Those hoping to be playing the lottery on their phone in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts next year need to revise that timeline.
During a recent Boston Chamber of Commerce meeting, state Treasurer Deborah Goldberg, who serves as the Chair of the Massachusetts Lottery, said the launch of online lottery has been slow going so far and that launch isn’t expected until 2026. The expected launch date is now April 2025 as opposed to previous projections of fall 2025.
At the same meeting, Lottery Director Mark Bracken also noted that the organization has not received the $2.5 million in funding to expand the scope of the lottery yet. The legislature passed the bill legalizing online lottery expansion in June and Gov. Maura Healey signed it into law in July. Only once that money arrives does the 16-month clock to launch begin.
In addition to managing expectations about a launch date, Goldberg also tempered expectations about how much money the new vertical will bring in. She revised expectations down from $100 million to $70 million for the first fiscal year to account for the delays. Year 2 is expected to bring in $180 million in state revenue, followed by $230 million in Year 3.
Proceeds from iLottery will go to support resources for critical childcare services in the state.
Goldberg championed legalizing online lottery for several years before finally getting it approved this legislative session as part of the state budget. Once live, the expansion will include the online purchase of draw tickets as well as einstant games, which are similar to online slot machines in terms of game play.
Even though the funding has not arrived, the lottery has already issued an RFP for the project and is currently assessing providers in anticipation of launch.
