For first-timers, playing the lottery online can be overwhelming.
Which sites to choose? Which lotteries to play? How to buy a ticket? Which payment method to use? How to check the results? How to cash out winnings?
So many questions on your mind. So many answers to find!
To ease you out of all the confusion, we’ve put together this beginner’s guide on how to play the lottery online in India. You’re just 10 steps away from becoming a pro. Let’s go.
1. Decide on the Lottery You Want to Play
Since you can’t play any of the government lotteries in India online, you need to choose world lotteries. Don’t fret because they are even better than Indian State lotteries. You can not only purchase your entry online but also win bigger jackpots.
Please note that you can decide on the lottery to play before registering with a lotto site or choose from its list of available lotteries after you sign up. To help you decide better, we have listed some of the best and most popular international lotteries below:
Min jackpot: ₹150 Crores
Record win: ₹16,500 Crores
Min jackpot: ₹139 Crores
Record win: ₹1847 Crores
Min jackpot: ₹9 Crores
Record win: ₹128 Crores
Min jackpot: ₹17 Crores
Record win: ₹255 Crores
Of course, you won’t be able to play any of the lotteries directly because the draws are organized outside the country. This takes us to our next step.
2. Find a Legit International Lottery Site
To play world lotteries, you would have to rely on international lottery sites that accept Indian players. Some of them would buy an official lottery ticket on your behalf while the others would let you bet on the results of the official draw – so-called lottery betting.
The actual format isn't important. What's important though is to find a legit and quality site because not all that glitters is gold. Having thoroughly reviewed and compared Indian lotto sites, you can find our top choices listed below.
Most of the lottery sites online are trustworthy. But every now and then you will come across rogue sites doing shady businesses. So, how do you tell the good from the bad? A wise way to evaluate the credibility of an online lottery site and understand how good of an experience you will get is to look for the following aspects:
- Presence of a valid license: without one, no lotto site is to be trusted.
- Range of lotteries available: the more the merrier.
- Efficacy of the customer support team: quick-to-respond, knowledgeable, and personable staff are the top dogs.
- Worth of the bonus, if available: the perk should profit and gratify you.
- Availability of multiple payment methods: you don’t want to bank on just one, right?
- Method of notifying winners: you shouldn't wonder if you won; you should know!
- Ease of cashing out: the sooner you meet your money, the better.
- Clear payment terms: hidden charges are awful.
- Winner stories: take it from those who came, saw, and conquered.
- Privacy policy: knowing how the site uses your personal and financial data is important.
- User-friendliness: easy-to-navigate, quick-loading, clutter-free sites are the best.
- SSL encryption: the information you share with the site should be stopped from being read and modified because snoopers gonna snoop.
- Price of tickets: after all, playing the lottery should not cost you a bomb.
- Play features: having the choice to play solo or in a syndicate for a higher chance of winning should not be overlooked.
- Player review: the more you know a lotto site the more confident you will be in selecting or rejecting it.
Additionally, since you are an Indian playing foreign lotteries, check if the following aspects are available as well:
- The specific world lottery you want to play
- The payment method you wish to use
- The support for Rupee as a currency
Save this section as a ready reckoner to refer to every time you consider a lottery site for playing. Now, let’s move on to the next step.
3. Register and Verify Your Player Account
Regardless of whether you want to do your homework to find a trusted lottery site or use our list of recommended sites, the process of registration would remain the same. Almost all sites would ask for all or most of the following basic information to sign you up:
- Full name
- Permanent address
- Mobile number
- Email ID
- Date of birth
- National ID/Passport number
Find screenshots of the signup pages of Lottoland Asia and Lottofy below.
Remember to enter the required information correctly to avoid discrepancies and disagreements during verification and payment. All legitimate sites will ask you to verify your account to enhance its security. This is usually not asked of at once, but to comply with laws and regulations, it is a process that you have to go through at some point.
To start the process of verification, go to your profile and look for the section that asks for documents. You will be required to upload soft copies of some of the following documents:
- A national ID card (Voter ID, PAN, or ADHAAR)
- Passport
- Driving license
- Credit card
- Utility bill
- Bank account certificate
- Bank passbook
- Source of wealth
It may seem like a long list, but normally, all you are asked to provide is one proof of ID and one proof of address. A verified account is entitled to transfer any prize money to a bank account or an eWallet, such as Skrill.
Verification processes at legit lottery websites are safe as only the operators would be able to view the documents for validation. SSL encryption makes sure no third party has access – intentional as well as unintentional to these documents.
Most importantly, verification makes the payout process smoother, especially when you win larger prizes. The quicker a lotto site can make sure it is paying the right winner, the easier the process.
Additionally, some sites might ask you to validate your email and phone number before giving you access to all their features. They would send you a code for the same. Do not skip this if you want to enjoy playing lotteries to the fullest on such sites.
4. Add Funds
You must have sufficient funds in your account to be able to start playing lotteries online. Log into the lottery site and head to the ‘Deposit’ or ‘Cashier’ option on the menu.
Top lottery sites will offer a range of deposit methods including UPI, Net Banking, credit and debit cards, e-wallets, and even cryptocurrencies. Select your preferred payment method and enter the amount you want to credit to your player account.
Every lottery site will specify a minimum deposit amount, if not a maximum. Make sure the amount you enter is equal to or more than this limit.
Next, click on the ‘Deposit’ button to proceed with the transaction. Depending on the payment method you choose, you will be asked to complete the transaction in the same window or be redirected to a third-party window of the payment processor.
Confirm and complete the payment to get money into your player account. For quick deposits in India, choose UPI (Paytm, GooglePay, Phonepe, BHIM) or Net Banking. E-wallets (Skrill, Neteller, MuchBetter, Jeton) are a safe option, too.
5. Select the Lines on the Lottery Ticket
Assuming that you have already decided on the lottery you want to play, found a lotto site of your preference, registered and funded your account, it’s now time for some real action!
Once you are logged into your player account, take your pick from the list of available lotteries. Most sites display the best online lotteries on their main menu and home page. If not, your lottery of choice will always be available in their extended list.
You are most likely to find the date and time of the draw as well as the ticket price displayed on the option. Should you want more information, most sites will also have a dedicated page linked to the displayed lottery.
Clicking on the ‘Play Now’ button will open the ticket window.
Depending on the lottery you choose, you will see a grid of numbers on the ticket window usually ranging anywhere from 1 to 49 for the main numbers along with one or more bonus numbers.
For instance, here’s what a ticket window for the US Powerball looks like on Lotto247:
This lottery requires players to choose 5 main numbers between 1 and 69, and 1 Powerball number between 1 and 26. The 6 selected numbers form what is known as a line in the lottery. Each grid in the above image represents a single ticket or entry.
You can play more than one line for a single upcoming draw. You can also play multiple lines for multiple upcoming draws.
Check out: What is a Line in Lottery
Lottery being a game of luck, there is no rule defining how to pick your lucky numbers. Select the numbers you believe are most likely to be drawn. It can be based on your observation of frequently winning numbers, a special day, or even a mere hunch.
If you’re unsure or don’t want to do it manually, use the site’s ‘Quick Pick’ or similar feature to auto-select random numbers. You can always clear the selection if you are not satisfied with the number combination picked for you.
Once you are confident you want to go ahead with the selection, click the Play button to move to the next step. You might be asked to reconfirm your selection. Do it and proceed to purchase your ticket(s).
Here’s an important point to remember: you can buy lottery tickets as an individual player as well as in groups called syndicates. Please check with the lottery site if it facilitates syndicate betting and on which lotteries. Syndicates not only share the cost of tickets, but also the prizes.
6. Buy Your Ticket
Assuming you want to go ahead with your selection of lottery numbers, you must now add the tickets to your cart just like you add products to the shopping cart on an eCommerce site. From hereon, the process is exactly like shopping online.
You need to checkout and make the payment to purchase the lottery tickets. If you followed Step 4 and added the funds, money will be debited from your account on the lottery site.
If you skipped Step 4, you would either have to fund your account first or pay for the tickets directly from your bank or e-Wallet account using a payment method the site provides.
Once the payment is successful, you will get notified via email or SMS about your purchase. Additionally, you would also receive a notification on your account on the lottery site about the same.
As we discussed earlier, a lottery site would either buy official tickets on your behalf or let you enter a betting competition based on the official draw.
In the first case, local lottery agents of the organizer country would set out to purchase a physical ticket after receiving your money. They would then scan it and send the digital copy to you via email or on your account.
On the other hand, if you choose a lottery betting site, you would enter a replica of the draw where the prizes and odds of winning remain the same. After you deposit money for the entry, the site will send you an email as proof of purchase and also add the entry to be viewed under your account profile.
Please note that not all sites will display lottery ticket prices in INR. When you purchase tickets on such sites, the amount in the supported foreign currency would be first converted to INR.
Currency conversion rates would be applicable. Some payment processors might even impose additional charges. Always check the current conversion rates and have a word with your bank to know how much you would eventually pay. Better yet, choose a site that supports rupees.
Once you buy your ticket, all you need to do is wait for the draw to happen and keep your fingers crossed.
7. Leverage Available Bonuses
If the lottery site is offering bonuses, do not leave without claiming them. We have compiled a list of bonuses you would generally find on a lottery site in India.
Check them and assess their worth:
Free Ticket (Buy/Get)
You might receive a free ticket when you buy your first lottery ticket online, purchase tickets in bulk, or subscribe to enter draws periodically. Use it to enter another draw of the same or a different lottery.
Deposit Bonus
Make a successful deposit and get a certain percentage knocked off on your next lottery ticket purchase. Deposit bonuses boost your bankroll, especially if you are playing on a shoestring. For instance, if you deposit ₹1,000 and there is a deposit bonus of 50%, you will receive an extra ₹500 (50% of 1,000) credited to your cash balance.
Cashback (Moneyback)
With a cashback or moneyback bonus, you would get back a certain percentage of the amount you spend on buying tickets. For instance, if you buy tickets worth ₹1,000 and the lottery site offers you a 20% cashback, you will receive ₹200 in your cash balance.
Discount
A discount lets you buy lottery entries at a cost lesser than the original price. For instance, if there is a 10% discount on a lottery ticket worth ₹300, you will get it for ₹30 less, i.e. ₹270.
Signup Bonus
Also known as First Deposit Bonus, this promotional offer is only applicable to new players. You would receive either a free ticket, or discount, or cashback on your first deposit, which you can use to buy more tickets. In rare cases, no deposit at all is required, but a free ticket is received for just creating an account.
Referral Bonus
You win a referral bonus when you refer someone to the lottery site that offers it. A referral bonus is usually a free ticket or cashback, but it can also be a deposit bonus or discount.
8. Check the Result of the Draw
Now that you have bought your lottery ticket, wait for the draw to happen and then check the results online.
An international lottery site that sells tickets will always publish the latest as well as historical winning numbers. All you need to do is visit the site after the draw is over and check if you won.
Most sites will also show the winning numbers alongside your chosen numbers on your player account. This makes it easier to compare the two and figure out if a win has been registered.
Please note that the top online lottery sites in India would personally notify their winners immediately after the results are declared regardless of the size of the prize. They would reach out via email, SMS, or telephone for verification and payout.
The best ones, however, would send notifications to ALL their players for free regardless of whether they won or lost.
9. Cash Out if You Win, Retry if You Lose
When you win, your account balance at the lottery site will be updated with the prize money. You must now prepare to withdraw the same to your bank account or e-Wallet.
Most sites will process withdrawals for free. However, a minimum amount would almost always be specified, a prize value lower than which cannot be cashed out.
To withdraw your lottery winnings to a bank account, follow these steps:
- Head to the ‘Withdrawals’ section on the lottery site.
- Select the payment method that you used to add funds.
- Enter your bank account number.
- Enter the amount you wish to withdraw.
- Complete the verification procedure specified by the site.
- Wait for the withdrawal request to get processed.
Jackpot winnings will be credited either as a lump sum or an annuity to your bank account. Please note that bigger winnings require extensive vetting to ensure the right winner is getting paid and to prevent money laundering.
Smaller winnings, on the other hand, will be paid out in full and almost immediately after minimal verification. Moreover, your lottery winnings would be subject to taxation.
To receive your winnings without hassles, always remember to…
- Confirm your email address and phone number after registration.
- Enter your name correctly (as it appears on your national ID) when registering.
- Use only those payment methods that are issued in your name.
- Use the same payment method for withdrawals that you used for buying tickets.
- Double-check the amount you want to withdraw before sending the request.
You must also be aware that a lottery betting site would pay you differently compared to a lottery ticket messenger site. Although it need not be part of the guidelines, we thought it would be better if you understand the difference.
Since a lottery ticket messenger acts as a third party for buying your tickets, it will also do the same while paying you out. You will receive your prize money from the official organizers of the draw.
Smaller payouts will be handled via the lottery site that collects the winnings and credits them to your lottery account. Big jackpots might require you to fly to the organizing country to personally collect the money from the official operator. The concerned lottery site will help facilitate this process.
On the other hand, a lottery betting site is always tied to an insurance company for payments. Smaller prizes are paid directly from the operator’s own fund pooled from the total ticket sales. For larger prizes, the operator takes out insurance policies to cover the substantial payout.
Because a lottery betting site is not connected to the official lottery, payments are made quicker compared to lottery messengers.
10. Spread the Word
If you love the online lotto site and the international lottery you played, always spread the word! Who knows there might be another beginner chasing millionaire dreams!
Also, remember to tell your family and friends about this guide and the lotto sites you found here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more such interesting content.
