What is an Online Lottery?
An online lottery is any lottery which by the power of the internet is made available to players all over the world. For instance, the Euro Millions would normally only be played by European players, just as the US Powerball would be just for players based in the USA. But online lottery sites make it possible for the whole world to participate legally.
For this reason these games get the name international lotteries, because theoretically they permit players from outside their countries to participate. How does this work? The way that this works is simpler to grasp than it initially sounds.
Playing Online Lottery in India
International lotteries work in much the same way as most other online lotteries that you might be familiar with. Sure, there are some variations regarding the number of balls selected on a ticket, how many bonus balls are used, the types of side-games or bets you can place, the cost of tickets, and the number of balls used in a draw. However, by and large, most lotteries are played in the same way.
Before playing any lottery online in India, you are advised to read up on how each game is played. You will not be able to purchase a ticket which is incorrect, so you will not usually have to worry about picking too few numbers, or anything like that.
To play international lottery games, you need to head to a lottery site or an online lottery ticket agent. These websites allow foreign players to buy lottery tickets which are not traditionally available to them. After creating an account and loading funds onto the account, you can select which lottery you wish to play. Then you will choose the numbers on your ticket and if you want to play alone or as part of a syndicate. After making the purchase, an agent (representative of the website) will then go and buy the physical ticket at a retailer and upload it to your account as proof.
How do you play Online Lottery in India?
The process of playing online lottery in India has never been safer, easier and more exciting. That's partly down to the fact that you can buy online lottery tickets in India in the same amount of time it takes to make a coffee.
If you want to buy online lottery tickets in India then follow these six simple steps:
1. Register: Browse our review pages and then choose your preferred online lottery site. Register as a new customer.
2. Deposit: Make a real money deposit using your favourite and most trusted banking method.
3. Choose your lottery: Online lottery sites will have a wide variety of jackpots for you to choose from all over the world – lotteries like Powerball from the US, Euromillions from Europe or El Gordo from Spain. Choose the game you want.
4. Buy your lottery tickets online: Select the number of lottery tickets you wish to buy and pick your numbers. If you prefer not to pick your own numbers, or simply don't have time, then select the random option.
5. Subscription or Multi-draw: This is the part where you really get a benefit from choosing to buy lottery tickets online. Instead of walking down to your local lotto shop every week you can choose to buy the same ticket for a designated period of time. For example, you could choose to buy the same lottery ticket with your lucky numbers in every draw for the next 2 years. This is known as a subscription.
Multi-draw is very similar but with this option you select a number of draws to participate in, say the next 20 for example. Both options can be paid for up front or by direct debit.
6. Find out if you won: This is the exciting and potentially life changing part! Your online lottery tickets have been bought, you have your numbers and you're ready to watch the lottery draw. Most of the time you can watch the draw live online, if not you lotto agent will inform you by email if you've won or not.
Why Play Online Lottery in India?
It's no secret that we are passionate about playing online, rather than in a more traditional way. That's not to say that we don't recognise the pros and cons that come with both methods of playing. We believe if you're serious about it, then the 4 following reasons are enough to make you play online, if you aren't already.
Variety
Rather than being restricted to your local Indian State Lottery, international agents give you the opportunity to buy tickets for a huge variety of lotteries from around the world. You can buy lottery tickets online in world famous draws like the Mega Millions and Powerball, but also in lesser known and more obscure lottos from Europe and beyond. Select your numbers in the Austrian Lotto or maybe the Mega Sena from Brazil is more to your liking.
Bigger Jackpots
By choosing to play online lottery from India, you are giving yourself the chance to play for HUGE jackpots. Don't get us wrong, the Indian State Lotteries change people's lives every week, but by choosing to play International, you are giving yourself the chance to become a crorepati. The jackpots at some of the big name draws can reach up to 10,000 crores!
Speed
Everything about the process of playing online is much quicker, and therefore easier. You can do everything from the comfort of your own home on your mobile phone. Fast sign-up process, fast ticket-purchasing and fast withdrawals.
Reliable
The lotto agents we recommend on this site are all reliable and trustworthy operators. They all hold current and well-respected lotto licenses which enable them to provide the service they do. If they step out of line they will have to answer to their gaming license provider, and could potentially lose their license.
Choosing the Best Lottery Site
First things first, you need to choose a site to buy your lottery tickets at. Let's take a look at the sites available to Indian customers. It's worth noting that we've reviewed many lotto agent sites in India which didn't make it on to our website. So rest assured, any site you do read about on here is secure, trustworthy and a great option for anyone.
When it comes to choosing a site to buy your online lottery tickets at, there are many things to consider. Can I buy tickets from India? Can I trust them to pay lottery jackpot winnings in full? Do they offer the lotteries I want to play? How can I deposit money to the online lottery site? The list of questions goes on.
Look no further than Best Online Lottery, we'll answer all of these questions and more for the biggest international lottery sites across the globe. Simply head over to our site review section to find all the information you need. For now though, here is our top 5:
- Lottoland
- Lotto Agent
- Lotto247
- PlayHugeLottos
- The Lotter
How to Buy a Lottery Ticket Online
There are two ways for you to buy lottery tickets online in India. The first is to load up your account at the relevant website with funds. This is the e-wallet method, and any tickets you buy are directly deducted from this balance. Similarly, anything you win is put into this e-wallet.
Alternatively, you can buy a ticket straight up with your credit card or debit card at the checkout. This method is not as ideal, as you will still receive your winnings via the e-wallet option. Uploading funds to your account is known as a subscription.
The Cost of Buying Online Lottery Tickets
The amount you are likely to pay to purchase your online lottery ticket in India will be a touch higher than you would ordinarily pay if you visited a land-based ticket seller. The main reason for this is that you are paying an agent to go out and buy your physical ticket for you, and of course, the lottery site wants to make a small profit. We are not talking extensive sums here, but if a ticket traditionally costs ₹76, then you can expect to pay anything from ₹114 up to ₹152 a ticket instead.
Claiming Your Winnings
Should you find that you have landed a decent win (or any win at all for that matter), you are going to want to receive your winnings. Each international lottery betting website has its own rules regarding how they go about doing this, and you are going to want to know what they are before you decide to play. It's also worth checking out our article titled... What if I win the lottery? in case your numbers are drawn out!
Some international lotteries pay out your winnings in one lump sum. Other lotteries choose to make annuity payments to players, which tend to increase in size each time. However, lottery betting sites also have that choice to make. They, too, can opt for an annuity or lump sums. It could be that either the lottery or the betting site differs on how they go about it. This is always worth checking in advance.
Do you Need to Pay Tax on Winnings?
There are one or two other things which are worth noting about international lotteries. The main thing being that you may be liable to pay tax on your winnings, even if you are living in a country which does not tax lottery winnings. The primary reason for this is that some international lotteries tax all winnings at the source.
For instance, if you win the Mega Millions, you are liable to pay US tax, even if you do not live there. Most lotteries pay out their prizes in tax-free cash, though. With that said, you may still be liable for tax if your own country of residence has a gambling tax or considers revenue from gambling an income.
Is Lottery Legal in India?
It's a good question and obviously a very important one that needs answering before we buy a lottery ticket. Firstly, we need to be sure to separate offline lottery and online lottery because they are both governed by different regulations. Let's touch on offline first.
In 2015, 13 of India's states implemented new regulations to ensure that government offline lotteries could take place without breaking the law. Some of the more famous draws include; the Kerala State Lottery, the Punjab State Lottery and the Sikkim State Lottery. A full list of states can be seen below:
Indian State Lotteries
- Arunachal Pradesh
- Assam
- Goa
- Kerala
- Madhya Pradesh
- Maharashtra
- Manipur
- Meghalaya
- Mizoram
- Nagaland
- Punjab
- Sikkim
- West Bengal
If you live in any of the above states then you are free to participate in their monthly, weekly or bumper lottery draws by purchasing tickets offline. However, we are more interested in finding out if online lottery in India is legal or not.
Legal Online Lottery in India
Of course you won't be able to buy Indian State Lottery tickets online, but is it legal to play international lottery in India?
When it comes to the legality of online lottery in India, there's no need to worry about which state you live in. International lottery sites are setup and run in a way which means they're not regulated by Indian law. So it's fair to say that any of us can buy a lottery ticket online without any worries.
Which International Lotteries can you Buy Tickets For?
If there is a big international lottery that you want to buy tickets for, it's likely you'll be able to. Online lottery sites like Lottoland or Lotto Agent offer tickets for nearly all of them. Most people are attracted to the two big jackpots in the US - Mega Millions and Powerball where the jackpots are quite astounding.
But you shouldn't be fooled into thinking these are the only options. It's possible to buy tickets for lottos in countries such as the UK, France, Spain, Italy, Canada, Australia and many more.
