Study Shows Online Lottery Sales Would Boost Revenue

This would be a nice way to increase revenues for projects funded by the lotteries, such as education, but may need the mess created by the UIGEA to be eliminated first.

A recent study has found that states holding lottery drawings could increase their sales by a significant percentage if the tickets were available for online purchase. An online retailer of lottery tickets, eLottery Inc., has found that lottery sales could rise 10% or more if purchase were available online.

Using Pennsylvania as an example, eLottery asserted that annnual sales would jump by $300 million or more, based on 2007 sales of $3.08 billion, if tickets were sold on the internet.

Over seventeen states included in the study, eLottery found a revenue increase annually projected at almost $4 billion.

Demographic research indicated that a large majority of online purchasers would be in the 18-to-24 and 25-to-34 age groups, and that convenience would be a big part of the decision to play the lottery.

Most of the business generated by making online sales available would be new customers, in addition to those already purchasing at convenience stores and other outlets. Customers not currently playing would be far more likely to buy tickets if they could do it from their computers.

This would be a nice way to increase revenues for projects funded by the lotteries, such as education, but may need the mess created by the UIGEA to be eliminated first. Otherwise, payment for online lotteries could be interpreted as being subject to prosecution under the trainwreck that is the UIGEA, as a form of online gambling. Wouldn't it be amazing if government prevented itself from its favorite task, collecting revenue, because it was bound by a law it didnt envision applying to itself?