Play the Texas Lottery Online

The Texas Lottery is one of a growing number of state lotteries served by courier services like Jackpocket and TheLotter.

Ticket couriers are not registered lottery retailers but effectively allow players to buy Texas Lottery tickets online. Customers can place purchase orders online, check for winners through the app, and receive instant payouts from anywhere in Texas.

Most importantly, it’s all legal. However, the Texas Lottery does not endorse online ticket sales or provide regulatory oversight. As a result, it is vital that players only buy Texas Lottery tickets online through reputable providers.

Below are BettingUSA’s top Texas online lottery recommendations:

Jackpocket Texas

Jackpocket is the runaway market leader in online lottery ticket sales and is BettingUSA’s first recommendation for Texas readers.

Three key points give Jackpocket the edge over alternative lottery sites:

Jackpocket Lottery App is Legal in Texas

Jackpocket only operates in jurisdictions where state law permits lottery couriers, often working with local lottery officials to assuage any concerns they may raise. In addition, Jackpocket holds lottery courier licenses in some states.

Jackpocket Has A Verifiable Track Record

Trust is paramount in lottery ticket sales, particularly when considering what happens with large prizes. Jackpocket has a multi-year operating history, has undergone extensive vetting to receive its courier licenses, and local news outlets occasionally cover large prizes it has paid to real customers.

For example, from 3News in Corpus Christi mentions two residents who won jackpots worth $2.15 million and $150,000 via tickets purchased through the Jackpocket Texas app.

Jackpocket is Headquartered in the USA

Many online lottery sites operate from overseas in violation of US law with opaque ownership structures, and sometimes it’s not even clear if they actually buy physical lottery tickets to guarantee large payouts.

In contrast, Jackpocket is headquartered in the USA and operated by Americans. That means Jackpocket is subject to all state and federal laws and that customers would have recourse if it refused to pay a large jackpot.

TheLotter Texas

TheLotter is an established operator in the online lottery business, first established in 2002 and now active in markets worldwide. TheLotter covers all Texas Lottery draw games, including Powerball, Mega Millions, Lotto Texas, and various daily drawings.

TheLotter does not charge a commission on winnings. Instead, customers pay a convenience fee when ordering tickets and nothing else beyond that point. Players always keep 100% of what they win when they buy Texas Lottery tickets online through TheLotter.

Jackpot.com Texas

Jackpot.com offers tickets for all of the Texas Lottery’s biggest draw games, including:

• Texas Powerball
• Mega Millions
• Lotto Texas
• Texas Two Step
• All Or Nothing
• Pick 3
• Daily 4
• Scratch Tickets

The Dallas Cowboys are one of Jackpot’s significant investors, and the resulting partnership has resulted in unique promos for Jackpot’s Texas customers. For example, one recent Jackpot promotion gave away an all-expenses trip to attend the Dallas Cowboys Training Camp.

Lotto.com Texas

Lotto.com offers a wide game selection and is one of the only courier apps customers can use to effectively buy scratch off tickets online in Texas. When customers place orders for Texas scratch off tickets online, Lotto.com buys official tickets from a licensed retailer and uploads them to their accounts for players to “scratch” off digitally.

The complete list of Texas Lottery games available at Lotto.com includes:

• Texas Powerball
• Mega Millions
• Lotto Texas
• Texas Two Step
• All Or Nothing
• Daily 4
• Pick 3
• Cash 5
• Scratch Offs

How to Buy Texas Lottery Tickets Online

The Texas Lottery does not sell tickets online, but customers can use couriers like Jackpocket and TheLotter to place ticket orders from anywhere within state lines.

After ordering Texas Lottery tickets online, customers can log in to check for winners and receive smaller payouts online instantly. When customers win prizes larger than $600, their lottery apps contact them to arrange a secure delivery of the physical ticket so players can claim the prize directly from the lottery.

In simple terms, third-party Texas Lottery apps purchase tickets from licensed retailers on behalf of customers.

Texas Lottery apps charge flat upfront fees but never keep a commission from players’ prizes. Any prize you win through a reputable lottery ticket app is yours to keep in full.

Is It Legal to Buy Lottery Tickets Online in Texas?

Texas law prohibits authorized retailers from selling lottery tickets online, but lottery courier apps that purchase physical tickets in-person from licensed retailers operate in a legal grey area.

Although the Texas Lottery doesn’t endorse online ticket sales, it is aware of third-party lottery couriers and seems to appreciate the additional sales they generate.

In the Texas Lottery’s 2023-2027 , the lottery said this about courier services:

Another development that is impacting lottery sales is the emergence of courier service companies. These companies take orders on a mobile app to purchase lottery tickets from brick-and-mortar retailers for their customers. Courier service is a private business activity that occurs outside the regulated ticket purchase process.

Couriers have no business relationship with the Texas Lottery and the relationships a courier maintains to obtain tickets are with individual retailers in Texas with whom it has its own private working arrangement. Although the Texas Lottery has no authority over couriers, couriers independently publicize the lottery via their websites and advertising and have the potential to generate incremental sales.

And in a recent annual report, the Texas Lottery noted that “licensed retailers associated with couriers have emerged as some of the top-selling sales agents in Texas.”

However, not everyone sees increasing lottery sales as a positive trend. A sizable contingent of lawmakers and special interest groups have become increasingly vocal about regarding the Texas Lottery Commission’s tacit approval of lottery courier apps and whether they’re even legal.

The Texas Legislature may decide on the issue one way or another sometime soon because courier apps now account for nearly 10% of Texas Lottery draw game sales, according to Legislative Budget Board figures. Additionally, lottery courier apps were a major theme in the Lottery Commission’s 2024-2025 Sunset Review.

The Texas Sunset Act requires the state to periodically review all state agencies to determine if they are still necessary and what changes may be needed if so. The first paragraph of the latest mentioned lottery couriers but did not recommend particular policy changes. Instead, it advised the Lottery Commission to be more proactive in rulemaking and bringing concerns to the Texas Legislature.

In its to the recommendations, the Texas Lottery Commission punted any “direction regarding lottery ticket courier services” to the legislature.

Texas Lottery Games

The Texas Lottery offers two types of games: drawings and scratch cards. That’s significantly less variety than its competitors in other states, but the Texas Lottery has its high points.

Most notably, Texas Lottery games tend to offer higher return-to-player percentages and bigger maximum jackpots, even for its instant scratch-off cards. For example, one scratch-off game available at the time of this write-up featured a $20 million jackpot, while numerous others had jackpots ranging from $1 million to $7.5 million.

So, although the Texas Lottery doesn’t have live keno, virtual horse racing terminals, or online instant win games, it still boasts a healthy game selection with player-friendly pay tables.

Current Texas Lottery offerings include eight draw games and dozens of regularly rotating scratch cards. The lottery’s draw games include Powerball, Mega Millions, and state-level games like Lotto Texas at price points ranging from $0.50 to $48 per play.

Texas Lottery scratch-off games offer a similarly varied range of play styles and top jackpots, with prices ranging from $1 to $100 and top prizes for some scratchers topping out at $20 million.

Players can see a of active scratch-off games and remaining prizes at the Texas Lottery website.

Texas Lottery Draw Game Comparison Table

*All times central

**Recent average is of the last ten jackpots won, not just rolled over

Texas Lottery Subscriptions

Lottery players can purchase tickets in advance for multiple drawings, but the Texas Lottery does not offer indefinite subscriptions or automated recurring purchases.

The maximum number of drawings lottery customers in Texas may purchase tickets for in advance varies by game:

• Powerball: Up to 15 consecutive drawings
• Mega Millions: Up to 10 consecutive drawings
• Lotto Texas: Up to 15 consecutive drawings
• Texas Two Step: Up to 10 consecutive drawings
• All Or Nothing: Up to 24 consecutive drawings
• Pick 3: Up to 24 consecutive drawings
• Daily 4: Up to 24 consecutive drawings
• Cash Five: Up to 12 consecutive drawings

Players who want ongoing subscriptions should consider using Jackpocket’s autoplay feature. Customers can quickly set ongoing subscriptions for Texas draw games with custom or random picks to have Jackpocket automatically purchase entries into every drawing.

Texas Lottery Syndicates

The Texas Lottery doesn’t prohibit groups of people from pooling their resources to buy tickets, but it also doesn’t provide assistance for organizing syndicates or managing payouts.

Additionally, the Texas Lottery pays every prize to a single person or entity only. As a result, syndicates should put their agreements in writing and consider getting qualified legal advice before they win a large jackpot.

The easiest and safest way for a group of people to buy Texas Lottery tickets and split the winnings is to form a private lottery pool on the Jackpocket app. Jackpocket offers public and private pools, manages bulk ticket purchases, and automatically splits prizes proportionally based on the number of entries each member contributes to each pool.

Texas Lottery App Review

The official Texas Lottery app for iOS and Android is a highly useful tool for frequent players that can scan tickets for winners, show the latest results, save favorite numbers, and much more.

After downloading the Texas Lottery app, players can:

• Scan tickets to check for winners
• View the results of the latest drawings
• See current jackpots
• Create favorite numbers for quick purchasing at authorized retailers
• Find the nearest Texas Lottery retailer
• Scan tickets to enter second-chance drawings
• View the prizes and odds of all Texas Lottery games
• See which scratch card games are available and how many top prizes remain for each game

This video from the Texas Lottery succinctly but thoroughly sums up the app’s key features and why frequent players may find it worth downloading:

Overall, the Texas Lottery app packs a lot of functionality into a small package. And thankfully, players don’t have to sign up for accounts to use most of the features except for entering second-chance drawings (account required to contact customers who win second-chance prizes).

The only big miss from the Texas Lottery app is that it does not offer online ticket sales – but that’s a result of state law. Players who want to buy Texas Lottery tickets online need to download one of BettingUSA’s recommended third-party courier apps (see the recommendations near the top of this page for more info on your options).

Texas Lottery Results

Players can check the latest Texas Lottery results online via three methods:

• At the official Texas Lottery website
• In the Texas Lottery iOS or Android
• In the official Jackpocket app

Texas Lottery Ticket Checker

Players can access the Texas Lottery ticket checker through the official TX Lottery app for iOS or Android.

Scanning Texas Lottery tickets for winners is easy:

1. Open the Texas Lottery app
2. Tap the “Check My Ticket” button on the bottom of the home screen
3. Tap the round barcode icon on the next page to open the scanner
4. Point your camera at the barcode on the front of your lottery ticket
5. The app will read the barcode and inform you if the ticket is a winner

How to Claim Texas Lottery Prizes

Players have several options to claim Texas Lottery prizes depending on the amount won.

• Prizes under $600:
• Prizes of $600 to $2.5 million:
• Prizes of $2.5 to $5 million: Claim centers in Dallas, Fort Worth, or San Antonio
• Prizes of $5 million and up: in Austin

Additionally, players can claim all prizes worth up to $5 million via mail by sending a completed and the signed ticket to the following address:

Texas Lottery Commission
ATTN: Austin Claim Center
PO Box 16600
Austin, TX 78761-6600

TX lottery winners who claim a prize via mail should ensure they sign the ticket, keep a copy of the original, and send it via certified mail.

Where the Texas Lottery Money Goes

The Texas Lottery returns more than two thirds of revenue from ticket sales as prizes to players, making it one of the nation’s highest-paying lotteries.

The remainder of revenue generated by the Texas Lottery supports public education, veterans’ assistance, retailer compensation, and lottery administration:

Texas Online Lottery FAQ