The latest time to buy a lottery ticket depends on the lottery and the location:
- For the UK National Lottery (including EuroMillions and Thunderball), the cut-off time to buy tickets for a specific draw is generally 7:30 pm on the day of the draw in physical stores and online. Physical shops usually close around 8:30 pm but must stop selling tickets for that draw at 7:30 pm. Online ticket sales often remain open until 11 pm, but tickets purchased after 7:30 pm count only for the next draw, not the current one.
- For Powerball in the US, the ticket purchase deadline varies by state but typically closes 1 to 2 hours before the drawing, which takes place at 10:59 pm ET on drawing days (Monday, Wednesday, Saturday). For example, Eastern Time Zone states usually stop sales around 9:45 to 10:00 pm ET, Central Time around 8:59 pm CT, and some Mountain and Pacific Time states may stop as early as 6:45 pm PT.
- Generally, ticket purchase deadlines exist to allow time for all entries to be processed before the draw.
So, the latest time to buy a lottery ticket is typically between 1 to 2 hours before the drawing time, depending on the lottery and jurisdiction, with an official cut-off such as 7:30 pm for UK draws, and around 9:45-10:00 pm ET for US Powerball sales in Eastern Time states.
