What are Lottery Courier Services?

In the past few years, some states in the US have allowed 3rd parties like Lotto.com, The Lotter, and JackPocket to purchase Lottery Tickets for you.

Not all states allow such Lottery ticket purchases, but the New Jersey Lottery was one of the first to allow this service.

Other states are getting on the bandwagon as  way to make their lotteries more accessible to patrons.

How does a Lottery Courier Service Work?

All Lottery Courier Services are slightly different and each Jurisdiction has its own set of regulations but generally, they work like this:

A Lottery Courier is like an App-Powered Goods or Food Delivery Service that will go and grab some grocery essentials or dinner on your behalf, but instead, they are buying you lottery tickets.

Users will create an account, load up their account via online payments, and can place orders in any jurisdiction that their Courier Services operates in.  The ticket orders are completed at a lottery retailer with the jurisdiction and the ticket serial number is scanned and uploaded.

The Courier Service acts as an escrow, holding onto your ticket. Your Courier Service has an office and staff in the states they purchase lottery tickets in, so they are staying compliant with local laws. The responsibility of Age and Funds verification is the responsibility of the Courier, so they will validate account charges and your legal age.

Some services are able to offer well-recognized lottery games like Mega Millions, Pick 6, and Powerball. Winners will be notified usually via the app and in some cases, players will need to redeem their own lottery prizes in person.

How Do These iLottery Services Track location?

As mentioned above, the Local and State laws apply to Lottery Ticket sales. For a Lottery Courier Service to work, location validation becomes crucial. The provider will need to have a courier employee within that jurisdiction to make a purchase. Rigid Regulation accelerated the operator's need for reliable and seamless accountability.

How Does LocationSmart help Lottery Courier Service Operators with Location Intelligence?

LocationSmart is geared towards helping Operators in 2 ways: Location Intelligence validation for checking if the courier is within legal jurisdiction boundaries and manages the courier's location to allow smarter routing & efficiency.

LocationSmart avoids GEO Spoofing with our API. The common Geolocation manipulation techniques are Bots, Account Sharing, VPNs, Virtual Machine, Remote Desktops, and GEO Spoofing Apps - LocationSmart handles them all.

Are Online Lotteries Legal?

Historically, Legislation has taken a dim view of lottery by post and has taken a hardened stance against inter-state lottery for consumer protection and lottery revenue protection reasons.

In the United States, that decision is made on a state level and the tide changed. As the result of increased State interest in Online Lottery increased, businesses like JackPocket began offering ticket courier services to players. For international players, the US has some states that will let players play draw games like Powerball and Mega Millions.

Operators need to be aware of the legal requirements within their jurisdiction and create workflows that maintain their compliance.

Internationally, the Online Lotto Ticket sales landscape is as individual and diverse as the nations in which they operate. Some countries have a "lassiez faire" attitude to Online Lottery Ticket Sales. Regardless, Online Lotto Players need to be aware of the regulations in the regions they are playing in. Please keep in mind that some International Lotto Courier services may exclude US accounts from playing in their lottery.

In the United States, not all states have adopted a "come and play" attitude.

Enter the New Jersey Lottery

In many respects, New Jersey was a pioneer in Online Gaming, Lottery, and Gambling. Read more about New Jersey's legislation shifts in the gaming industry in our blog post titled: New Jersey Gaming Compliance.

What States Allow you to buy Lottery Tickets Online?

The following states currently allow Online Lottery ticket purchase through a Lottery Courier Service:

• Arkansas

• Colorado

• Minnesota

• New Hampshire

• New Jersey

• New York

• Ohio

• Oregon

• Texas

And also Washington, DC.

After implementing the Online Lottery System, these states have enjoyed increased lottery revenue for education and state initiatives.

Some states have gone even further to allow online ticket purchases from their own State Lottery website or from an official Lottery App. Those States are:

• Georgia

• Illinois

• Kentucky

• Michigan

• North Carolina

• North Dakota

• Pennsylvania

• Virginia

These states have laws that prohibit Online Lottery Service Companies from selling tickets but individuals can purchase them oline directly from the state. For those states that have offered online purchases, it seems like a good decision, as some have seen increased revenue of 5-10% as a result.

How does LocationSmart's Platform enable Lottery Courier Services differently from the competition?

LocationSmart enables state, national and international compliance with a seamless gameplay experience. With no additional app installation, users won't notice our robust browser-based verification.

We allow our gaming operating customers to customize their implementation. There's no “one size fits all” with Jurisdiction and operation limitations.  But we also offer Best Practice implementation for customers who are ready to go “out of the box”. For Lottery Services that utilize an app, we can connect to your existing platform.

What does LocationSmart's low friction implementation mean for Gaming Operators?

Our lightweight, low-cost integration gets your company running fasters with less technical resources needed at launch. Your users will not be hampered by account creation, plugins, or apps to get reliable browser or app-based location verification - which leaves more attention for gaming and purchases.

As laws and regulations change, both Operators and Lottery Players are both clamoring for ways to play online, safe and legal. LocationSmart enables a better experience for both players and operators. 

What are the benefits of LocationSmart’s Platform for Gaming Operators?

As the mobile lottery market grows, so does the need for location. LocationSmart provides you with the compliance insights to let customers enjoy your services on their own devices. With layered location intelligence, they can purchase lottery tickets on their phones, tablets and laptops to increase your addressable market, add a level of convenience and maximize your revenue opportunities.

Use one service, get location intelligence for compliance. With LocationSmart, you can verify transactions by ensuring that the patron is in the authorized area to make a transaction. LocationPrivacy helps mitigate potential fraud and gaming concerns.

Learn how LocationSmart helps with Internet Gaming Compliance and grab our Mobile Gaming Product Brief.

We keep our customers compliant with regulations across many jurisdictions. Read our Gaming Best Practices White Paper.