Virginia will not be joining a slew of states selling their lottery tickets online.
A subcommittee of the state House of Delegates killed legislation that would have allowed the Virginia Lottery to expand onto the internet.
The bill, which was strongly opposed by bricks-and-mortar lottery vendors, was voted down by the panel 6-1, despite a provision to give land-based sellers exclusive rights to offer daily games like Pick Three and Pick Four, which constitute 30 percent of lottery sales in the state.
“We thank the committee members who listened to the concerns voiced by Virginia businesses on the impact passage would have had on the convenience store industry, including lost incidental sales, underage purchasers, credit card and debit fees and the like,“ said Mike O’Connor, president of the Virginia Petroleum Convenience and Grocery Association.
Michigan, Illinois, Kentucky and Georgia all offer online sales and several more states are exploring it in hopes of boosting badly needed state revenues.
