BOSTON - Massachusetts officials are still thinking about an online presence of the state lottery, a move that has convenience store operators up in arms, the Gloucester Times reports. Last month, officials said the state lottery was on track to break records in terms of sales."Everyone has a finite amount of money that they can spend on gaming, so the money that people spend online is not going to be spent in convenience stores," said Dennis Lane with the New England 7-11 Franchise Owners Association.
Lane owns two Gloucester 7-Elevens, and he spoke last week at the Online Products Task Force meeting. Lottery sales often trigger other in-store sales at convenience stores, he said. The thought of an online lottery made Lane feel as if he??d been "kicked in the teeth."
State Treasurer Steve Grossman, overseer of the lottery and the task force chairman, said that the state has yet to make a decision. Massachusetts sees expanding the lottery to online games would increase sales among younger players. "We would not be doing right, strategically, not to look at all those options," said Grossman.
Late last year, Massachusetts began allowing debit cards to pay for lottery tickets. Steve Spectru
m Gaming Group, a consultant hired by the lottery, will investigate online gaming and complete a report by the end of 2012.
Figurido, who owns Tony's Variety, said he doesn??t accept debit or credit cards for lottery sales. "It's not worth it for me," he said about the fees associated with accepting plastic. "We've always done well by the Lottery, and I agree with a lot of what they do, but I'm not sure I agree with [online sales]," he said.