Ohio Lottery Slowly Moving to Mobile Lottery Ticket Sales

Ohio lottery mobile

The Ohio Lottery has taken a first baby step towards appealing to a new generation of tech-savvy, convenience-minded customers. This month, the Ohio Lottery launched Powerball and Mega Millions Lottery Cards that allow customers to use their mobile phones to enter drawings and claim their winnings.

This is not a truly online lottery offering as gift cards must still be purchased in person. However, once a Lottery Card has been purchased, players can later activate it via text message to enter a drawing of their choice at a date of their choice. Winnings can also be claimed via mobile and paid to customers’ PayPal accounts.

After purchasing a Lottery Card, players text a number provided by the Ohio Lottery to activate the card and enter a drawing. The Ohio Lottery will then send an image message to customers with a picture of their digital ticket with quick-pick numbers and draw dates. Winners are notified via text message.

Here’s how it works:

YouTube video

Winnings of $600 or less are paid automatically to a PayPal account maintained by the player. Winnings greater than $600 must be claimed in-person at the nearest lottery office. If you score a big win, make sure to bring your winning lottery card, mobile phone and a state-issued ID.

Powerball and Mega Millions Lottery Cards can be purchased in two denominations:

  • $10.89 for 5 plays
  • $20.89 for 10 plays

Ohio mobile Lottery Cards can be purchased at Giant Eagle, Kroger and Buehler’s locations across the state.

Technology company Linq3 and financial services company Blackhawk Network have teamed up to manage the Lottery Card program for the Ohio Lottery. In a joint press release issued last week, executives from both companies offered statements on the launch of the new product.

Linq3 Chairman and CEO Tom Spiegel said this:

“Lottery players, like all consumers, want convenience and a great user experience. The Lottery Card provides both. It’s a product designed to fit with consumers’ increasingly busy and digital lifestyles.”

And here’s Blackhawk Network Senior VP of Sales & Marketing David Tate:

“We are proud to pair Linq3’s innovative technology with our robust retail network to bring the Lottery Card to market in Ohio. The Lottery Card represents an innovation in both the gift card and lottery industries, and is a great fit option for those accustomed to living a more digitally-enabled lifestyle.”

Ohio Lottery Slowing Moving Closer to Online and Mobile Sales

The Ohio Lottery has been slowly introducing new ways to mix mobile with lottery these past couple years. Lottery officials have not come outright and said they are pursuing Ohio online lottery ticket sales, but they have in the past said they want to keep “all our options open as the market evolves” when asked about the issue.

Ohio gambling law does not prohibit online lottery games, but legislators and retail groups have expressed strong opposition to online sales in the past. In 2013, lawmakers attempted to insert a provision into a state budget bill that would have preemptively prohibited the Ohio Lottery from online sales.

If Lottery officials do indeed have online lottery ticket sales in Ohio as their goal, their slow approach is understandable. Last year, the Ohio Lottery tested a line of augmented reality games that customers could scan with their smartphones for a 3D experience while playing.

The Ohio Lottery also has a mobile app that players can use to check numbers, check tickets for winners and even skip paper tickets altogether by allowing customers to pick numbers and scan their phones at retailers.

A handful of other states have already launched online ticket sales and the results so far have been good for those states’ lotteries. Pennsylvania launched online lottery games in June and achieved $21.6 million in sales in just its first month of operation. Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina and North Dakota have also introduced online ticket sales to some degree or another in recent years.

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