Report: MA Online Lottery Will Not Debut Until 2026
Concerns over the state budget have pushed back the launch of an online lottery in Massachusetts. This is according to Deb Goldberg, the MA State Lottery Commission chair and the State Treasurer. It was thought that an online lottery program would debut in 2025, following the passage of legislation to make it a reality earlier this year.
The launch of online lottery in Massachusetts is expected in 2026.
An online lottery will permit the sale and purchase of lottery tickets via a state website and a mobile application. Several states have implemented such a product, and MA lawmakers have insisted that such a move is needed to ensure the viability of the state lottery here.
State budget officials have yet to approve the allocation of $2.5 million needed to fund the ramp up and launch of an online lottery in Massachusetts, according to a news report from WBUR, the National Public Radio channel in Boston earlier this month.
“So initially we were feeling [the launch of a MA online lottery] was going to be about 16 months, and it’s probably going to take a little bit longer,” Goldberg said during a gathering of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce.
“Our noses are to the grindstone”, Goldberg added. “We’re trying to identify the right people through the [request for proposals] process to plan, address and get it online. Because once we go online, we want it to be perfect.”
Added Funds for MA Childhood Education Programs at Risk
Portions of state lottery sales in MA are earmarked for early childhood education funding, as well as other state programs to benefit youth and family. But, the added $100 million that experts estimate is possible under a state online lottery will now not be available until 2026.
In September, Governor Maura Healey submitted a supplement to her budget that would add $150 million to the Early Education and Care Affordability Fund to make up for the loss of funds that were expected from an online lottery in 2025.
Mark William Bracken, the Executive Director of the Massachusetts State Lottery, is confident that online lottery ticket sales will be a boon to his state. “In every state that [has an] online lottery, their retail sales grew at a faster pace than states that didn’t have online lottery,” Bracken said last week.
Some worry that an online lottery product will impact sales at brick-and-mortar lottery retailers. But, research has shown that online ticket sales do not harm retailers. In fact, lottery retailers in MA will receive new traffic to their locations under a program that sends online lottery ticket winners to their stores for redemption.
