You can buy tickets for the official lottery online or at your local office, but there is one major advantage to buying your tickets online: the convenience. Many state lotteries offer online lottery play and subscriptions. The official lottery website lets you purchase tickets for state-level drawings and for multi-state drawings. Some state lotteries also sell instant-win scratch-off cards. You can play the lottery online to see if you’re a winner!

Before you can enter the official lottery, you must fill out an application form and provide a digital photograph. You may include a spouse or children in your application. You can only register once, but you can include more than one person. Make sure you follow all instructions provided on the lottery website to ensure your chances of winning. The State Department does not notify lottery entrants by phone or by other means. There are a number of deceptive websites that pose as official government sites.

The earliest recorded lotteries were created in China during the Han Dynasty. These ancient lottery games were thought to have helped finance large government projects. The Chinese Book of Songs also mentions the game of chance as “drawing of wood.”