Purchasing tickets for the lottery online is now legal in eight states. However, there are strict rules and guidelines that lottery players need to follow. These include picking numbers on the screen, scratching the playing surface and paying for tickets. If you are not careful, you might get into trouble.

Lottery players need to be at least 18 years old and resident of a state where online lottery is legal. They can play the lottery online or purchase tickets through a third party platform.

The first state to offer an online lottery was Illinois. Its lottery is run by a UK-based Camelot Group. Its online platform features the full complement of major lottery games. It also offers instant-win games. It accepts debit and credit cards, including MasterCard and Visa. It also offers safe banking.

Illinois Lottery’s revenue goes to education and healthcare. It also donates 25% of its profits to the state’s infrastructure. It has been operating since 2011 and has sold over $37 million worth of tickets. Its largest game is Mega Millions.

The New York lottery is a multi-jurisdictional lottery that offers a variety of games. It is not online. It is available from more than 16,000 retailers. It offers multi-state games such as Mega Millions and Powerball. There is also a Cash4Life game. If you win, you can get $1,000 a week for life.

The Washington DC lottery offers a wide variety of lottery games. You can play the popular Keno game and also play Bingo. It has an iOS and Android app. It offers a range of other lottery games, such as the Treasure Hunt and Millionaire Raffle.