Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey on Monday signed the fiscal year 2025 state budget, which includes language legalizing online lottery sales in the Commonwealth. Revenue from online lottery sales will support a grant program for early childhood education and care, the Massachusetts Lottery stated in a press release.
“We thank Governor Healey for her support of the online lottery and for approving it in the final FY25 budget. This will allow the Lottery to keep pace with its competition and reach newer audiences,” said State Treasurer Deborah B. Goldberg, Chair of the Massachusetts State Lottery Commission.
Goldberg said that the state is prepared to implement “a safe and reliable iLottery” that will produce significant resources for critical childcare services, “which are so desperately needed across the state.”
“Thank you to Speaker Ron Mariano, President Karen Spilka, and the Joint Ways and Means Committee for prioritizing this important policy change. And thank you to the legislators who have championed this issue. We are excited to get to work!” she added.
For his part, Mark William Bracken, Executive Director of the Mass Lottery, said: “Our team is excited to implement an online lottery. We are ready and prepared to offer our players a modern lottery experience in a safe and accessible environment.
“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.”
The Massachusetts Lottery will be conducting a Request for Response to procure services for the operation of an online lottery, and the officials anticipate launching its online platform in approximately 16 months.
The legislation requires customers to be at least 21 years old to participate. The age requirement for retail lottery sales remains 18.
In addition to being able to purchase draw game tickets online, Massachusetts players can also play einstant games, which are very similar to online slot machines. Various manufacturers of online slots games also create similar titles for einstant games. Some einstant games even have progressive jackpots like slot machines.
Since selling its first ticket in 1972, the Massachusetts Lottery has generated over $155 billion in revenues, awarded over $109 billion in prizes, returned over $33 billion in net profit to the Commonwealth for local aid provided to cities and towns, and paid over $8.8 billion in commissions and bonuses to its statewide network of retailers.