WICHITA, Kansas (KWCH) – The Kansas Lottery will begin selling lottery tickets online in late 2024 or early 2025. The Lottery Commission approved the new measure on Tuesday.
Scratch-off tickets, Powerball tickets and Mega Millions tickets can be purchased through the Kansas Lottery website or mobile app, eliminating the extra stop at the gas station.
“Just as we were excited to offer sports betting in Kansas via mobile applications, we are now pleased to be able to offer players this new opportunity within existing laws,” said Stephen Durrell, CEO of the Kansas Lottery.
The Kansas Lottery stated that responsible gambling always comes first.
Stephanie Roberts of the South Central Kansas Problem Gambling Task Force said the new ability to buy lottery tickets will drive up gambling addiction in the state.
“There’s going to be a lot more people struggling because it’s a lot easier,” Roberts said. “There’s a lot of people out there who think, ‘Oh, a lottery ticket is gambling.’ That’s when you risk something of value to win something of value. That’s the definition of gambling.”
The Kansas Lottery stated that, like sports betting apps, geolocation and age verification will be required before launching online or mobile sales.
Full statement from the Kansas Lottery:
The rules approved by the Kansas Lottery Commission represent another step toward modernizing the Kansas Lottery and will allow the sale of electronic lottery products to our players. The Kansas Lottery intends to sell popular drawing games such as Mega Millions and Powerball, as well as other games that lottery players have been demanding for years, through its website and mobile app. A provision in this year’s Omnibus budget that redirects additional revenue from the traditional lottery into the existing Attracting Professional Sports to Kansas Fund makes this modernization effort even more timely.
“Giving our players the ability to purchase our products in this way is something they have long wanted,” said Stephen Durrell, executive director of the Kansas Lottery. “We are excited to offer new games and purchasing options to players in the state in a safe and secure manner. Just as we were excited to offer sports betting in Kansas via mobile applications, we are now excited to offer players this new opportunity within existing laws.”
As for the step-by-step guide, we’d like to talk about that when the time comes. Of course, responsible gaming is always at the forefront of our products. Just like the sports betting apps currently running in Kansas, we’ll have top-notch geolocation and age verification in place before any online or mobile sales go live.
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