a look at online lottery draws and the way they are regulated
Playing lotteries at retailers means you are playing a lottery in which you have purchased a physical ticket from a physical seller. One of the downsides of retail lottery purchases is the fact that, whether you purchased the tickets as the only intended task, or did so randomly at another retail site you specifically went to, you still had to go out to do so. You had to leave your home and venture out for that ticket.
Online Lottery Draws
But with lotteries being able to be purchased and played online, there are another set of issues that come up with that, both good and bad. The good part is that you don’t have to leave home to purchase your lottery tickets. You simply log into your online lottery account on your computer, tablet, or smartphone, make your purchase, and wait until you find out if you are a winner or not. There is no physical ticket that you need to worry about losing or getting stolen.
With online ticket purchases, you can either purchase your tickets on a weekly basis by logging in, or set your account to automatically buy tickets at regular intervals. You will never have to go anywhere or even log in to see if you are a winner. The system will automatically notify you if you have won a prize on that draw, and deposit it into your lottery account up to a certain amount. Anything over that amount and the notification will let you know that you might have to mail in the ticket, or to bring it into the lottery office. You will also receive regular communications such a jackpot alerts, member newsletters, information on contests and coupons, offers, changes or updates on policies and many more member perks.
However, on the bad but regulatory side, you will have to contend with things that you might not be willing to do. For instance, before you can buy your lottery tickets online, you will have sign up for an online account with the lottery operator. This means you will have to provide your name, address, phone number, date of birth, and banking information, plus any other information the operator requires. All of your information, purchases, and wins and non-wins are kept in a database, that although is highly secure, is susceptible to hacking. But because the lottery industry takes online lottery accounts and play very seriously, they do have a number of random security activities that do protect your data as completely as possible. So having your online lottery account data protected is one of the operator’s highest priorities.
You will also be required to transfer money from your bank account into your lottery account to be able to buy tickets online. And your account can be vulnerable to unauthorized and illegal use by one or more of your children. Today’s tech-savvy kids can quickly get into parents’ lottery accounts and buy tickets on their own, not only breaking the law as a minor who is gambling, but breaking the law by hacking your account, and being exposed to gambling at an early age that can manifest into gambling problems as they get older. The operator can only secure your account to the best ability that you can protect it yourself. Never let your kids know you have an online lottery account. Never bookmark it or have any way for your kids to discover a link on your computer. Always use an extremely complicated password (with no automatic login enabled) and use only security questions and answers that you know your kids don’t know.
And unlike buying tickets at a retailer, it is much easier to overspend on an online account than it is at a retailer. You will have to be sure you use that tools provided by your online account to keep track on your spending, set up automatic maximum limits, and set timers so you don’t stay on longer than you want to.
So if you feel comfortable with buying your lottery tickets online, remember that there are a lot of perks of having an online account. Just remember that although there are many regulations that pertain to online ticket purchases, keep a budget, maintain account security, and have a lot of fun.