Florida may become the eighth state to permit the online purchase of lottery tickets, after state Senator Gwen Margolis submitted a bill on the topic a few days ago. The matter will be considered at the 2015 Florida Legislative Session.
At present, Florida-based players can only buy tickets at traditional stores.
According to Sen. Margolis, the lottery is among the state’s most significant “fundraisers”. She also stated that turnover from online lottery might considerably exceed the finances that the state would get from a new casino in its southern part. To be more precise, Las Vegas Sands Corp. expressed its ambitions to build a new gambling venue in Florida as a result from its future collaboration with the Seminole Tribe.
The lottery was introduced in the state in 1988, after people voted in favor of the proposed amendment that would authorize it. It has raised more than $27 billion, intended solely for education, for the 26 years of its existence. Most of the money went to a special trust fund that was established and operated by the local legislative body.
Margolis’ proposed document did not include details on how the tickets would be purchased on the Internet. It was reported that the bill was actually quite short, about one page, and simply pointed out that people who are of age to buy tickets should be allowed to do that online.
Lottery tickets are sold on the Internet in only seven states within the territory of the USA. The payment methods vary from one place to another. In Georgia, where online lottery was introduced back in 2012, there are special prepaid cards known as iHOPE. Thanks to these, people can purchase tickets both on the Internet and from actual stores. Citizens of New York, on the other hand, can acquire lottery tickets online via credit cards.
Some people have been worried that potential introduction of online lottery tickets in Florida might lead to an increase in the number of gambling addicts, which would imminently bring about more serious problems. Brian Kongsvik, who is currently a Director of Helpline Operations at the Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling, suggested that online gambling encourages uncontrollable spending and addiction.
The above-mentioned organization might not sound familiar to many, but its telephone numbers appear at the end of each commercial that promotes gambling activities of any kind.
It seems, however, that Sen. Margolis does not support Kongsvik’s theory. According to her, gambling addicts tend to enjoy sitting at the table and the opportunity to socialize with their peers. In other words, she believes that her bill and its prospective adoption will not have any serious negative consequences.
