When the online lottery, or “iLottery,” launches in Massachusetts late next year, the gaming platform will include several protections for convenience-store retailers.
The New England Convenience Store and Energy Marketers Association (NECSEMA) said it worked hard to advocate to protect convenience-industry voices as the state legalized online lottery sales late last month.
“Simply moving the State Lottery online without any consideration for the impact on local store owners would have been catastrophic,” Peter Brennan, NECSEMA’s executive director, said. “We are grateful that the Legislature included these vital protections to help our store owners remain competitive in the face of evolving technologies.”
Those protections include the creation of a stakeholder Lottery Modernization Committee, which will include several convenience-retailing representatives. Other c-store-friendly provisions include allowing brick-and-mortar stores to accept debit cards for lottery payments, requiring all iLottery apps to include a search function to point customers to local retailers, mandating strict iLottery age verification and requiring the Lottery Commission to mount a marketing campaign to encourage the purchase of lottery tickets through licensed sales agents.
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey legalized the online lottery in signing the state’s fiscal-year 2025 budget. The program is expected to take about 16 months to get online. Money raised from the iLottery will fund early childhood education and care.
Under the legislation, online lottery players must be at least 21 years old. Retail lottery players must be at least 18 years old.
“We are ready and prepared to offer our players a modern lottery experience in a safe and accessible environment,” Mass Lottery Executive Director Mark William Bracken said. “At the same time, the Lottery is unwavering in its commitment to our dedicated retail partners who have helped us become the most successful lottery in the country.”
Since selling its first lottery ticket in 1972, the Mass Lottery has generated more than $155 billion in revenues and paid more than $8.8 billion in commissions and bonuses to retailers statewide, the agency said.
“Our stores are essential small businesses that provide food, drinks, fuel and other products and create employment in our communities,” Brennan said. “We look forward to working with the Lottery Commission to build upon these provisions for brick-and-mortar stores in order to help our industry remain competitive as technology improves while allowing operators to continue providing jobs, goods and services in our neighborhoods.”
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