A Jackpocket online casino app that’s been in the works for two years received regulator approval on April 28 that shows the lottery ticket courier may make its US iGaming debut in New Jersey.
Jackpocket Interactive Gaming (JIG) received approval on April 28 from the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) to continue working on its market access agreement with Caesars Interactive Entertainment New Jersey. Jackpocket reached that agreement with Caesars and its retail casino, Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City, in April 2021.
The document signed by DGE Director David L. Rebuck said the division was approving limited parts of the agreement:
The parties require additional technical and licensing approval to effectuate any other portion of the Agreement.
So as of today, the Jackpocket online casino app isn’t listed as a launched iGaming site by DGE.
Jackpocket representatives didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment today from Bonus.
Jackpocket’s Current Market Position
New York City-based Jackpocket is primarily a lottery ticket courier app and site. Lottery ticket buyers can use Jackpocket in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, and West Virginia.
Ironically, its home state’s regulators ruled in February that lottery ticket couriers must modify their marketing messages. They’d have to ensure players knew the companies were just middlemen. App users aren’t buying lottery tickets from the sites; they’re authorizing the site’s employees to purchase tickets for them.
In New York, only retail options exist for direct lottery ticket purchases.
However, the company founded in 2013 took measures in 2021 to add online casino gambling.
In May 2022, Jackpocket hired iGaming veteran John Worthington as its vice president of interactive gaming.
As recently as two days ago, Jackpocket’s job ads still showed the company was hiring iGaming talent.
Worthington’s Vision for the Jackpocket Online Casino App
In July 2022, Bonus interviewed Worthington about the proposed iGaming app.
Below, the questions from Bonus are in bold, and Worthington’s answers follow verbatim.
What do you need to do to prepare for your 2023 online casino launch?
We’re currently in the process of selecting technology and content providers, hiring some key positions to help us with the launch, and finalizing our go-to-market plans. It will be a very busy next couple of quarters to get ready.
How do you expect the lottery-to-casino crossover to compare to the more traditional sportsbook-to-casino conversions?
We expect a similar or better crossover of lottery-to-casino as we’d typically see from sportsbook-to-casino, but that will come down to executing on a great product catered to the customers already in our ecosystem. We’re looking to get a product out as quickly as we can, but won’t compromise on quality in the process.
How does the typical Jackpocket user differ from a traditional online casino user, and will your game catalog reflect that?
We’ll certainly offer the traditional game types online casino players know and love, but we’re also focused on catering specifically to the lottery players in our user base. You’ll see that reflected in our game catalog as well as the overall experience for the customer.
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