Louisiana lawmakers are considering creating an online lottery with a piece of legislation that was filed on April 1.
House Bill 228 would “provide the purchase of certain lottery tickets through the internet.”
Sponsored by Rep. Vanessa Caston LaFleur, the bill has been assigned to the House Administration of Criminal Justice Committee, where she serves as vice chair.
Bill would include eInstants
Document filings show that the LLC would be authorized to sell the following games online:
- Lotto
- Easy 5
- Pick 3
- Pick 4
- Pick 5
- Powerball
- Mega Millions
- Electronic instant win tickets
The bill calls for no less than 25% of online lottery revenue to be provided to the state treasury. Currently, the same rate applies for retail lottery revenue.
Projections are calling for net revenue from the online games to produce about $23 million to the state treasury in the first year of operation. They project $34 million in revenue with $11 million in costs.
The LLC projects that number out to $24.1 million by year four but note that is a cautious approach.
Age verification, geolocation requirements included
HB228 specifies that the lottery board would adopt rules with the Administrative Procedure Act to regulate the iLottery sales. That includes:
- Requiring age verification methods that prohibit anyone under the age of 21 from purchasing tickets through the internet.
- Requiring location verification methods that restrict the purchase of the lottery tickets to individuals physically located within Louisiana.
This development is Louisiana follows up State Sen. Kirk Talbot stating that lawmakers are having discussions about online casino legislation in the future.
About the Author
