How to Buy Powerball Tickets Online in 2017

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If you’re looking to buy Powerball tickets online so you don’t have to leave the comfort of your own home to get a chance at $700 million, you’ll likely have a tough time. Only three states legally allow residents to buy tickets online: Georgia, Illinois, and Michigan.

Here’s what you need to know.


Georgia, Illinois, and Michigan Allow Residents to Purchase Tickets Online

Because of strict lottery regulations, only Georgia, Illinois, and Michigan currently let residents purchase Powerball tickets online. You must be a resident of the state in order to purchase a ticket online and you must actually be in the state at the time you are buying the ticket online.

To buy a Powerball ticket in Georgia, visit this link and pick Powerball near the bottom of the page. Make sure first that you read the rules closely and match all the requirements. You’ll need to create an account before you can buy tickets. Up to $5,000 of winnings will be automatically deposited in an iHOPEcard account.

To buy a Powerball ticket online in Illinoisvisit this link and click “Buy Now” near the top of the page. Make sure first that you read the rules closely and match all the requirements. In Illinois you can only buy buy up to 25 draws at a time and set up to purchase your tickets automatically for 26 weeks. There are also some promotional codes in Illinois.

To buy a Powerball ticket online in Michigan, visit this link. Make sure you read the rules closely first. You can buy up to 50 tickets at a time for $100. You can choose “Easy Pick” for random numbers or build your own numbers. A minimum purchase of $5 is required to play. You can also add a Power Play for $1 more. You can even choose up to 30 consecutive drawings for automatic tickets. You’ll get alerted automatically if you won any prizes.


New York, North Carolina, New Hampshire, North Dakota, and Virginia Allow Residents to Buy Subscriptions to Lottery Tickets Online

A few other states allow residents to participate in online lottery subscription services, Time reported. These include New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, and Virginia. Here are the links to participate in these. Just remember: you have to buy a subscription for every drawing, you can’t just buy one ticket.

  • New Hampshire – Buy these early. The subscription is not effective for the current drawing and needs two weeks for processing.
  • New York – But despite what you may have heard, this does not work for Powerball. It works for MegaMillions Megaplier, Cash 4 Life, and the New York Lotto.
  • North Carolina – This allows purchase from Powerball, Carolina Cash 5, Lucky for Life, Mega Millions, and Powerball.
  • North Dakota – This includes Powerball, Lucky for Life, Mega Millions, Hot Lotto, and 2by2. Here you can choose a single draw or up to 52 weeks. You must have a North Dakota mailing address to play and a land-based Internet connection (not Wi-Fi) and you must be physically within the borders of North Dakota.
  • Virginia – Covers Powerball and Mega Millions. You must be a resident of Virginia to use this and a minimum deposit of $20 is required, with a minimum subscription length of two weeks or four drawings. These can be purchased the day of the drawing. Powerball sales for that day stop at 10 p.m. on draw nights, local time.

Additional Options

Here are a few additional options. (Note: Except for LottoHub, these aren’t officially associated with a state lottery group or Powerball itself.)

Some states let you pay other people to buy tickets for you via apps or online services, but not all have been tested or verified, according to Time. In California, you can use an online service like LottoGopher to pay someone else to get your ticket. TheLotter works similarly. Other similar services also exist. Buying through an online vendor does involve some risk. During the $1.6 billion lottery, some people purchased tickets through unofficial means online and found the vendor later shut down, Time reported.

LottoHub is the official app of Powerball and MegaMillions for iPhone or Android. You can enter your ticket information there to keep track of your results.

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