Savvy Tips & Helpful Hints

How to Save Money Buying Lottery Tickets

Everyone is always on the lookout for opportunities to make more money and live their dream lives. So much that Americans spend an average of $261 on gambling every year, according to USA Today. You might have dreams of winning the lottery, but playing games of chance is not as cheap as it used to be. 

This post looks at some of the ways you can save money buying lottery tickets so you can play with zero guilt.

Buy through lottery syndicates 

A lottery syndicate is simply a pool of players that come together to buy lottery tickets. If the group ends up winning, they share the money proportionately based on how each member contributed to the tickets. 

Lottery syndicates don’t have to be formal set-ups. They can be run by friends, family or colleagues. When you buy any ticket through a lottery syndicate you only pay a fraction of its price.  Syndicates also increase your chances of winning, as the pool of players purchases many more lottery tickets than a single person can. 

Ways to find the best lottery pool:

*They should have clear rules of play including the maximum and minimum amounts each member can contributes 

*Their process of making payments should be transparent 

*They need to have an experienced and trustworthy person handling the money, buying tickets and making payments 

*There should be streamlined communication among members 

*The pool should provide members with a lawyer and accountant in case they win

Buy tickets from trusted and authorized dealers 

There are scammers out there, both online and offline, that take advantage of unsuspecting players. Before spending your savings on lottery tickets, first, do a background check on the dealer. You can also check online reviews to verify the credibility of the ticket retailer. 

Additionally, ensure to compare prices. Lottery agents and retailers would want to make a profit from the sale. It would thus be wise to look for the most competitive prices online before making a purchase.

Look for lottery ticket promotions 

Online ticket retailers often run promotions to attract players. Some use the money-back guarantee strategy where you lose nothing if the ticket fails to win. Your money is sent back to your account. 

However, there might always be restrictions with such deals, such that you cannot use the money on any other platform other than buying more tickets with the retailer. 

Lottoland has deals on lottery tickets for online games and sweepstakes. There are similarly many lotto sites and online casinos that offer attractive promotions and bonuses to first time players.  Apart from the signup bonuses, you might also get free entries to your favorite lottery after completing a few challenges.

Earn lottery giveaways with your regular purchases 

Some supermarket chains may offer free lottery tickets with a set amount of minimal in-store purchase. The same promotions can be run by virtually anyone, including real estate dealers, travel agents and whatnot. 

The only requirement is that they should clear the promotions with the lottery officials before running the advertisements. That’s an opportunity for you to get free tickets when you buy your usual groceries or invest in a home.

Choose the right numbers 

This is a winning strategy that can also save you a lot of money in the process. Don’t just buy many lottery tickets without a solid plan. Be methodical in this practice, basing your purchase on calculations.

Even though the odds of winning the lottery are randomized, you can always increase your chances with a specific combination of numbers. For instance, if you want to take home a more significant share of the winnings, choose an unusual set of numbers.

You can also leverage some statistical software to help you narrow down the odds. For instance, numbers ending in 7, such as 7, 17 and 27 are said to be the luckiest numbers in the Million Maker lottery, according to Physicist Jonathan Clerk.

Don’t throw away the non-winning ticket 

The idea is to get more value from your lottery ticket. Non-winning lotto tickets can always qualify you for second chance lotteries. You might not have hit the jackpot, but there are often thousands of dollars in second chance lotteries. Participation only requires your non-using tickets.

In some states, you can also earn points on your non-winning tickets. These points you can use to receive discounts when purchasing items such as watches or coffee makers. 

You have 1 in 16 million chances of winning the Euro Millions, 1 in 45 million for the UK National Lottery and 1 in 302 million for the Mega Millions. But you have zero chances of winning in all these if you don’t try.  When you decide to try, use the above techniques to save money on your lottery ticket purchases.