Can I use a credit card to buy lottery tickets?

You’re all ready to become a millionaire quickly and go and purchase a lottery ticket. You hand over your credit card but the person at the counter says that they can’t accept it. This is because around 40% of US states do not allow you to buy lottery tickets with a credit card. 

Which states allow you to buy lottery tickets with a credit card?

Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, and Washington allow you to purchase lottery tickets with a credit card. Additionally, many other states allow the use of debit cards to purchase lottery tickets. 

However, in many of these states, purchasing a lottery ticket is not as easy as flashing your credit card. States like Pennsylvania and Kansas allow individual merchants to decide whether they will accept credit cards for lottery tickets. In California, you can buy lottery tickets with a credit card only at Play at the Pump gas stations, as well as online on lotterygopher.com. In Illinois, you can use your credit card on the Illinois Lottery website. These states may also have other third-party online retail sites but these sites are likely to be scams, as they are not endorsed by the state government or the lottery makers.

Moreover, card manufacturers may not allow you to purchase lottery tickets with your credit card. American Express strictly prohibits the purchase of lottery tickets with their cards, whereas Visa and Mastercard say that it depends on the discretion of individual banks. Therefore, even in the states that technically allow the purchase of lottery tickets with credit cards, you may not be able to do so. 

Can I buy lottery tickets online from another state? 

If you’re in one of the states that do not allow you to buy lottery tickets with your credit card, you may be tempted to use it online on another state’s lottery website. However, you must be physically present within the state boundaries to buy a lottery ticket from there. Also, if you do win, you need to be in the state to claim your winnings, as well as pay any tax difference applicable. This applies even to big, multistate lotteries like MegaMillions and Powerball.

Why should I not use a credit card to buy lottery tickets? 

Firstly, even in states that do allow the purchase of lottery tickets with a card, lottery purchases are likely to be counted as cash advances, which unlike regular credit card purchases, come with high fees that are accrued immediately. Secondly, you will generally not get any rewards points for your lottery purchases. Lastly, it is possible to get sucked into a debt trap due to gambling. This is the primary reason that many states do not allow lottery purchases with a credit card. Moreover, even if you use your credit card to withdraw money to buy tickets with, the same cash advance policies will still apply. 

Conclusion 

Although it is technically possible to buy lottery tickets with a credit card in many states, it is not advisable to do so. Your chances of winning a jackpot are so infinitesimally small (it is more likely that the average person will win an Oscar) that you will probably never recover your money. It is better to instead invest in low-risk stocks, mutual funds, or emergency funds, all of which will give you a much better long term return on your investment.