Whether to allow the Massachusetts Lottery to sell tickets online has become a major political football among five candidates for a Senate seat that was occupied by Senator Jennifer Flanagan before she retired to join the Cannabis Control Commission.
CalvinAyre asked candidates to respond to an email survey of their positions.
Part of the legacy she left behind was a bill she authored that would have allowed online Lottery sales. The bill died in committee, but four of the five candidates to succeed her in a special election December 5 said last week they support the bill.
Now that lottery sales are flagging 2.7 percent over last year, candidates are lining up to offer their suggestions for how to raise more money. Beefing up the lottery sales is a popular option.
Independent candidate Claire Freda, who currently serves on the Leominster city council points out that New Hampshire’s recent legalization of online lottery sales will hurt Massachusetts’ sales.
“Our cities and town rely on this money; it’s a huge piece of municipal aid,” Freda said last week. “Anything New Hampshire does certainly affects our area more than others because of our proximity to the border.
Another candidate, Michael Kushmerek, supports online lottery sales, but with the caveat that there need to be protections to prevent sales to minors. He is also worried about the effect on brick and mortar retailers who sell Lottery tickets.
Michael Mahan, a member of the Leominster Planning Board, wouldn’t say whether he supported a cap on how many tickets a person could buy online. He said that he was “not even sure that’s a business the state wants to get into, because it would be hard to monitor.” He noted that the state doesn’t currently limit how many tickets someone may purchase from a retailer.
Mahan added, “we need to be realistic in the fact that we know this is going to head online—all commerce is moving online,” but said he would like to do something to protect small businesses, by, for instance, using some Lottery funds to repair city streets.
Dean Tran, a Fitchburg city councilmember, said his first priority would be to encourage economic growth, and that included using technology to increase efficiency.
Careful study is needed to see if online lottery sales would “adversely impact mom and pop stores and brick-and-mortar retailers, which are a key foundation to economic growth in our district.”
Another Leominster city council member Sue Chalifoux Zephir opposes online lottery sales. She said millennials are unlikely to want to spend their discretionary funds on tickets.
The proposal is opposed by Save Our Neighborhood Stores, an alliance of retailers. They claim online Lottery sales will hurt foot traffic. She said the state needs to find sources of revenue besides the lottery, such as a 4 percent tax on millionaires.
