New York Lottery - Can I Buy Lottery Tickets Online in NY? (2024)

The New York Lottery is the biggest and most profitable lottery in the country. In fiscal year 2018-19, the lottery contributed about $3.47 billion to support education in New York state. As a matter of fact, all of the revenue goes toward public education.

Apart from several popular in-house draw games, the New York Lottery also offers several multi-jurisdictional games: Powerball, Mega Millions and Cash4Life.

The lottery has been around since 1967, overseen by the New York State Gaming Commission. All players need to be at least 18 years old to take part in it. Still, some games, such as Quick Draw, are only allowed for players who are 21 and older, as the game is located in alcohol-serving areas.

If you’re interested in learning more about the NY lottery, you’ll find all the essential information on this page. We’ll discuss available games, drawing times, jackpots and more. Read on.

Buy NY lottery tickets online

New York online lottery

Unfortunately, people in New York cannot purchase tickets online. However, there’s a way to buy online subscriptions for multi-state draw games, such as Mega Millions and Cash4Life. There’s also an official New York lottery app that helps you check the latest results and offers additional handy options to improve your overall experience.

How does Jackpocket work?

One way you can take part in some lottery games online is by using the Jackpocket app. It makes the entire process much easier, and you can even get paid online if the prize is less than $600.

Active lottery participants can enjoy plenty of other useful features on Jackpocket. You can, for example, automate the ticket-buying process. In other words, all you need to do is set up the parameters, and Jackpocket will complete the whole ticket-purchasing procedure for you. Notifications are also an important part of Jackpocket. You’ll receive a reminder for all important drawings and events related to your lottery activity.

Jackpocket was founded in 2013. The platform branched out to several US states, including Arkansas, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Colorado, to name a few. That means lottery players from these states can use Jackpocket’s service and purchase tickets using their smartphones.

It’s important to know that the Jackpocket is legal and regulated in all states where it operates. The company works hand-in-hand with New York regulators, updating the app to meet all regulatory requirements. In case you’re not sure how to use the service, here’s a quick guide that should help you get started. Once you get going, it’s pretty simple to use.

Download the Jackpocket lottery app

1. Download the app and pick a lottery game — Use this link to download the Jackpocket app. Once you select a game, you need to pick numbers on your ticket(s). If you’re not sure which numbers to choose, you can use the Quick Pick function. Quick pick randomly chooses numbers, so it comes in handy if you want to buy multiple tickets with different numbers.
2. Place an order — Once you enter the numbers, check your ticket to make sure everything is correct. As soon as you place an order, Jackpocket will buy the ticket from the official retailer.
3. Get the ticket in your app — The moment Jackpocket buys a ticket, it will scan it and send it to your app. That way, you can verify that you’re the owner of that ticket. After confirmation, Jackpocket stores the ticket in a fireproof safe.
4. Wait for the outcome — Once the draws take place, you can check your ticket to see if you won a prize. If it’s up to $600, you can get paid through the app. If it’s more, Jackpocket will transfer the ticket to you so you can claim the prize from the New York Lottery.

Learn more about the app with our Jackpocket lottery review.

What lottery games can I play in New York?

The NY Lottery offers draw games and scratch-off games. If you’re into draw games, you’ll have a chance to play multi-state lotteries like Powerball, Cash4Life and Mega Millions. Moreover, the lottery features an array of in-state games, such as Numbers, Win 4, Take 5, Quick Draw, Money Dots and Pick 10.

New York multi-state draw games

First, here’s a quick review of all available multi-state lottery games in New York.

New York Cash4Life

Cash4Life started on June 13, 2014, in New York and New Jersey. It actually replaced a game called Sweet Million, which was popular in New York. The first official Cash4Life drawing took place on June 16 — three days after the launch.

The goal of Cash4Life is pretty similar to that of Mega Millions or Powerball. You need to select five out of 60 numbers in the primary field. There’s also a secondary field where you need to pick one of four Cash Balls.

If you receive the top prize, you’ll receive $1,000 per day during your lifetime. The secondary prize is $1,000 per week. Winners can also choose to receive cash at once ($7 million as the primary and $1 million as the secondary prize).

New York Cash4Life key takeaways

• The game was founded in 2014 as a replacement for Sweet Million.
• A single ticket of Cash4Life costs $2.
• You can win $1,000 in lifetime daily prizes or get $7 million at once.

New York Mega Millions

For this game, you’ll need to select five out of 70 numbers. On top of that, you’ll need to pick a Mega Ball from 25 numbers. To win the jackpot, you need to get all five numbers right, as well as the Mega Ball number. The jackpot starts at $40 million.

Mega Millions started in 1996, and it was initially called The Big Game. It was rebranded several times before settling on the name Mega Millions. New York joined the popular multi-state lottery in 2002.

Right now, Mega Millions is available in 44 states, in addition to the US Virgin Islands and the District of Columbia.

New York Mega Millions key takeaways

• A single Mega Millions ticket costs $2.
• New York state joined Mega Millions in 2002.
• The biggest Mega Millions prize in New York was $437 million.
• The biggest-ever Mega Millions prize was $1.537 billion.

New York Powerball

New York joined Powerball, another popular nationwide lottery game, on Jan. 31, 2010. The game can be sold alongside Mega Millions, thanks to a cross-sell agreement. As with Mega Millions, Powerball’s minimum jackpot is $40 million, and each ticket costs $2. However, you can pay an additional $1 to include the Power Play option.

Players need to pick five out of 69 numbers and choose a Powerball number from 1 to 26. To receive the jackpot, you need to match all six numbers.

For the biggest prize in state history, two winning tickets were drawn when the prize was $687.8 million in 2018, and one of them was in New York.

New York Powerball key takeaways

• A single ticket of Powerball costs $2, or $3 with the Power Play feature.
• New York joined Powerball in 2010.
• The biggest Powerball prize in state history was part of a $687.8 million jackpot.
• The biggest-ever Powerball prize was $1.586 billion.

New York multi-state draw times

• Powerball drawings are held every Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. You must buy a ticket before 10 p.m.
• Mega Millions drawings are every Tuesday and Friday at 11 p.m. The closing time for purchasing tickets is 10:45 p.m.
• Cash4Life drawings take place every day at 9 p.m. The closing time for buying tickets is 8:45 p.m.

New York draw games

The New York State Lottery also offers a plethora of in-house draw games.

• New York Lotto — This is the most popular in-house lottery game in the state. Your goal is to select six numbers from 1 to 59 and match them all to win the jackpot. Drawings take place every Wednesday and Saturday at 8:15 p.m., with prizes in the millions. You can buy two tickets for $1.
• Numbers — Numbers drawings take place twice a day at 2:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m., and one game costs either $0.50 or $1. Three numbers are drawn. You can pick several plays to win a prize, including straight, box plays and straight/box plays. Check out the official rules to learn more.
• Win 4 — The rules are identical to Numbers, except that four numbers are drawn instead of three. The drawing times are 2:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. daily. The wager also costs $0.50 or $1, depending on the type of play you pick.
• Take 5 — Pick five numbers from 1 to 39 and match all of them to win the Take 5 jackpot. Drawings take place once a day at 10:30 p.m., and it costs $1 per ticket to play.
• Quick Draw — This is a bit of a more complex game. You get to pick numbers from 1 to 80 and need to match all of them to win the Quick Draw jackpot. You get to play for $1 to $10 per draw, with the maximum draws per play slip being 20. The draw time is every four minutes.
• Money Dots — Money Dots is an addition to Quick Draw. After the 20 Quick Draw numbers are drawn, the remaining 60 numbers are all assigned a color, with each color having a different cash value – $5, $10, $20 or $50. You’ll win if the Money Dot is drawn and matches the Money Dot numbers on your ticket.
• Pick 10 — You get to pick 10 numbers from 1 to 80, but 20 are drawn. To win the Pick 10 jackpot, you need to match all 10 numbers. A single Pick 10 ticket costs $1. Drawings take place daily at 8:30 p.m.

New York scratch tickets

At the moment, the New York Lottery offers 88 scratch ticket options. You can check them out on the lottery site and pick the ones that you like the most. Some of them offer millions of dollars in prizes.

Other gambling options in New York

Apart from the lottery, there are several brick-and-mortar gambling properties where you can play an array of casino games. NY sports betting fans can also try wagering at land-based sportsbooks, limited to commercial and tribal casinos in the state. However, the legislative framework regarding gambling is constantly changing in the Empire State, and there are indications that the state may soon legalize more online gambling in NY.

New York Lottery history

The state-operated lottery was established in 1967, following the 1966 passage of a referendum with more than 60% of voters in favor of the idea. Ever since then, all the revenue has been directed to public education. The New York State Gaming Commission, based in Schenectady, operates the New York Lottery.

In 1975 and ’76, lottery ticket sales were suspended after a scandal occurred that included unsold tickets being picked as winners. Another scandal took place in 1986 when state employees manipulated mail-in tickets and helped their friends and family win about $40,000.

The first person to claim a huge lottery win in New York was Lou Eisenberg, who won $5 million in 1981. Since 2010, New Yorkers have been able to take part in Mega Millions and Powerball. In 2013, lottery regulators in New York merged with the New York State Racing and Wagering Board to create the New York State Gaming Commission.