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Watch Out for Online Lotteries
Type in "online lotteries" in any search engine and you will come up with many sites offering tickets for single-state and multi-state lotteries in the U.S., such as Powerball or Mega Millions, or other well known lotteries in countries around the world. Obviously they advertise how easily you can win hundreds, or perhaps, thousands of dollars.
However, there is a definite catch. In the U.S. it is a criminal offense to purchase lottery tickets outside of the participating states. If you buy a ticket online for the New York lottery, but you live in Maryland, you are committing an offense.
The Grey Areas of Online Lottery Sites
Some of these online lottery sites claim that they are not actually purchasing the ticket. They explain that the ticket is sold and monitored by a legal agent in the state where the lottery is held. The site will charge you a service fee (usually $1) for doing this. They claim that it is exactly as if you had called your brother, uncle, sister, etc. and asked him or her to purchase a lottery ticket for you and then hold it for you if it is a winner. Should your ticket win a large amount, you will have to make arrangements to get to the state to pick it up. If the amount is small, the site will arrange for the agent to mail a check to you, although this is actually illegal.
Then again many of these online lottery sites are run by "off shore" companies, i.e. companies that are out of reach of the U.S. Government. But then you may find that you will have trouble collecting your money should you get a big win, and there will be no way that you could sue the company or ask for redress.
Purchasing a ticket for national lotteries in the U.K., Canada, Australia, etc. is no better. If you live in the U.S. there is a law against receiving lottery tickets for foreign lotteries through the mail. Many other countries have the same kinds of laws or regulations.
A Word to the Wise
I read a USA Today article about online lotteries. It was written by a smart young lady named Kim Komando, and I quote her closing line:
"It all boils down to this. The odds of you winning Powerball, Mega Millions or any other lottery game through an online site and cashing in are slim. When it comes to playing the lottery online, just don't do it."
It sounds like good advice.
Try Online Scratchcard
If you enjoy the kind of lottery game, then there are other online casino games which you can try. Online scratchcard does not have the same legality issues as lotteires. Shop around for a good and reputable online casino and try online scratchcard.
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