Another Massachusetts online lottery bill launched

Whilst all eyes this year have been on Massachusetts State Treasurer Deborah Goldberg and her stated intention to introduce an online lottery bill, state Sen. Jennifer Flanagan has quietly been redrafting her own bill with a similar imperative, and this week she re-launched SD6, which seeks to “conduct a state lottery, including a lottery conducted online, over the internet or through the use of mobile applications.”

Flanagan’s confidence was clearly boosted by the bill’s success in the Senate last year, although it was not developed by the House and ran out of time.

“What I’m trying to do is keep up with technology,” Flanagan said this week. “The reality is people do everything on their phones. And the truth of the matter is people have a different way of going about business now. We have a generation of people who don’t go into the gas station and pay with cash.”

Flanagan’s proposals remain much the same, and would leave the online lottery games to the discretion of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. Other provisions include:

* Minimum age of 18 years for players, and strict verification measures;

* Transactions to be restricted within state borders;

* Voluntary self-exclusion facilities to be provied;

* Maximum betting limits to be establsihed and enforced, and facilities for players to set limits on their deposits;

* No credit card depsoits, although gift card and debit card depsoits are permitted, along with EFTs linked to a verified bank account

* Clarity that the money ikn a player’s account remains his or hers and can be withdrawn at any time;