Massachusetts Online Lottery Legalized for Late 2025 Launch

• Gambling
• 30 July 2024

On Monday, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey (D) authorized online lottery sales by signing the state's $58 billion budget plan. 

The action, which has been discussed for some time in Boston, will "enable the lottery to stay competitive and attract a new audience," stated Deborah Goldberg, Chair of the Massachusetts State Lottery Commission. A part of the proceeds from the online lottery will, as mandated by law, be allocated to support the state’s early education and childcare initiatives. 

The "competition" that Goldberg mentions is sports wagering, which Massachusetts legalized in August 2022. Lottery officials have previously indicated worry that the state's new online sports wagering market will diminish lottery income. 

Level Playing Field 

Lottery Executive Director Mark Bracken informed MassLive on Monday that moving the lottery online and launching new offerings such as instant-win tickets will level the playing field with sportsbook operators. 

Instant-win tickets are the online equivalent of scratch-off tickets, but they frequently resemble and feel like slot machines, which might be contentious for a state that has been hesitant to legalize online casino gaming. 

The minimum age for participating in retail lottery games will stay at 18, but players must be at least 21 to engage in online play, which aligns with the legal age for sports betting. 

The Massachusetts Lottery's concerns about competition from sports betting have, so far, been shown to be unjustified. In 2023, the lottery achieved a record profit of $1.17 billion from revenues exceeding $6 billion, its first year facing competition from online sportsbooks. The digital platform is projected to generate an additional $100 million annually. 

Vendor Needed 

Residents of Massachusetts will need to be patient before the online service becomes operational. The lottery must initially initiate a procurement process to identify a vendor. The positive aspect is that the MA Lottery app and Mass Lottery website were designed to support a future online lottery, and they currently possess 350K registered players who have verified their age. 

Bracken predicts that the entire procedure will span approximately 16 months, indicating that the platform is expected to be operational before the end of next year. 

Bracken additionally responded to worries that the online lottery would reduce revenue for physical retail stores. He mentioned that there are intentions for a player rewards program that would encourage online players to visit physical stores. While the details still require refinement, he mentioned that he thinks an online lottery could boost customer traffic in physical stores. 

“It’s really a win-win for everyone,” he assured MassLive.