The Mega Millions jackpot has been won. Could you buy the next ticket by phone?
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Brandon Sansone is a regular user of Jackpocket, an app that allows him to order lottery tickets. Jack pocket is live in 15 states and recently raised $120 million from investors. Private companies are also in the business of selling lottery ticket online. The apps charge a 9% fee on deposits and $109.29 transaction fee. 27 states allow for some form of online lottery purchases. One new entrant, Jackpot.com, recently completed a $42 million round of funding. It's operating in Texas. The private companies follow similar models. They charge service fees when they fund their accounts.
States are reluctant to support online lottery sales. Brick-and-mortar lottery retailers get at least a 5% cut of ticket sales and they promote the drawings. Online lottery companies argue that younger people prefer to buy their lottery tickets via digital platforms. Some say that for some people, there's something "real" about the printed lottery ticket. Jackpot.com CEO Akshay Khanna thinks it will change over time. He notes that people have gravitated to buying things online in a way that seemed inconceivable years ago.
