Massachusetts will soon have an online lottery if Gov. Maura Healey signs the latest version of the state budget, which includes authorization for ticket sales over the Internet. It seems almost inevitable that the Governor will do so, given that the idea of establishing a Massachusetts iLottery was her idea to begin with.
The bill text doesn’t explicitly make clear whether the Massachusetts online lottery will include eInstants or only draw sales. That may depend on the Massachusetts State Lottery Commission (MSLC), which is tasked with establishing all the relevant rules and regulations. However, the budget’s text includes the phrase “tickets, games or shares,” suggesting that the lawmakers anticipate the Commission including a variety of products in the offering.
Efforts to establish an iLottery in the state go back to at least 2016. In recent years, it has been House lawmakers pushing for it, while Senators have been the roadblock. The same was the case this year, but it appears that the legislators were able to reach a last-minute compromise.
As in previous years, the House budget (H.4601) included language directing the MSLC to create rules for online sales, while the Senate budget (S.2800) lacked any mention thereof. However, this time, the final budget advanced by the Conference Committee includes the relevant section of the House’s version, with a few revisions.
Most notably, the minimum age for online lottery play in Massachusetts will be 21. That’s the same age as it is for casino gambling and sports betting, whereas retail lottery sales are available to anyone 18 and up.
MSLC Executive Director Mark Bracken told PlayiLottery that online sales will be important for the Lottery:
Our team is excited to implement an online Lottery. We are ready and prepared to offer our players a modern lottery experience in a safe and accessible environment.
State Lawmakers Find iLottery Easier Than iGaming
While online casino legalization efforts around the US have stalled, online lotteries have been gathering momentum. Eight states plus Washington D.C. now offer full-featured iLotteries with both instant games and draw sales, with North Carolina being the latest to join the club. Several other states offer only one or the other.
When they include instant games, online lotteries can be seen as a watered-down version of online casinos in terms player experience. These interactive “tickets” differ from online slots in how they determine whether to award a prize or not, but the visual presentation is often quite similar.
Even so, lawmakers may find online lotteries more palatable than online casinos for a few reasons. The first is optics: expanding an existing, state-owned gambling operation resonates differently with voters than allowing an entirely new group of gambling entities access to the state. The second is control over the revenue. Rather than taxing casino operators, the state can lay claim to the full proceeds of its lottery. Finally, the legislative process itself is easier. Often, as in Massachusetts, lawmakers can direct the Lottery Commission to do all the heavy lifting, with just a few stipulations such as the change in the minimum age. In some cases, like Rhode Island, state lotteries have determined they don’t need new legislation at all.
By contrast, online casino bills are inevitably complex pieces of legislation. Even when there’s general support for the idea, it’s easy for lawmakers to get bogged down in the details and find themselves at an impasse.
Getting an online lottery off the ground is also usually easier from a regulatory standpoint, Connecticut’s delays notwithstanding. Chances are that the Massachusetts iLottery could go live in a matter of months, maybe even before the end of the calendar year.
Will MA iLottery Affect Online Casino Chances?
For Massachusetts residents hoping for online casinos, getting an iLottery will be a mixed blessing. On the one hand, assuming that it does include eInstants, it will provide a viable alternative to sweepstakes social casinos or illegal offshore operations. However, it may also mean online casinos take longer to arrive.
There’s still a lot of disagreement about whether online casinos cut into retail casino revenue. There’s far less when it comes to cannibalization of iLottery revenue. The resemblance of eInstants to online slots cuts both ways. Michigan’s lottery revenue is a case study in what can happen to instant iLottery revenue when online casinos arrive.
State lottery commissions often emerge as opponents of efforts to authorize other forms of gambling to begin with. However, that tendency only grows when an iLottery exists or is under discussion. Most recently, we’ve seen that in Ohio, where Lottery Director Michelle Gillcrist has established herself as an advocate for online lottery sales, but an opponent of Ohio online casinos.
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