The Lotto Matrix: The Massachusetts Masses Want iLottery, Cayuga Nation Sues New York, More

Welcome to this week’s “Lotto Matrix,” a weekly Friday compilation of the lottery industry’s most significant, interesting, or absurd happenings.

Bay State Backing

Give us online instant lottery tickets, or give us death!

Recent poll results point toward the residents of Massachusetts wanting the freedom to play the lottery online. Of the more than 1,000 people surveyed, 50% favored the legislative proposal to sell “lottery products online to customers aged 18 and over,” with 37% opposed and 13% having no opinion.

With mobile sports betting available in Massachusetts as a legal gambling alternative, lottery officials have said they feel it’s eating into the amount people spend on scratch tickets. Legalizing online instants would be a possible way to level the playing field.

Although 70% of the people surveyed said they bought a scratch or lottery ticket over the last year, the lottery reported a $41.1 million decline in scratch ticket sales compared to February 2023. That’s not Gucci.

Legislators are mulling an iLottery bill, and Gov. Maura Healey’s budget proposal included $75 million in projected revenue from authorizing online lottery sales. So perhaps iLottery is coming to Massachusetts. But it’s expected that it will take some time to get it across the finish line.

Showdown in New York

The Cayuga Nation filed a lawsuit in federal district court last week against the New York State Gaming Commission, its chairman Brian O’Dwyer, and Jackpocket Inc., an iLottery operator. The tribe is asking for a court declaration that the defendants are violating pre-agreed-upon laws and is seeking an injunction to stop the operation of lottery vending machines and the Jackpocket app within reservation borders.

In the suit, the Cayuga Nation argues that by operating in its territory, the defendants undermine the tribe’s authority in the space, diminishing the benefits for tribal citizens that come from gambling profits. Representatives from the Cayuga Nation further argue that the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) gives them exclusive rights to the territory.

If people from outside the nation want to offer any sort of lottery services under IGRA, there needs to be an agreement between the tribe and the other parties to ensure that at least 60% of net revenue goes to the tribe. There was no such agreement and the state also hasn’t compensated the tribe for lottery sales, the suit argues.

“The Cayuga Nation has a responsibility to enforce its federally approved gaming ordinance and stop all unlawful gaming within the Reservation, whether by the State or private individuals,” Clint Halftown, a member of the tribe’s governing council, said in a statement. “The Cayuga Nation Council will not ignore the State’s gaming, especially the expansion to mobile gaming and the license to Jackpocket Inc.”

Scientific growth

A new alliance has been forged. 7777 Gaming has become Scientific Games‘ ninth iLottery studio partner, allowing 7777’s catalogue of online lottery games to be added to Scientific Games’ new SG Content Hub Partner Program.

The Bulgarian-based 7777 Games studio offers a variety of online casino games, draw-based games, scratch cards, and more.

Steve Hickson, VP of digital games for Scientific Games, said the company is delighted to welcome its newest partner.

“The addition of 7777 gaming and their fantastic games aligns perfectly with our goal to make a variety of digital lottery content available to existing and new Scientific Games customers,” added Hickson. “The SG Content Hub Partner Program is developing at pace as we continue to provide our customers with frictionless access to the very best content in the industry.”

Sealed-In Freshness

Ah, the old Tupperware container. It can hold the best of things, including shepherd’s pie and meatloaf. But it’s tough to top a Tupperware that’s holding an Oregon woman’s $1 million Powerball ticket.

“I had no idea I was the winner,” 52-year-old Leslie Carr said to lottery officials about discovering her winning ticket hidden away in a container. “If it weren’t for the billion-dollar Powerball winner making news, I would have forgotten. We don’t check our tickets.”

Carr said she gave the ticket to the clerk to double-check after the machine displayed a message telling her she needed to go to an Oregon Lottery office. Carr was baffled as to why, but then the clerk spelled it out for her.

“I heard him say, ‘Oh, I can’t cash this because your prize is worth over $1,000,’” she said. “That’s when I started getting butterflies.”

Carr’s winning ticket was from the March 15 drawing. She said she plans to use the money to pay off her mortgage and get a new truck.

Best of the rest

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Covering all bases: Deep dive on Lotto Texas jackpot reveals calculated strategy, raises questions

Back from exile: Eagles’ Isaiah Rodgers reinstated from gambling suspension

Just getting started: Ms. PAC-MAN gets high scores in Wisconsin Lottery debut

Back on track?: Alabama gaming expansion debate expected to resume

Check the prize box and see you next week!