Lottery ticket sales stop at different times depending on where you live and which game you’re playing, but the cutoff is usually about 1–2 hours before the draw time for that specific lottery.

Typical cutoff times

• Many big draw games (like Powerball‑style lotteries) close sales roughly 1–2 hours before the scheduled drawing time in their jurisdiction.

• In some national lotteries (for example, the UK National Lottery), tickets for the main draw must usually be bought by around 7:30 p.m. local time on draw days, with anything after that rolling into the next draw.

Why it varies

• Each country, state, or province sets its own sales cutoff rules, so two places can have different “last purchase” times even for similar games.

• Online and in‑store deadlines are often the same for a given game, but store closing times can make in‑person sales stop earlier than the official game cutoff.

What you should do

• Check your local lottery’s official website or app for that specific game’s draw schedule and “sales cutoff” or “purchase deadline” time for your area.

• If you buy after the cutoff, your ticket is usually entered into the next available draw instead of that day’s drawing.