If you have ever visited a sports betting site before, you will be aware that sporting events often aren’t the only markets you can wager on. Instead, they tend to have a selection of additional betting options, such as the results of television shows or political elections, for example. Also included on some betting sites is the possibility of betting on the lottery. But is this the same thing as if you were to buy a lottery ticket from your local shop?
As it happens, you can find online websites that allow you to buy tickets like this, but when betting on lotteries with most sportsbooks it is not the same thing. There are very noticeable differences between the two. With most sportsbooks you are not entering into the lottery but simply placing fixed odds bets on numbers to be drawn. None of the money goes into the lottery pool and it will not contribute to the overall jackpot. None of the money will go to good causes or charities either.
Some sites do actually let you buy real tickets by acting as a proxy for you, e.g. you could enter the US Powerball draw in the UK through a site like this. Other sites are available that don’t actually enter you into international lotteries but they match the prizes using an insurance model. These sites are very different to your typical betting site offering lotto betting.
Betting Sites That Provide Lottery Betting
As a member of an online sportsbook, you may have noticed lotto or lottery markets available to bet on. Should you venture to click on this particular category, then you will be likely to see a selection of different lotteries provided. These can include 49’s, the Irish Lottery, the Spanish Lotto, and various others. But when you decide to bet on one of these, you won’t be participating in the lottery itself. Instead, you will be betting on the outcome of one or more draws associated with that lottery.
Therefore, you do not purchase an actual lottery ticket. You simply wager on the numbers you believe will be drawn. By wagering in this way, you have the chance to take part in international and state lottery draws, which usually exist outside of your own jurisdiction. Being based in the United Kingdom, you could end up wagering on the outcome of the US Mega Millions, for example. And this is all without actually buying a ticket to participate in the lottery draw itself.
What this brings to you is a set of fixed odds to take advantage of, wagering on the outcome of the draw itself. One of the most popular bets this way is simply entitled Draw Betting. This follows the same rules as when you purchase an online lottery ticket, in that you essentially choose the same amount of numbers and win prizes should the drawn numbers match those you have picked. The cost of betting on a lottery can differ to the cost of purchasing a lottery ticket. It is often possible to place any stake you wish on a draw through an online betting website, while of course lottery tickets themselves havs a fixed purchase price.
Online sites will generally match the actual lottery for lower prize amounts or sometimes can be better than the lottery. They also offer bets that you would not receive a prize for in the real lottery, e.g. you can bet on one number to come up. What you won’t be able to bet on is the jackpot. For example, if betting on the Irish lottery you will find you can place fixed odds bets on 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 numbers but not all 6. This is because the jackpot is not fixed and therefore the bookie can’t set odds to pay out on it.
The most popular betting option when it comes to lotteries is Number Betting. Some bookies give you the opportunity to bet on certain numbers being drawn, rather than having to choose the same amount of numbers as the draw has. Through this option, you could select just one or two numbers that you believe will be part of the draw, rather than all of them.
Other markets exist this way for you to participate in too, although they generally tend to differ from sportsbook to sportsbook. For example, you could wager on the first ball drawn being an odd or even number. Additionally, in the same vein, you could bet on which drawn numbers will be even and which will be odd. The colour of the bonus ball in the EuroMillions can be wagered on at some sites, too. Another intriguing market is to bet on the total value of all the drawn balls being within a certain amount. Lottery betting of this nature can therefore be very different to playing the lottery normally, due to the market possibilities involved at some bookmakers.
Yet of course, if you’re betting on the lottery this way, it means that none of the funds put towards the wagers goes to good causes across the United Kingdom. And none of the money is added to the lottery pool as a result, either. Back in 2017, licensed bookmakers were banned from taking wagers on the outcome of the National Lottery and the EuroMillions because of these reasons.
Of course, this didn’t stop them from being able to provide bets on draws that were occurring abroad, such as on those across Europe. While it appears as though those laws are still in place, you can still find options for betting on the EuroMillions draws at some UK-licensed platforms. This could be due to the fact that this isn’t specifically operated or ruled over by the UK, as the lottery takes place across various European nations and is drawn in France. The standard UK Lotto draws remain fully restricted for wagering purposes, though.
It could also become the case that this type of betting is restricted in Ireland in due course as well. Despite bookies rejecting the idea of outlawing such wagers in the country, that rests in the hands of the government.
Real International Lotteries Online
Many countries around the world have their own National Lotteries for people to participate in. And while these would normally only be available to the residents of their respective countries, there are actually ways for people in other countries to partake in them, too. These platforms allow people around the globe to enjoy the different worldwide lotteries regardless of where they are based. A number of these websites exist online, offering you the chance to participate in a multitude of different lottery games.
This is not the same as betting on the outcomes of the lottery draws, as you experience with the aforementioned sports betting possibilities. Instead, you purchase actual tickets for the international lottery draws. Options like the Italian SuperStar, U.S. Mega Millions, EuroJackpot, Spanish La Primitiva, Australian Oz Lotto and many others can be found for you to wager on in this way. Details of the available jackpots will also be provided, as well as the time of the next lottery draw.
Through these sites, you simply need to select the lottery that you want to play on, and then purchase your tickets accordingly. It is then the case that employees based in offices around the world will proceed with buying the lottery tickets from official lottery retailers within those countries on your behalf.
And what about if you win one of these international lottery jackpots? Well, it may seem like it would be unlikely to happen, but this isn’t quite true. A report in 2017 stated that more and more people from outside the United States are participating in and winning the U.S. lotteries. It came about following a 37-year-old man from Iraq securing a $6.4 million (£5.3 million) win on a U.S. lottery in 2015. He went on to travel to Oregon to collect his huge jackpot, having received a phone call informing him of his win.
And this is exactly the process of how things happen should you win one of those international lotteries. You will be notified of your victory and the lottery prizes will be transferred to your online account, commission-free. Playing international lotteries online this way is exactly like doing so at a land-based retailer. You can select your numbers manually or you can utilise the Quick Pick option to have a random set of numbers chosen for you. Once the site confirms your purchase, you will receive a confirmation message via email, as well as a scanned copy of your official ticket prior to the draw taking place.
Lottery syndicates are also capable of partaking in international lotteries of this nature, meaning that groups of people can get involved in the draws as well.
It is key to note that if you do win the lottery this way, from an international draw, then you may end up having to pay governmental taxes as a result. Some lotteries, like the United States Powerball for example, advertises the jackpot amounts prior to any taxes being deducted. Other lotteries don’t take any taxes out of the winnings at all. That being said, you will need to check into the tax status on lottery winnings in your country of residence, because if these are necessary to pay on such funds, then you will need to ensure they are paid.
Tax-free lotteries that you can partake in online include the Hungarian Otoslotto, Australian Monday Lotto, Japan Loto 6 and 7, EuroMillions, New Zealand Lotto, Ontario 49, South Africa Powerball, Germany Lotto, France Loto, and a few others.
Some sites let you enter into real lotteries but you don’t actually buy tickets. Here they use an insurance model to match prizes from real lotteries without buying real tickets. The positive here is you can win the same jackpot amounts as with a real lottery and you won’t be subject to local taxes. The negative is again no money actually goes into the pool and no money goes to charities. You can read about both types of sites on our main lottery page.
Lottery Taxes
Generally speaking, the lottery taxes, if any apply, are decided and taken by the local or federal government of the country where the ticket is physically purchased. Taxes at source are deducted by the lottery organisation prior to the prize being paid out to you. Let’s say that you win a $10 million jackpot on the Mega Millions, as an example. The U.S. government and Mega Millions will then deduct 30% of the winnings as taxes prior to the remaining funds being awarded to you. In that case, the final prize money you receive from the lottery draw will be a smaller amount than advertised. If your country has an income tax law, then it is your responsibility to ensure that this is also paid upon receipt of your international lottery winnings.
Any taxes that are not deducted at the source are usually referred to as “further local taxation”. These will differ from country to country, so depend entirely on where you reside. They include income taxes and so on and are therefore your responsibility to find out about and pay. Should you secure a large win, it is always advisable to speak with a financial advisor and/or accountant who can look into the local taxation laws for you.
Choosing to buy a ticket for lotteries in the following countries will always come with taxes that need to be paid at source: Chile, Colombia, Italy, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Ukraine.
It is also key to note that there are some online international lottery websites that allow you to enjoy playing these games by using an insurance model. Therefore, through these platforms, you won’t be buying real tickets to participate in them. Yet if you win the jackpot amount (or indeed any other prize associated with the lottery in question) with your selected numbers, then you will be rewarded with the same prize payout as a result.