Which States Offer Online Lottery Sales For Mega Millions Tickets?

Tuesday’s Mega Millions jackpot has grown to $1.6 billion, sending everyone and their brother out in search of lottery tickets.

There are plenty of gas stations, convenience stores and lottery retailers to choose from. Mega Millions has 45 member states. Another option, available in 10 states, is to purchase tickets online.

Not surprisingly, every state with an online lottery or online lottery subscription service is a Mega Millions state. That said, not every online lottery sells Mega Millions tickets over the internet — or in the same manner.

Where can you buy Mega Millions tickets online?

Six states are full-fledged online lottery states, but only five of those sell Mega Millions tickets online:

• Georgia online lottery
• Illinois online lottery
• Kentucky online lottery
• Michigan online lottery
• New Hampshire online lottery

Sorry, Pennsylvania online lottery

And then there’s Pennsylvania; the sixth state that offers online lottery products through its website.

Unfortunately, the Keystone State doesn’t sell draw tickets through its PA online lottery platform at this point in time. If you want to buy Mega Millions tickets in Pennsylvania, you’ll need to head to a brick-and-mortar lottery retailer.

Five states offer online lottery subscriptions

In addition to the six states above, five others offer online lottery subscription services.

Like the ones listed previously, those with subscription programs require an online account. The difference between an online lottery state and online lottery subscription state is purchase frequency.

That’s supposed to be the difference, at least. Most services sell tickets in small blocks, but a couple are subscriptions in name only.

These are the Mega Millions states that offer online lottery subscriptions:

• Maine: Subscriptions are for 13, 26, or 52 weeks.
• New York: Subscriptions are available for a minimum of two weeks.
• North Carolina: Subscriptions range from a single draw to a full year.
• North Dakota: Subscriptions range from a single draw to a full year.
• Virginia: Subscriptions are available for a minimum of two weeks.

If you’re chasing the Mega Millions jackpot, remember that your odds of winning are infinitesimally small. Gambling responsibly means only playing with the money you can afford to lose.