The New York Gaming Commission has approved the sale of instant lottery games on mobile phones.
The OK clears the way for at least one app developer that recently began taking orders for Mega Millions and Lotto drawings in the state to begin offering instant tickets within months.
“We’re getting a new demographic of players,” said Jackpocket CEO Pete Sullivan. “I don’t think we’re going to change the behavior of people like my father who go to the same corner store every day. But if we can provide somebody a safe alternative and a new distribution model, I think it’s a win-win.”
The move comes as Governor Andrew Cuomo and state lawmakers look for ways to whittle down a budget deficit that’s been sent soaring by the Covid crisis. Mobile sports betting, which Cuomo long opposed, now looks set for legalization in some form. The governor also has proposed allowing more locations to offer “Quick Draw” lottery games and to allow for two “Take 5” drawings a day.
Jackpocket’s current platform for draw games works by sending users who’ve opened accounts a scanned image of their tickets. The ordering system for scratch-offs will be different. Users will get the physical tickets delivered to their homes and will still need to go to a retailer to cash in winnings. For draw games, Jackpocket deposits winnings under $600 directly into users’ accounts. Larger prizes are delivered or picked up in person.
Retailers, meanwhile, are alarmed about the potential fallout for their businesses and plan to challenge the Gaming Commission’s authority to license lottery couriers, among other things.
“We do think it is a small step in the direction of taking the entire New York lottery system online, and that’s something that we would strenuously object to,” said Jim Calvin, president of the New York Association of Convenience Stores.
