Florida state Senator Gwen Margolis, a Miami Beach Democrat, recently filed a bill to allow the Florida Lottery to sell tickets online. The bill, SB 270, capitalizes on the federal government’s 2011 opinion that online lotteries are not illegal gambling. Georgia, Illinois and Minnesota already allow tickets to be sold through their lotteries’ websites.
Margolis’ measure is designed to increase the Florida Lottery’s revenue base by including out-of-state customers and those who may play more often if online tickets were an option.
Social conservatives oppose the idea of online lottery ticket sales out of concern that it equals an expansion of gambling.
Last year the Florida Lottery posted a record $5.5 billion in sales.
