New York state has launched Jackpot.com, which will allow residents of the Empire State to buy lottery tickets online without even having to get into their cars. Jackpot.com has already been operating in Texas and Ohio.
The Daily Gazette reported August 1 that the website will enable residents to buy tickets for Powerball, Mega Millions, Cash4ife, New York Lotto and Pick 10. They will be able to transfer as much as $600 in winnings directly from an account to a linked bank account.
For more than $600, Jackpot.com will send a winning ticket to the winner who can then claim the winnings directly from the New York Lottery.
Jackpot.com CEO and co-founder Akshay Khanna told the Gazette, “New York is such a special opportunity and such an icon state.” He added, “The opportunity is huge and from all the market research that we’ve done and all the customer conversations that we’ve had, there is a sizable amount of demand for this product.”
The New York Yankees and New York Giants are backers of the venture.
According to Khanna, Jackpot.com went through a vetting and application process with the New York Lottery and New York Gaming Commission: “It takes time to work with regulators, to create frameworks, to create rules to make sure the companies that are getting access to these markets are good actors and good players.” he said.
Khanna told the Gazette, “I think that’s okay, because it is incredibly important to do the work and to do the diligence to prove that we are worthy of that. To be able to go to New York customers and to be able to market this product in a way that is both responsible, which is something we take very, very seriously, is one of the basic tenets of our business.”
The launch was delayed, said Khanna, so the site could launch with certification from the National Council on Problem Gambling.
The site enforces that only adults can purchase tickets, and prevents those with gambling problems from purchasing. He added, “We navigate that both through technological and manual tools that limit the amount of money that people can put into their accounts every day and limits the total amount of money that people can have in their accounts at any point in time.”
Khanna believes the online platform could bring in more younger players. “Certainly, with the younger generation, if you’re not giving them an option to conduct transactions on their phones, you’re sort of losing an entire audience altogether,” he said.
