Where to Buy Lottery Tickets

Everyone dreams of winning the lottery. For most people, winning the lottery is something that they think would change their lives forever. Many people like to dream of what they would spend their lottery winnings on. Some people wish to buy new cars, a house, or start a business. 

However, in order to win the lottery, you need to buy a lottery ticket first. If you don’t already know where you can buy a lottery ticket, then you should keep reading to find where you can buy one and the regulations that may get in your way. 

Where Can You Buy Lottery Tickets?

If you are like most people, then you have probably dreamt of winning the lottery before. Despite this, you might have never bought a lottery ticket (Didn’t anyone tell you that you have to play to win?). You’ve seen those billboards on the highway that show you the sum of your potential lottery winnings, so now it’s time to buy a lottery ticket to actually test your luck.

If this is the case, if it’s your first time buying a lottery ticket, then you might not know where to buy one anyway. Luckily, lottery tickets are pretty easy to find. You can buy a lottery ticket at a gas station, grocery store, or convenience store. Most people buy them at gas stations in the U.S because they sell all kinds of lottery tickets you can choose from, which can be kind of fun. 

There’s lottery tickets called scratch offs, where you find out then and there if you are a winner. There are others, like the powerball, that take weeks to win. Don’t want to drive somewhere to buy a lottery ticket? Some websites actually offer an online lottery you can play from the comfort of your own home. MintDice, a fun bitcoin gambling site, plans to offer PowerMint soon which will allow you to play the lottery to win some Bitcoin. 

How Old Do You Need to Be to Buy Lottery Tickets?

Many people wonder whether there are any age restrictions to play the lottery or not. Like most fun things in the U.S, there are restrictions when it comes to playing the lottery. One of those restrictions is your age.

You can not buy, or cash in, a lottery ticket in the U.S if you are under the age of 18. In fact, anyone who sells or offers to cash in a lottery ticket for someone under the age of 18 can be guilty of a misdemeanor in some states. 

So if you are under the age of 18, you are going to have to wait until you become an adult in order to buy your first lottery ticket. This is a very similar restriction to the ones in place for things like gambling. Most states require you to be an adult before you begin playing the lottery in order to protect those under the age of 18.

Aside from this age restriction, there aren’t many other restrictions in place when it comes to buying lottery tickets. Most states in the U.S have lotteries which you can purchase tickets for, and try your own luck at winning their grand prize. 

Are There Any States You Can't Buy Lottery Tickets?

In addition to the age restrictions that are in place when it comes to buying lottery tickets, there are some states where buying a lottery ticket isn’t allowed regardless of your age. There are six states in the U.S that don’t have a state run lottery.

The six states are: Mississippi, Alabama, Utah, Alaska, Hawaii, and Nevada. The reason why you can’t buy lottery tickets in these states varies by region. For example, in Mississippi, Utah, and Alabama, the main reason for the lack of a state run lottery is religion. Religious groups in these states have defeated any efforts to start a state run lottery. 

In states like Alaska and Hawaii, there haven't been any recent efforts to start a state run lottery but there is also no clear reason why. Both of these states are recent additions to the US (only about 70 years) and are still heavily occupied by the indeginous people who lived there. Perhaps this is why you can’t buy lottery tickets in these states as of the time of writing, but maybe it will change in the future. 

Can You Buy Lottery Tickets in Nevada?

Most people would think that because gambling is so popular in Nevada, you would be able to buy lottery tickets there. However, you would be surprised to learn that you can’t actually buy a lottery ticket in Nevada. This state is one of the six states in the U.S without a state run lottery.

This will come as a surprise to most people since the city of Las Vegas, which is in Nevada, is mostly known for its gambling and casinos. You would imagine that a city that embraces gambling culture and casinos so much would also have a state run lottery. However, many powerful casinos have teamed up to shut down any ideas of starting a lottery in the state.

This is mostly because casinos don’t want people to gamble their money on things that aren’t the casinos. They want you to gamble all of your money in the casino wherever you go to visit Vegas. The last thing they want is for both locals and tourists to spend their money gambling on the possibility of winning the lottery and not on roulette or black jack. 

These casinos have so much money and power that they have effectively been able to stop any actions towards starting a state run lottery. As a result of this, it is very unlikely that Nevada will have a state run lottery any time soon. 

You can still gamble on all sorts of things like sports or casino games, but if you want to try your luck at winning the lottery you will have to go to another state. Luckily, there are 44 other states in the U.S where you can purchase a lottery ticket. 

With lottery winnings reaching sums in the hundreds of millions, it is no wonder that millions of people chose to buy lottery tickets. You can try your own luck when you buy a lottery ticket at most gas stations or grocery stores throughout the country.  

Live in a state that doesn’t offer the lottery? Well, time to get in the car and drive, or find an online website that runs a lottery, such as MintDice.

This article was brought to you by the Bitcoin Plinko game on MintDice. Originally posted to the MintDice Blog.