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.
Everyman
I just purchased 12 $3 tickets in a row. Not one winner. I purchased 10 of the new Gold Rush Supreme $10 tickets I won on one of them. I have lost 90% of my money that I have bought scratch off tickets with. I have never seen anything like this in my life, Florida scratch offs are worse than Georgia. And I thought Georgia was bad. I used to win in Florida when I lived here two years ago. Now I’ve come down on vacation and in one week I haven’t won anything and I spent $800. I have not won anything, above the face value of a ticket. Florida scratch offs do not pay more than the face value of a ticket unless you’re one of the rare Big Winners. It’s horrible save your money don’t buy a single thing from the scam.
Tara
They keep putting out new tickets such as the gold rush supreme which claims odds of one in 4.69. So I bought 10 $2 tickets. Won $4 on ONE of the 10 which does not align with the odds on back of ticket. Basically your odds of winning the new cold rush-hour one in 10. Lies. Scam
Joe
Really Florida Lottery? I have hit 5X now on 4 different $5 tickets to see a $2.00 prize underneath for a $10 win. The minimum prize should be $5. Do not put 5X on a ticket to only pay $5 or $10. I play frequently and they are all low amounts. I think it’s such a scam. The second tier prizes do not even exist. Fraudulent!!
Agree with Joe. There should be no prize amounts lower than the ticket price. For example, if you buy a $5 ticket and get a 5X symbol then the least you could win should be $25.
That’s how CT lottery works.
Steve Palmer
I’ve been playing Florida lotto for 25 yrs. It’s worse as time goes by.
Randy
Florida scratch-offs used to be worthwhile because you would sometimes get pretty lucky (especially when buying several at once). I’ve won up to $100 on a $1 scratch-off. But in the last few years since they changed their winning odds, I’ve bought easily a hundred of them and haven’t won a prize worth more than the price of the ticket (and even that is rare). Their win-ratios are a complete LIE. Don’t waste your money.