Vermont Considers Online Lottery Options

As more states consider online gaming, Vermont officials say there are many questions that must be addressed before taking the next step.

August 20, 2012

COLCHESTER - The Vermont Lottery Commission isn€™t ruling out the possibility of offering some of its games online, reports Vermont Public Radio, although officials admit there are many concerns that must be addressed first.

While some states, such as Illinois and Georgia, have moved forward with online gaming, states such as Vermont are taking a more cautious approach.

"We are looking at it. The Administration is interested in looking at it, the Legislature has asked us to look at it, and it's to make sure we understand it," Lottery Director Greg Smith told the news source, adding, that there are a lot of unanswered questions.

"[A] lot of times this sounds like Internet gambling. Does that mean you're going to put a casino in my computer and what problems might that cause for the society? Is it going to deliver money to the state and is there enough interest in the state to play it to make it worthwhile?" he said to the news source.

Smith also noted that there€™s the problem of how online gamers will pay for their playing

"You have to have money somewhere to play. So can you play by credit card? Right now Vermont doesn't allow credit card payments to be used to buy Lottery products€¦So we'd have to cross that threshold and then do you do it by somebody being able to charge it to a credit card or do they need to set up an account like a PayPal-type of account?"

The news source adds that retailers that sell lottery tickets aren€™t enthusiastic about having competition from online games. Their concerns are expected to be included in a report that the Vermont Lottery Commission will make to the Legislature in January.

For more on online lottery, read "You Can€™t Win" in the April issue of NACS Magazine.

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