Lottery likens future courier services to DoorDash and Uber Eats

By Kate Northrop

The Massachusetts Lottery has revealed new developments related to online play, including a revised timeline for online ticket sales and the future ability to buy scratch-off games through lottery couriers.

Massachusetts residents who enjoy the convenience of playing the lottery from their phones and computers have received fresh updates about the future of online gaming from the Massachusetts Lottery.

The first update concerns the launch of online sales. In July, the Lottery announced plans to begin offering tickets via a digital platform, with an anticipated launch toward the end of 2025. Due to a delay in receiving government funding to begin the project, that timeframe has been pushed back to April 2026.

"Unfortunately, we have not received funding yet to do anything with online lottery," Lottery Director Mark William Bracken told MassLive.

The delay is a result of the Senate and House finalizing the 2024 fiscal year close out budget. As soon as the Lottery receives their allocated $2.5 million in government funding, the 16-month clock to implement an online lottery begins ticking, and work on the project can begin.

The reason the Lottery needs to wait for the funding to arrive is because it will be used to onboard a consulting service to grow the platform and cover salaries for the nearly 20 employees running it.

But the delay isn't worrying Lottery officials at all. In fact, the extra time gives them the room to ensure a seamless launch.

"We want this to be the best platform with the best offerings for our players, so if it does take us a little bit longer to do it, then so be it," Bracken continued. "Our biggest fear is that a player visits, doesn't like what they see, and never come back... I want my player to be confident and like what they see on day one."

Players can expect to see a full suite of all traditional draw game offerings on the digital platform, as well as instant games and additional draw games that are exclusive to the online platform, Bracken said at a Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce event on Oct. 15.

Bracken and Treasurer Deborah Goldberg jointly emphasized that online sales will not detract from traditional in-person retailers, rather they will bolster brick-and-mortar sales.

"In every state that had online lottery, their retail sales grew at a faster pace than states that didn't have online lottery, and it's because of that ecosystem that gets grown," Bracken told reporters at the event. "I mean, the numbers don't lie. It's every state that has online lottery."

Online players can win bonuses that are only redeemable in retail locations, Bracken clarified.

"So, the retail partners really win in this as well," he explained. "It really kind of helps balance this kind of ecosystem between retail and online."

In an interview with La Fleur's, Bracken discussed how lottery couriers, or ticket butler services, will continue to operate alongside the Lottery now that it will be offering online sales through its own in-house digital platform.

Along the way, Bracken revealed the next big change coming to online ticket sales – the upcoming ability for players to order scratch-off tickets through lottery courier companies.

Lottery couriers are treated like any other agent partner and will have a place in this space, Bracken said. At first, the Lottery only permitted them to sell draw games to ensure there no issues. Now, the agency has reached a "level of comfort" with couriers, so now they will allow them to sell scratch-off games as well.

"It'll be interesting to see how it goes, but ultimately, it's on them to provide a good product," Bracken remarked in the interview. "They charge a fee for their service, while we don't, so they'll need to make sure the convenience is worth it for their customers."

Like with Uber Eats or DoorDash, courier companies charge a fee for customers to use their service, the Executive Director went on to say. Some people prefer the convenience of being able to track the delivery from the comfort of their homes, while others prefer to pick up their purchases in person to avoid the extra fees.

"It's going to depend on individual preferences, and it may even vary by age demographic," Bracken noted. "There's space for everyone, and we'll see how it plays out."

Since ticket butler services are not regulated directly by the Massachusetts Lottery, it's up to the courier companies to individually decide when they'll begin offering scratch-off tickets on their platforms — the Lottery has only given the go-ahead to do so.

Bracken said that these couriers will "soon start selling instant tickets."