no worrying about missing out on the next big jackpot. With the Lottosend count downs to the next draws, you can really keep tabs of what is going on and how much time there is left to participate in the various lottos. Save time by doing all the work online, rather than wasting time traveling to an outlet or lotto dispensary (and the site works just great on a mobile screen too, so you can play just about anytime and anywhere).
Lottosend really does look to be the best way to get involved with global lotteries. If you haven’t yet checked them out, now’s the time.
Odds
For lottery games based on picking 6 numbers between 1 and 49, the odds of winning the big jackpot are 1 in 14 million.
Italy has a lotto game that requires picking 6 numbers from a field of 90, so the odds of winning the top prize are 1 in more than 600 million. But the odds of winning lower amounts between $2 and $200,000 are lower.
These probabilities are based on purely mathematical calculations of the possible winning number combinations and the number of winners at each payout level. Compared with the odds for winning with lottery instant win scratchcards, which can be 1 in 100 or even lower, winning money playing lotto is a long shot at best.
If the game is Mega Millions, where 5 of the numbers come from one pool of 49 numbers, and the remaining “mega” number comes from another pool of 49 numbers, the odds become more than 12 times harder than if all 6 numbers come from one set (1 in more than 175 million, compared with 1 in 49 million).
Powerball is based on the same game rules of picking 5 numbers from one set, and 1 number from another set of numbers. But Powerball has more total winners because it pays out to more people at levels of $10,000 or less.
In general the odds might seem against you, but in relation to the jackpot (of sometimes many millions of dollars), you might consider that a few of your dollars is worth the risk of the life changing event of becoming a multi-millionaire.
This video titled ‘why the lottery is so seductive’ shows just why they’ve become so popular worldwide.
How Easy Is It To Play?
The answer to this question varies of course, depending on the lottery involved.
Getting set up to play is easy. Just pick the website you want to play at and follow the registration process. The vast majority of websites offering lottery games make this process as easy as possible.
Most games themselves are generally straightforward to understand. You’ll be choosing which lottery you want to play and it’s as simple as seeing the card of numbers in front of you on the screen, and choosing the numbers you want.
Results are checked automatically and you’ll get an email to either tell you you’ve won or lost.
Are Lotteries Legal?
Lotteries often fall under the banner of gambling and hence do tend to fall under the same restrictions in those countries where gambling is banned. But it’s not quite so cut and dried and the best advice if you want to play the lottery but are unsure is to make your own check on the regulations for your specific country.
Certainly you’ll have no problems with legality if you’re in the UK, you might for the US, Australia, or India.
Are They Fair?
Since lotteries are based purely on chance and numbers being drawn – plus the fact that operators only get a cut and they get that cut whatever happens – it’s highly unlikely anything underhand could happen in a draw.
Often there are independent adjudicators who preside over draws and they’re regularly televised too.
Best Lottery Games
Whenever you want to find out the best of anything you’ll need to look at the subject from different perspectives.
In the case of lotteries for money, the best could mean those that have the biggest jackpots, that offer the widest range of prizes, or those that cover the widest range of countries
Personally I think it’s hard to label any lottery as the best.
The amounts you can win are often lifechanging and when you’re talking about those sums of money it doesn’t really matter how much.
The odds are always against you, although maybe you could argue that those with a smaller range of possible numbers are best, given you might have more chances of winning but of course the rewards might be lower.
Bonuses & Promotions
There are plenty of websites which offer access to various online lotteries, which of course makes for plenty of competition between them for Customers. Those websites make their money from a cut of every ticket sold through them…so it’s in their interests to attract as many regular ticket buyers as possible.
And of course one of the best ways to get more paying Customers – and keep those you’ve got – is to offer incentives.
These incentives come in the form of promotions. They might be bonus tickets, special 5 for the price of 4 deals, or even free scratchcards.
You’re unlikely to see the same sort of deposit bonus offers you’ll find at online casino and poker sites though.
Pros & Cons
There are not that many benefits of playing lotteries. Arguably their simplicity helps, as do the chances to win huge amounts.
But there’s not much fun or entertainment value, other than the anticipation maybe in the lead up to a draw.
On the negative side, playing online does make it very easy to wager more than you might intend to with the potential of heavy losses if you’re not careful. Plus the odds of winning a big amount are heavily against you.
Summary
When all’s said and done, playing the lottery is a very simple ‘select and wait’ form of betting. We’ve said before that getting maximum enjoyment out of your betting is a worthwhile goal that ensures it’s not all about the money and lessens the risks of becoming addicted.
Lotteries don’t fall into that bracket, but equally they don’t seem to be addictive either. I guess this is because most lottery fans know and recognise the true chances of winning.
As long as you do keep in mind that winning the jackpot is impossibly unlikely, they do appear to be a reasonably harmless form of betting. Keep your ticket purchases low and treat them as they should be treated – simple, low cost, low involvement, low chance ways of winning a huge amount of money.
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