Is Buying Lottery Tickets Online Safe? See for Yourself!

With so many options on the market for playing the lottery online, how can you find a trustworthy and reputable service? Learn exactly what you should be checking out to ensure that your personal and financial information is safe when buying lottery tickets online.

Know What You’re Getting Into: Ticket Messenger Services vs Lottery Betting

You've already figured out lottery betting service. Both options are pretty common in the online gaming industry; so what’s the difference?

Ticket messenger services, like LottoSmile, purchase lottery tickets from a local retailer. You will be participating in the official draw and have your winnings paid out by a lottery operator. With a lottery courier service, you may be provided with a scanned copy of the official lottery ticket. Due to security concerns, this might not always be possible, but as a general rule of thumb, you should be given some form of proof that you are participating in an official lotto draw. To verify whether a website send you a copy of your ticket, check the website’s FAQ page or look for an image like the one below featured on LottoSmile's homepage.

Your other option is to play with a lottery betting service. Unlike a lottery messenger service, you do not take part in the actual lottery draw. Instead, players predict the winning numbers and place a wager on the outcome of the draw. While betting sites do award prizes according to the official lottery numbers drawn, the winnings are not paid out through a lottery operator. Instead, your wager will be forwarded to a third-party insurance company who will pay out larger prizes, such as jackpots or second division prizes. The betting service pays the insurance company a fee for every wager in order to counterbalance the risk of a large lottery prize being won, essentially placing an insurance policy on every bet. Smaller prizes are usually paid out of pocket by the lottery agency. 
As an independent service, lottery betting agencies have the advantage of being able to provide tickets at lower rates, as well as special deals and promotions that ticket messenger services, who are connected to official lottery operators, simply cannot offer. 

How to Make Sure Your Information Is Safe

Once you’ve decided on which lottery service to use, it’s time to sign up. We know it always feels like a gamble when you register to a new website, so we’ve listed a few safety measures that any credible online lottery service should have to protect your information:

Use a Secure Sockets Layer Certified Website

This security measure ensures that all personal and payment details are encrypted and unavailable to anyone but yourself. At LottoSmile, our customers' information is protected under Geotrust 128 SSL bit security, accessible with a username and password only.

An easy way to find out is to look for the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) lock symbol in the address bar at the top of your web browser page. This icon guarantees that all information exchanged with the website is completely protected; enabling you to make deposits, withdrawals, and enter personal details with confidence and peace of mind.  

Look for a License

A gaming authority will license a lottery service that complies with the rules and regulations applied when selling official lottery tickets. The image below shows LottoSmile’s gaming license from the MGA (Malta Gaming Authority). This certificate validates the trustworthiness of the brand, ensures customers funds are protected, and purchases are handled in a process that is fair and transparent.

If you cannot find a license, we recommend you contact customer service to verify before entering any sensitive information.

Check Out the Terms of Use

The Terms of Use is one of the most important pages on a company’s website. For lottery players, it allows them to review and better understand the  policies and requirements in regards to participating in lottery draws online, depositing and withdrawing funds, collecting wins, and more. It is crucial that you carefully read through the Terms of Use at least once to ensure that the website is transparent and regulated. 

Play it Safe - Look out for Responsible Gaming Tools

It's vital for a website offering lottery play to have a Responsible Gaming Guide. These guides will cover the basic requirements and rules for using the website and the playing the lottery online, advice on recognizing problematic gaming behavior, sources for support and help, and special features aimed at controlling the amount of time and money you’re spending on your lottery play. Some examples of these features are a spending limit, deposit limit, session time limit, and self-exclusion. Below is an example of the self-help features offered at LottoSmile:

Guarantee Your Winnings Will Be Paid Out

If you're playing with an online lottery service licensed by a gaming authority, you have nothing to worry about. These companies are contractually bound by the law to pay out your winnings. So not paying up could lose them their license. Click on the license at the bottom of the page or here to check out the license details and validity for yourself .

Is It Safe to Deposit Money and Withdraw Winnings Online?

Don’t play around when it comes to your money. We highly suggest you check out the website’s Payment Methods page to see if the payment methods, and deposit and withdrawal policies suit your needs. The website should have a variety of trusted payment methods, including credit cards, e-wallets, and bank transfers. Below is a list of the withdrawal options offered on LottoSmile’s Payment Methods page .

Communication Is Key

Using any online service involves depositing and withdrawing money, and giving your personal information. It's important that a website has an accessible and quality Customer Support Team. An easy-to-reach company shows transparency and care for their customers.

 But can you know this without actually contacting them? While the expression “You can’t know until you try” does ring true, there are a few things you could look out for to see if you’ll be getting fast replies to your inquiries:

1. How many ways can you contact them?
A good website will have several media channels you can use to contact them. At LottoSmile, players can reach a customer support representative via live chat, Messenger, and email. It’s important to have several outlets for communication to make solving problems and addressing complaints easy and accessible for both the user and the customer support team.
2. When are they available?
When dealing with a site that involves participating in international lotteries, depositing and withdrawing money it’s  important to have someone who’s always available to answer questions and find solutions to your problems. Nowadays, most sites do have 24/7 support, but there are still several that have limited hours. We suggest that you check if the customer service hours work with your schedule before you even start buying tickets. 
3. Is customer support offered in a language you understand?
There is nothing more frustrating than trying to explain a problem in a foreign language. It can lead to mistakes, misunderstandings, and miscommunication. While you cannot expect support in every language in the world, customer service should be offered in a customer's language. For example, players at LottoSmile can receive assistance in several major languages. While having a limited number of languages does not necessarily make a website less secure, miscommunication can often lead to mistakes; Something you don’t want when dealing with your winnings.

So, Is It Actually Safe To Buy Your Lottery Tickets Online?

Yes, it is! As the online lottery industry grows, many services offer licensed and regulated playing environments that players can feel safe and totally at ease using. After you make sure a lottery agency is safe and reliable by checking out whether your information will be protected, your prizes paid out, and your inquiries answered in a timely fashion- you’re ready to start buying lottery tickets online! If you’re still not convinced, it’s also helpful to read reviews on websites like Trustpilot to learn about the experiences of actual customers.
So next time you’re thinking about playing US Powerball, Mega Millions, EuroMillions, the popular EuroJackpot or EuroDreams online for the first time, or simply looking for another option, you’ll be able to judge for yourself which online lottery service is worth your time, and your money!