<p>“Due to” is used to modify a noun phrase, whereas “because of” is used to modify a verb.</p>
<p>e.g.
- His defeat was due to the lottery issue.</p>
<ol>
<li>He was defeated because of the lottery issue.</li>
</ol>
<p>A good way to check is to see if “due to” can be replaced by “caused by”, as they are used in the same way.</p>