Last updated on: Apr 24, 2025
Lottery courier services are revolutionizing the way we play the lottery by making it easier to buy tickets from the comfort of our homes or while on the go. Read our guide for lottery courier services: what they do, how they work, and their safety. Plus, we compare the leading courier services through our impartial analysis and review.
Our experts tested, researched, and ranked each major lottery courier service. Our reviews cover fees, state restrictions, special features, all the details to help you decide if you want to use a lottery courier service and which to choose.
What are lottery courier services?
Legal courier services are secure intermediaries between players and licensed state lottery retailers. Just think of it as someone who goes to the store for you and buys tickets under your name with the numbers that you chose online. A lottery player’s dream.
As lottery play goes increasingly digital, courier services are cropping up across the United States. It’s not easy to bring state lotteries online, so lottery courier services are the most current solution.
How do lottery courier services work?
There are a lot of lottery scams out there. Don’t be a mark. We reviewed only the top, secure services that are worth your time. Read our reviews of the best 5 services before you play online.
The rise of the lottery courier service
Due to state laws, most lottery tickets in the U.S. are still purchased in retail stores, making lottery courier services a disruptor enterprise. The industry is nascent but constantly expanding. There are currently five main lottery courier services operating in various states.
List of U.S. states and courier services available
The table below shows the states that have licensed and regulated lottery courier services actively taking customers and the courier services operating there.
| State | TheLotter | Jackpocket | Jackpot.com | Lotto.com | Mido Lotto |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | |||||
| Arkansas | |||||
| California | |||||
| Colorado | |||||
| Connecticut | |||||
| D. Columbia | |||||
| Delaware | |||||
| Florida | |||||
| Georgia | |||||
| Idaho | |||||
| Illinois | |||||
| Indiana | |||||
| Iowa | |||||
| Kansas | |||||
| Kentucky | |||||
| Louisiana | |||||
| Maine | |||||
| Maryland | |||||
| Massachusetts | |||||
| Michigan | |||||
| Minnesota | |||||
| Misouri | |||||
| Mississippi | |||||
| Montana | |||||
| Nebraska | |||||
| New Hampshire | |||||
| New Jersey | |||||
| New Mexico | |||||
| New York | |||||
| North Carolina | |||||
| North Dakota | |||||
| Ohio | |||||
| Oklahoma | |||||
| Oregon | |||||
| Pennsylvania | |||||
| Puerto Rico | |||||
| Rhode Island | |||||
| South Carolina | |||||
| South Dakota | |||||
| Tennessee | |||||
| Texas | |||||
| Vermont | |||||
| Virginia | |||||
| Washington | |||||
| West Virginia | |||||
| Wisconsin | |||||
| Wyoming |
Not all digital courier services are available in all of the above states. For example, a leading site may only serve six of these states.
Our informative and independent courier service reviews
Not all lottery courier services are equal. They feature different state restrictions, games, fees, usability, apps, and more. Don’t waste time. Use a service that best suits you.
Read our unbiased, independent reviews and ratings of the top 5 courier services. We did the research, so all you have to do is play.
Courier services: a word about safety and security
Licensed lottery courier services are safe to use. Why? Because they’re highly scrutinized and tightly regulated. State gambling commissions, or in some cases the lotteries themselves, assess lottery courier services and grant licenses only if they meet specific, airtight criteria.
As long as the service is vetted by the state gambling commission, your financial records, personal identification information, and browsing data are safe. Legitimate lottery courier services work hard to safeguard players, their data, deposits, and any winnings. In many ways, playing the lottery online is actually much safer than playing unregulated game apps on your device.
The New York State Gambling Commission’s Lottery Courier Service application, for example, contains more than 29 pages of requirements for courier service to be considered for a license. Some of these requirements include:
- A large bond deposit with the state lottery regulators.
- Extensive background checks on owners, officers, and managers.
- Listing the home addresses of all the above.
- Business location.
- Ticket processing location.
- Business plan.
- Evidence of cyber security and risk assessment training.
- High technical standards.
- Self-exclusion and limitation features for responsible play.
- Records of all courier purchases.
- A strict anti-money laundering program.
- Independent, third-party testing for player account registration. For example, services must ensure that players are 18 or older.
- Detail the method used to print the winner's full name on the back of a winning ticket.
- Acquire a Technology and Professional Errors and Omissions insurance policy of $10,000,000
How can you tell if a lottery courier service is truly licensed in your state? You may be able to find specific information online, for example, through your state’s gaming commission website or state news outlets. The best way is to contact your local gaming commission with a query. Or, you can make your life easy and stick to the top names, which are reviewed on our website.
FAQs
You can play lottery tickets directly online in:
- Connecticut
- District of Columbia
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Michigan
- New Hampshire
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- Tennessee
- Virginia
- West Virginia
Many states have strict laws in place to keep lottery ticket purchases in-state. For many states, this means that tickets must be purchased through a vendor, not by an individual user online.
Courier services act as a go-between by purchasing tickets directly from vendors on behalf of users. This makes the transaction compliant with state laws.
Online courier services are tightly regulated, often by the state lotteries themselves. Multi-million dollar bonds are held as part of their licensing agreements. Legitimate sites will have extensive security and privacy policies.
Online courier sites will track your location to ensure that you are physically in the state/jurisdiction where you are playing. For example, if you are in Texas, you can’t buy Minnesota lotto tickets.
Courier services add fees to ticket purchases or deposits. They do not take a portion of winnings.
A user picks their games and numbers online. A courier service will then purchase the ticket from a licensed retailer on their behalf.
You must be older than 18 in most states. You will have to upload an ID on any legitimate site.
Check our comprehensive list. You will be asked to disable your VPN to allow the sites to confirm your location.
Courier services work within all state lottery laws and parameters. Like any online business, they must also follow state and federal privacy and commerce laws. You will only be allowed to play the lottery in the state where you are located.
You should first contact the courier service’s customer service. If its replies don’t meet your satisfaction, contact your state lottery. You should also consider contacting the Better Business Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission. Your state’s Consumer Protection Office may also offer further assistance.
Lottery USA only lists and reviews legitimate state-sanctioned lottery courier services. If a courier service is not listed on Lottery USA, chances are it’s not legitimate.
A courier service keeps a scanned copy of your physical ticket, so you don’t have to worry about losing it.
You don’t have to go to a store. You can purchase a ticket from anywhere (within the state you’re playing), and the service keeps track of your ticket.
You should be notified automatically by the courier service.
No fees are taken out of your prizes, so you will get the full amount unless a taxable threshold is hit. For winnings less than $600, the winnings will typically be deposited automatically in your account. For winnings of more than $600, you will have to pick them up in person at a retailer.
