If you’ve ever played an online lottery, you’ve probably heard that Illinois was the first US state to offer the game. That’s not exactly true. New Hampshire, however, has made the leap into the online realm and offers instant win scratch cards and keno games. And now, the Kentucky Lottery has joined the party as well. Hopefully, you’ll follow these developments and try your luck, too! Here are some of the top lottery sites online today.
Illinois became the first US state to offer online lotteries
The Iowa Lottery and Scientific Games launch the industry’s first iPhone application, a ticket-checking app. The two companies also introduce the first Internet-based scratch game, Cyber Slingo(r). The New Jersey Lottery follows suit four years later with its own version of an online scratch game called CyberSlingo. Scientific Games also develops the first linked multi-state instant game, Deal or No Deal, which involves 21 states and offers exclusive prizes and marketing packages.
The Illinois lottery department also oversees the state lotteries of other states. The multi-state lottery game combines prize pools from multiple states and awards larger prizes than the sum of the individual state lotteries. This lottery game is sold only through the department. If you are interested in purchasing tickets, you may also want to visit the department’s website. The department also offers free lottery tickets. Its website has a guide for players to use when playing online.
Kentucky Lottery expands into online sales
The Kentucky Lottery announced a record year of sales at its board meeting last week. A vice president said that the lottery’s sales have reached $1.54 billion, an $85.6 million increase over the same time period last year. An internet sales increase is largely responsible for the jump in sales, although scratch-off ticket sales still remain the leading revenue generator. In FY21, scratch-off ticket sales accounted for 886.7 million of sales.
The board of directors of the Kentucky lottery corporation voted in March 2013 to launch Keno and internet sales. The lottery went live with Keno in November. Kentucky lottery officials have met with lawmakers and the governor’s office to discuss the plan. The treasurer, Allison Ball, serves on the lottery board. During this time, the lottery is working with the longtime lottery vendor, IGT, to develop an online ticketing platform.
New Hampshire iLottery offers instant win scratch cards
Since the lottery launched in late 2018, the New Hampshire iLottery has provided its players with a wide selection of instant win scratch cards and tickets for major drawings. Instant win games are akin to scratch-off tickets purchased at gas stations. Players buy tickets for various major drawings and receive their winnings instantly in their lottery accounts. Players may purchase individual Powerball or Mega Millions tickets or purchase multiple tickets for up to 104 drawings.
In September, the iLottery launched online and began offering tickets and instant win games. In just 16 days, players had already deposited more than $300,000 into their accounts. New Hampshire lottery revenue is crucial for public education in the state, with 25 cents of every dollar spent on games going to fund public education. Since its inception, the lottery has raised nearly two billion dollars for public education in the state.
Pennsylvania Lottery offers keno
The Pennsylvania Lottery is bringing keno to its modern gaming era. Now, players can play the game in person, online, or on mobile devices. Players can purchase a playslip at participating retailers, or download the game’s play slip to access it from anywhere. Drawings occur every four minutes, and players choose up to 10 spots on the playslip. Players place money on those spots and hope that one of their numbers will win the jackpot.
The new keno game was first introduced on May 1, 2015. Since then, a total of $2.7 million has been generated in ticket sales. The Pennsylvania Lottery has reported that more than half of all keno players have won prizes totaling $1.8 million. The game is played at more than 9,400 retail locations in Pennsylvania, and it is even available at 900 bars and restaurants with big-screen monitors. Each drawing is broadcast live via the lottery’s Livestream page.
