News writer
Exciting news for citizens of Massachusetts, as state legislators approved a $58 billion fiscal year 2025 budget, and it could mean online lottery sales for players in the state.
The greenlight for online lottery sales
While advocates of online lottery sales have been pushing legislators for years to approve online lottery sales in the state, they have had pushback in the Senate. In the past, Democratic leaders have been hesitant to expand legal gambling in the state, the Boston Herald reported.
However, it was finally approved in the fiscal year 2025 budget and is expected to make its way to Gov. Maura Healey's desk before this weekend.
More protections this time around
While advocates have been pushing for the approval of online lottery sales, the resistance has been there. However, it was finally approved by the Senate because of more protections being written into the budget this time around, including raising the age to purchase online lottery products to 21 and boosting the rules around advertising. The purchase age for in-person lottery products will remain at 18 years old.
Senate President Karen Spilka told the Herald:
We could always look at this again and see how it goes. It hasn't been implemented yet. We'll meet with the treasurer. And she's done a great job with the lottery in general, so we're hoping that this is a smooth implementation as well.
What kind of revenue will online lottery sales bring to the state? Senate budget writer Michael Rodrigues told the Herald it's too early to give a revenue estimate. However, money generated by this proposal will be allocated to a grant program that supports early education and care providers' day-to-day operational and workforce costs.
Once the rollout is approved
If it makes its way to the governor's desk and is approved, Treasurer Den Goldberg's office, which oversees the Massachusetts State Lottery, will be tasked with overseeing the rollout of the online component.
While Rodrigues said he and Spilka were not the “biggest gambling supporters in the building,” the consumer protections and language preventing “predatory advertising against minors” being written into the budget made it more acceptable to him.
Rodrigues said:
We're very concerned with this expansion of online gaming, whether it's sports gaming or now the lottery, that because of how easy it is to access it right through your phone it could target some minors. So we have protections built into it, and the House agreed with the protections.
The lottery going online in Massachusetts will give officials in Goldberg's office the tool “to be competitive in that space,” House budget writer Aaron Michlewitz said.
He added that the policy is expected to survive Healey's veto pen, as she included the measure in her own budget proposal back in January.
Free community college for students also
In addition to the online lottery sales, state lawmakers also included a $117 million push to permanently offer free community college to students by covering tuition and fees. This provision will codify a program the governor rolled out in 2023 called MassReconnect.
While it was included in the fiscal year 2025 budget, legislators will need to approve funding for the free community college program each year, officials said.
Enjoy playing the Massachusetts Lottery, and please remember to play responsibly.
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