Florida Lottery Exposed — Grab Your Ray of Sunshine!
Florida Lottery Review
Florida – the sunshine state!
That sun definitely shines brighter for anyone with a bit of lottery luck, and if you want to be that person, the Florida Lottery app may be the answer to your prayers.
Launched by the official entity operating lotteries in Florida, the app and the corresponding website add to the Florida lottery operator’s range of services.
In the US, there are some federal and local limitations on the online sale of tickets. Is Florida one of the states affected by such restrictions? That’s a valid question, and we’re on a mission to give you a comprehensive, reliable answer today.
Online Games at Florida Lottery
If you are a Floridian, you already know the abundance of lotteries available to test your luck. Today, however, we’re talking about the Florida lottery website and the games you can play online through the portal.
And here is the bad news: right now, you cannot buy tickets online through the official FlaLottery portal. There are other operators and websites out there that provide such services. However, if you want to go down the official route, you will benefit from no such opportunity.
The same applies to the Florida Lotto App that was recently updated.
As per the official presentation, you can do a couple of things via the app, but the purchase of tickets isn’t one of those. The current range of functionalities includes checking your ticket to determine if you have won anything, entering your already purchased ticket into a second chance game, and creating digital payslips that you can later use for ticket purchase at an authorized retail venue.
That last one is a big disappointment. The only thing it does is speed the process up. Unfortunately, payment processing through the app isn’t available right now, and you need to walk yourself to a store to buy a ticket.
Is there an ongoing Jackpocket scam in Florida?
Fla Lottery and Claiming Your Prizes
It’s pretty straightforward for prizes less than $600. These can be claimed at any Florida Lottery retailer. If you are playing online, then this will be automatically credited to your account. For prizes from $601 to $250,000, wins can be claimed at any Florida State Lottery district office or Florida Lottery Headquarters in Tallahassee. Any prize over $250,000 awards must be requested at Florida Lottery Headquarters within 180 days of the draw.
Scratch-Offs have their own set of rules with specific dates that apply to start as short as 60 days after the end of the official game. Some folks try and monitor the number of Scratch-Offs sold per game and buy more and more tickets as the game is coming to a close.
Annuity Versus Cash Option
Lotteries at Flalottery.com offers two options for getting your big jackpot – an annuity or cash option. Florida Lotto and Powerball are paid out over 30 years, FL Mega Millions over 26, and Florida Mega Money for over 20 years. If a player opts for the cash option, then the amount of the jackpot won is (remember I am not a mathematician) less than the published jackpot. The amount published is based on the accrued value over the term of an annuity. Sounds confusing? It’s not. It still means winning a pretty colossal jackpot!
Who Can Play Via the Florida Lottery Website?
As already mentioned, Florida does not offer online ticket sales. Here’s an exact quote from the FlaLottery FAQ section:
The Florida Lottery does not offer the sale of Lottery tickets by mail, fax, or via the Internet, nor do we currently offer a subscription service. Tickets must be purchased from any of the more than 13,000 authorized Florida Lottery retailers in the state of Florida. Find an authorized Florida Lottery retailer.
This means that if you want to buy a ticket, you have to be physically present in Florida (whether you are a US citizen, a tourist, or someone who has a valid visa. As long as you meet this requirement, no additional restrictions are applying to you.
You will still have to go to a registered Florida Lottery office to get your ticket, however.
Who Is Behind the Florida Lottery?
This is a state-run Lottery governed by the Inspector General. It was set up to support education in the State of Florida. Each of the lotteries offered has different percentages of how much goes to the state and how much goes to prizes.
The Florida Lottery website is a reflection of this policy. It is an official digital representation of state policies, and you can rest assured that both the online platform and the app are 100 percent legitimate.
Other Bits and Pieces
There isn’t an awful lot more to say about the website because the range of functionalities is limited.
Florida lottery does offer a couple of interesting opportunities like the Second Chance previously mentioned. This is an option you can access via the website and the app. The additional game includes non-winning tickets in an extra drawing that can result in some additional prizes. If you haven’t won anything from the regular drawing, Second Chance may be the option to pursue.
The pros and cons of Fla Lotto include the following:
Why You Should Register with Florida Lottery?
Pros:
A website created by an official lottery entity
There is also a mobile app that was recently updated
You can enter into games like Second Chance via the website and app
A lot of information, extensive FAQ section
Good customer support
Why You Shouldn’t Register with Florida Lottery?
Cons:
Florida does not allow the online buying of tickets
The app also doesn’t support ticket buying; you can only enter Second Chance through it
If you want to play local lotteries, you’ll have to be physically present in Florida
Is Florida Lottery Legit?
Florida Lottery USA offers some great games. It is a legitimate platform. Unfortunately, however, the range of possibilities via the website and app is limited.
And that’s pretty much it! Sorry to disappoint with the information featured here, but we hope that the situation changes for the better shortly.
DAVID SCOTT ADLER
I have been playing scratch off tickets for over 10 years and up until about a year ago I won on a regular basis. Granted, the most that I ever won at one time was $500, still, that did happen occasionally. HOWEVER, about a year ago, the odds of winning SIGNIFICANTLY decreased to almost zero. I’m lucky if I win back the cost of the ticket now. As far as I’m concerned, the Florida Lottery is a TOTAL RIPPOFF now. Whoever is currently running that department should be fired immediately, (and flogged, and beaten). What a SCAM!! Anyone that I’ve talked with while buying tickets whole heartedly agrees. And I’m talking to everybody that I know or come across about this. We should totally boycott the lottery until you make it fair again.
Lisa Wulforst
How are tickets like 5,000,000 Luck that have been out since early 2019 and yet still so many prizes not awarded yet? The 5,000,000 Cashword has been out since May 2020 and yet the last grand prize was awarded in 12/2020? And most of these tickets will never go beyond any 3 words in one puzzle? Most I’ve ever won was $100? Something doesn’t add up here. Not to mention, notice how many of the big winners are in Northern Florida? Not places like Clearwater. Could it be possible that it’s purposely kept from more Tourist type locations to be sure they aren’t awarded to Non-Floridians and then the money isn’t spent here in the state? And don’t get me started on the whole EZ money scam. That’s a joke!
Dirk Pierce
The lack of understanding of math and statistics (plus a general display of unearned entitlement) shown by some people here explains why they think that Scratchers are a scam, rather than a business run by the state of Florida.
Show me a privately owned biz that doesn’t turn a profit, and I’ll show you an office or storefront that’s doomed to be empty of everything but dust and regret. The lottery isn’t here to make you a millionaire, it’s here to create a profit for Florida, and it does that quite efficiently.
I’ve noticed this as well. I’m looking into things at the moment. It’s a Business to make money so by that being said I’m done with the lotto
D Khan
Florida lottery claims that all the money we spend goes to schools I challenge this statement. If this is true then please show me one photograph where you guys have donated money to any school like you post pictures of winners please I request you to prove me wrong…
Roy Jones
Florida Lottery is rigged for sure. In scratch off and all the daily number games. I mostly play Fantasy 5 since 2015, $ 30 a day at least. Max win was $ 137. Check their number pattern you all will figure it out. Today’s numbers are 1-4-7-8-9. Makes no sense. Btw 8 winners. LOL