Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Online Lottery Concerns
WILLIAMSON CO. - Lottery players are set to get a new option when buying their tickets as the Illinois lottery is planning to sell tickets online. The change has some lotto players excited, but leaves business groups concerned.
Millions of dollars are up for grabs every week in the Illinois lottery, and it's as easy as walking into a store and buying a ticket to get a chance at claiming it. "Usually I forget to buy them. If I'm in the store and I see them and they catch my eye, I'll grab one of the new ones," says lotto player Carla Freeman. But selling the tickets online could change the way people play. "It would be a lot easier to access. I would think about it more," says Freeman. For people who play almost every day, buying tickets online is a major convenience. "There's a lot of times where I don't play and my numbers come in and that ain't good," says lotto player Terry Wallace. For others, it's a major concern. Johnnie Thornton has sold lotto tickets for 25 years at his store. Thornton's Market brings in five cents per dollar spent on lotto tickets, and when there's a winner, the store gets one percent of the prize up to $50,000. All of that money could be at risk. "It makes a good income for the year to have it intact," says Thornton's Market owner Johnnie Thornton. Last year, the store sold a $250,000 winning ticket. If that ticket was bought online, Thornton's Market would have lost out on an extra $2,500. Thornton doesn't know what will happen to his business once lotto tickets are available online, but he does think there will be an adjustment period. "I think it'll be like a lot of other things. It'll take time for them to understand it. It'll take time for them to know that they can do it. The people that like face to face contact are not going to be face to computer," says Thornton. The Illinois State Lottery plans to offer tickets online as soon as March this year. |
Marion Regional
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