Buying Lottery Tickets Online in Canada – Is It Worth It or Just a Gamble?

Buying lottery tickets online in Canada is quite common these days. Be it Lotto Max, Lotto 649, Daily Grand, Daily Keno, Poker Lotto, Ontario 49, Poker Lotto or any of the Instant scratch card games, they are all available for online purchase.

The top lottery providers like BCLC, OLG, WCLC, Atlantic Lotto or Quebec lotteries have made things easier for lottery players and offer their online sites and cell phone apps to buy Canadian lotteries instantly.

You can either visit PlayNow.com or PlayOLG.ca or any other of the genuine lotto websites and just register yourself at these online lotto sites by opening your account with few of your details like email, address, phone, age and few documents for verification and you are all ready to buy lotteries online.

All seems good, right but there is a catch here as buying Canadian lottery tickets online can make you a loser. Can it make you a millionaire or just burn a hole in your wallet? Let’s find out.

Buying Lottery Tickets Online

Buying lottery tickets online in Canada typically require you to:

• Create an account with valid ID and address proof
• Be physically present in the province where the ticket is sold
• Have a valid payment method (credit card, Interac, etc.)

One of the players recently bought lottery ticket from online sites and used her credit card as  payment mode to fund the lotto site and purchase the Lotto 649 ticket which costs $3. But to her surprise when she saw cash advance charges on her bill, she sweared she never made such purchase. It was because the bill was $6.50pp

She contacted her credit card company, RBC Visa, to get to the bottom of the charges and they told her  that whenever she purchases a lottery ticket on her card she is going to get this cash advance fee.

That shows that buying lotto ticket with your credit card is actually making you a loser.

Buying lottery tickets online with Credit Cards

Since 2008, the Western Canada Lottery Corporation said credit card companies have been classifying lottery purchases as “gambling”, charging interest every time a consumer buys a ticket.

According to WCLC they absolutely have no control over it and they certainly don’t profit from it. Also they object to this policy because it isn’t the same as a cash advance.”

But according to RBC Visa the gaming transactions, including the purchase of lotto ticket, are automatically considered to be cash advances and interest is added.

Not all banking institutions charge interest, some treat it as a regular purchase.

So before you use your credit card to buy lotto tickets you need to check your statements and not fall on the same game.

A cash advance typically refers to a person withdrawing cash from an ATM machine on a credit card. Banks usually charge a fee for the service, which can range from $3.50 to $10.

In many cases the Visa companies also tell that lottery corporations are also  responsible for the fee because the company had set up billing as a cash advance.

Those who do not know then note that most of online lotto sites like PlayOLG allows debit cards, Visa or Mastercard credit cards, or Visa debit cards to buy lottery tickets. But when someone deposits money into an online account using a credit card, the website includes a warning that “cash advance fees may apply,”

The PlayOLG.ca refers in its terms and conditions, which players must agree to in order to create an account, and state that “some credit card issuers may treat the funding of a Player Account as a cash advance and charge a fee for each such credit card transaction. Any cash advance fee or other fees relating to the use of a credit card are the Player’s sole responsibility.”

Deposit Method You Can Use

To buy lottery ticket online in Canada you can use:

• Credt Cards (American Express, VISA. Master Card)
• PayPal
• Interac
• Webcash
• Direct transfer

Well as most of the online lottery sites offer Credit cards as deposit mode, they also do offer other payment options as well.

You can use netbanking as online bill payment to purchase your lottery ticket.

Each financial institution develops and supports their own bill payment processes. Most provide customers with a choice of accounts and account types from which to make a bill payment.

You can transfer funds from your financial institution that is a bank account to your Lottery site account like PlayNow.com account either online or over the phone.

Play Slots Near You

You can contact the customer service department of your financial institution for assistance with setting up this service.

• Simply go to your financial institution’s website and login.
• Go to the Payments or Bill Payments section.
• Add a PAYEE. When searching for the Payee type “Lottery” in the search field and select say for example British Columbia Lottery Corporation or PlayNow.com from the search results list.
• When prompted for your Payee Account number, enter your 11-digit PlayNow.com Account Number which is listed in your profile.
• You can also set up a one time bill payment, or set up a recurring bill payment (this is a useful option if you choose to purchase a Lottery Subscription).

You are able to transfer the amount that you specified in your Weekly Deposit Limit into your PlayNow.com account on a weekly basis (this is a rolling seven day period, not a calendar week from Sunday to Saturday).

Also note that most financial institutions in Canada take one or two business days to process your payment, but the time needed may vary. Once lottery site receives your payment, it will appear as a transaction in your Transactions page.

Also it is better to ask the bank about the charge or fees before doing online transactions to buy lotto tickets.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages	Disadvantages
Buying lottery online in Canada is convenient as you don’t need to visit the lottery retailer. Simply go to the official lottery website and buy tickets 24/7 from anywhere.	The convenience of online access can tempt you to spend more frequently, especially with credit cards.
Online platforms send you alerts if you win, even small prizes, so there’s no chance of forgetting to check your ticket.	Some platforms (like OLG.ca or ALC.ca) are only available to residents physically located in those provinces. Tourists or Canadians from another province cannot use them.
Your digital ticket is stored securely in your account, meaning you’ll never misplace it.	Online play removes friction, it’s easy to keep playing “just one more ticket,” potentially leading to unhealthy gambling patterns.
Set up automatic subscriptions or join syndicates (group play) to boost your chances without lifting a finger.	Buying tickets at your local store, chatting with the clerk, or participating in local pool groups has a community aspect missing online.
Access your purchase history, track spending, and set deposit limits to manage your gambling habits responsibly.	Online tickets cannot be purchased with cash.

Buying Lottery Tickets Online- Winner or loser

You can win

People win big prizes online, just as they do with paper tickets. All major draws are the same regardless of purchase method, online or retail.

For example:

In 2021, a Toronto man won $65 million on Lotto Max after purchasing the ticket online from OLG.ca.

You can lose

The odds remain the same, and like with all gambling, most participants lose more than they win.

Lotteries are games of chance, not skill, and the odds are steep. For instance:

• Lotto Max odds for the jackpot: 1 in 33,294,800
• Lotto 6/49 jackpot odds: 1 in 13,983,816

The more you spend, the more you potentially lose. Buying online just makes this easier to do quickly.

Final Thoughts

Buying lottery tickets online in Canada is legal, secure, and incredibly convenient, but it comes with the same risks as any form of gambling. If you play, do it responsibly. Treat the lottery like buying a movie ticket or paying for entertainment, not a shortcut to riches.

Winners are rare. Most of the time, the house wins. When you buy tickets online check the fee assoicated with using credit cards or any other payment method. And that will make you a loser, paying more for the ticket.

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