“This pandemic has dramatically exposed the limitations and vulnerabilities of the lottery’s all-cash, in-person business model,"
Treasurer Deborah Goldberg said.As people abide by the stay-at-home
advisory amid the coronavirus pandemic, Keno and scratch tickets are
taking the biggest hit, with Keno plunging more than 50 percent and
scratch tickets down almost 30 percent.
“All of our daily patterns of life have changed, if a consumer would normally go into a store twice a day to purchase products, that’s not
the case anymore," said Michael Sweeney, executive director of the
Massachusetts State Lottery Commission.
About 1,800 of the state’s 7,500 lottery agents are closed, according to state officials and even places that are open have
eliminated lottery sales because of staff shortages.Goldberg is urging
lawmakers to move forward with legislation to modernize the state’s
lottery system and go online.
“The ability to process cashless payments and to sell our products online would have undoubtedly helped to mitigate our losses," Goldberg
said.
Cities and towns across the state receive some of the lottery revenue, which can be used for needs like snow removal, senior programs
and parks and recreation.Representative Aaron Michlewitz, chair of the
House Ways and Means Committee, said there are a lot of issues
surrounding bringing the lottery online, including the hit retailers
would take.
“The lottery is an economic driver to some of our local convenience stores and our local stores, because people go in there to use the
lottery and end up spending money on other things," Michlewitz said.
Similar legislation has failed in the past, but this new crisis is putting it back in the spotlight.
